Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley says her sister-in-law died of COVID-19

Meg Kinnard/AP

Updated: Dec 9, 2020 / 06:37 AM CST

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA – OCTOBER 12: Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R) speaks at a campaign event for U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) on October 12, 2020 in Scottsdale, Arizona. McSally is looking to gain ground against Democratic Senate candidate and retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who, according to reports, is leading in polling and fundraising. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley says her sister-in-law has died after contracting the coronavirus.

Haley tweeted Tuesday evening that Rhonda Lee Nelson, sister of her husband Michael, “passed the day before Thanksgiving of Covid.”

According to an online obituary, Nelson, 53, lived in West Milton, Ohio, and died Nov. 25. She was remembered as a singer and piano musician who “ministered to many inside and outside of the church.”

According to Nelson’s obituary, Tuesday’s memorial service was held at the Shepherd’s Field Christian Church in Potsdam, Ohio.

Haley — the governor of South Carolina in late 2016 when President Donald Trump selected her as ambassador to the United Nations — provided no further details on Nelson’s death, which came as coronavirus numbers rise across the country and in states including Ohio.

One in every 193 people in Ohio tested positive for the virus in the past week.

Nelson’s obituary thanked her wide support network of family and friends “who have all showed their love for her through the years and even greater through her last days.” In her tweet, Haley said her sister-in-law “loved God, her family & all who knew her. She will be missed.”