Annette Nevin Shelby, wife of longtime Alabama U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and the first woman to become a tenured full professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, died Wednesday at her home in Tuscaloosa.

Annette Shelby was 86. She was married to Richard Shelby for 65 years.

“Anyone who knows Dr. Annette Shelby knows that she played a crucial role in Sen. Shelby’s success, yet was also incredibly accomplished in her own right,” Alabama U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said.

“Suzanne and I send our deepest thoughts and prayers to the entire Shelby Family now and in the difficult days ahead.”

U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, who served as Sen. Shelby’s chief of staff, called Annette Shelby “a true Alabama trailblazer.”

“From her roots in rural Coffee County, a place I am also proud to call home, to breaking barriers as the first woman to become a tenured professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, Dr. Shelby’s brilliance, grit, and determination showed in everything she accomplished,” Britt said.

Britt’s statement continued:

“She forever changed the lives of countless students. I’m fortunate to count myself as one of those who she mentored and encouraged throughout her long career – Dr. Shelby’s faith and confidence in another young woman from the Wiregrass changed what was possible for my life.

“In large part, Richard Shelby was able to stand on the mountaintop as Alabama’s greatest statesman because he was married to Annette Nevin Shelby.

“Her passion for higher education, incredible intellect, and immense influence was evident when Senator Shelby invested millions to elevate research and opportunities at Alabama’s colleges and universities.

“Our prayers are with Senator Shelby; his two sons, Richard Jr. and Claude; daughter-in-law, Lisa; two beloved grandchildren, Anna and William; and the countless others who join us in mourning the loss of this incredible woman.”

Annette Nevin Shelby was born January 22, 1939, in Kinston, in the Wiregrass region in the Coffee County community of Kinston.

Her mother, Gladys, taught high school English and Latin, and her father, Claude, was principal of Kinston High School and founder and president of Douglas MacArthur State Trade School in Opp (now the Douglas MacArthur State Technical College).

According to a 1999 Birmingham News profile, Shelby was a cheerleader in high school and graduated with honors. She attended Alabama College, now the University of Montevallo, for two years before transferring to the University of Alabama, where she met Richard Shelby, then a law school student.

At UA, Shelby participated in numerous campus organizations and activities including Delta Delta Delta sorority.

As an intercollegiate debater, she was a member of Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Debate Society and successfully competed in nation-wide tournaments.

Shelby was inducted into Mortar Board, a women’s service organization, and into Phi Beta Kappa, a national scholastic honor society.

This is a developing story and will be updated.