The former Republican congresswoman from Florida, who specialized in defense issues, died today of complications from a brain hemorrhage. She was 62.

Fowler was known as the “Steel Magnolia,” and the AP carries this colorful anecdote:

Before running for Congress, Fowler served seven years on the Jacksonville City Council. In 1989, she was council president, becoming the first woman and first Republican to serve in that job.

In 1989, when three city council members tried to walk out of a meeting, Fowler had them arrested so the council could maintain a quorum and pass the city budget.

Fowler, soft-spoken and refined, was once described by Working Woman magazine as a “diminutive Southern belle, as tough as an old Marine.”

Rest in peace.