Wife of Mormon church president dies

The wife of the president of the Mormon church has died.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in a statement on its web site that Frances B. Monson died at 6:35 a.m. Friday at a hospital in Salt Lake City. She was 85.

Thomas S. Monson says his wife was the family’s beacon of love, compassion and encouragement.The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

The church says she had been hospitalized for several weeks and was surrounded by her family at the time of death.

Frances Monson grew up in Salt Lake City during the Great Depression. The couple were married in the Salt Lake Temple in 1948.

Funeral arrangements are pending.