NASHVILLE -- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that his wife, First Lady Maria Lee, has been diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's germ-fighting system.
"Maria and I have learned that she has lymphoma and will begin treatment immediately," Lee said in a statement. "While this news is unexpected, her prognosis is good and it is treatable. Maria and I deeply appreciate prayers for healing. We are hopeful and will share more in the days ahead."
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Maria Lee, grew up in Silver Springs, Maryland, and later moved to Tennessee, where she became a third-grade teacher. Her students included one of the four children of Lee and his first wife, Carol Ann, who died in a horse-riding accident in 2000. Maria Lee also coached one of Lee's daughters in track. Lee and Maria Lee were married in 2008.
"Maria came into my life just as the skies were clearing," Bill Lee wrote in the epilogue of his book, "The Road I'm On."
As Tennessee's First Lady, Marie Lee established Tennessee Serves, a three-part initiative encouraging Tennessee children and others to perform acts of service.
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"Our goal is to serve our state, by serving your community, by serving one person at a time," Maria Lee stated at the time. "Lives and communities are changed when neighbors help neighbors, and I am grateful for the opportunity as a first lady to help my neighbors across our great state.
"To me, this is not just an initiative, but who I am as a person," she said of the initiative. "My heart is devoted to serving others and the impact we hope to have."
In "This Road I'm On," which Lee wrote as he prepared to run for governor in 2018, Lee recounted the impact his future wife had on him following the tragic death of his first wife.
"What she has brought to me for the past ten years has been a new level of joy and love and devotion that was difficult for me to even imagine in those cloudiest of days," Lee wrote.
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Responding to Lee's announcement on social media, former state Rep. Debra Maggart, a Hendersonville Republican, said her prayers were with the governor and the First Lady.
"My nephew recently overcame this disease," Maggart said. "Thankfully, after 8 months of treatment, we learned this summer he is cancer free."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow him on Twitter @AndySher1.