Nancy Sununu, the former first lady of New Hampshire, died over the weekend at the age of 85.

Sununu was married to former Gov. John H. Sununu for 65 years, and was mother to eight children, including current Gov. Chris Sununu, and former U.S. Senator John E. Sununu.

Friends and acquaintances remembered her as a private and kind force behind a powerful family.

“She could light up a room with a smile,” Christine Peters, president of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, recalled Saturday. She said Sununu was a mentor to her and others.

“I never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. She was incredibly gracious. And she and John together made a great First Family for New Hampshire,” said Peters.

Sununu was involved in the Republican Governors Association and chaired the Republican State Party in 1980, according to an obituary.

“Widely rumored to possess almost limitless abilities, Nancy Sununu’s prowess extended to skiing, golfing, and baseball, where her sharp eye at the plate was as keen as her accurate pitch,” her family wrote in a remembrance. “Early in life, her father imparted to her his deep knowledge of carpentry, a skill she would put to good use when she single-handedly refinished the basement of their Salem home to accommodate her growing family.”

No cause of death was given, but donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Relatives and friends are invited to calling hours at the Remick & Gendron Funeral Home, 811 Lafayette Road in Hampton, on Thursday from 4-7 p.m.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Theresa’s Parish in Rye on Friday at 10 a.m. Burial will be private for the family in Pine Grove Cemetery, Salem.