The husband of Florida’s Senate president died after falling while the couple were hiking in Utah on Monday, according to a memo sent to her colleagues on Wednesday. John Passidomo was 72.
A real estate lawyer and former vice mayor of Naples, Passidomo “fell and suffered massive trauma to his head, among other very serious injuries,” Sen. Dennis Baxley, the Florida Senate’s president pro tempore, said in the memo.
Baxley noted that Passidomo and his wife, President Kathleen Passidomo (R), were “law school sweethearts” looking forward to celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary in September.
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“The trip to visit several national parks in Utah was one of many great adventures they shared during five decades together,” Baxley said. “Their last few days together were marked by many special moments, beautiful scenery, and wonderful reflections on their lifetime.”
After his fall in Bryce Canyon National Park, Passidomo was airlifted to a regional trauma center, where Sen. Passidomo was told he would not survive. Their three daughters quickly flew out to Utah, and were with him when he died, Baxley said.
The senator added that Sen. Passidomo had “lost the love of her life, and is absolutely devastated by this sudden and unexpected accident.”
Funeral plans would be forthcoming, according to Baxley. He asked his colleagues to join him in prayer for Sen. Passidomo and her family “during this unimaginable time of sorrow, and in the difficult weeks and months ahead.”
In addition to serving as vice mayor of the city of Naples from 1990 to 1992, Passidomo was a city council member, and served stints chairing both the Community Foundation of Collier County and the Economic Development Council of Collier County.
Former state Sen. Garrett Richter (R) told the Tallahassee Democrat on Thursday that the Passidomos were “two of the finest people that ever stepped foot in Collier County and walked among our community.”
Sen. Passidomo, 70, is a former city council member herself, and served as a state representative from 2010 to 2016. She has represented Florida’s 28th District since 2016, and was elected president of the state Senate in 2021.
The Florida Legislature closed its 2024 session on March 8.
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