(Washington) LGBT groups are mourning the death of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH). Tubbs-Jones died Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst and had left her with limited brain function.

The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones was the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress and a strong supporter of LGBT civil rights and a critic of the Iraq war.

She was a co-sponsor of H.R. 2015, the fully inclusive version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and H.R. 1592, legislation that would expand federal hate crimes protections to include crimes motivated by anti-LGBT bias.

She supported repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the ban on gays serving openly in the military, and was an opponent of amending the Constitution to bar same-sex marriage.

Congresswoman Tubbs Jones consistently earned a 100 percent score on the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard.

“Stephanie repeatedly demonstrated her friendship on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives where she was a boisterous, eloquent and effective voice for equality, voting rights and Democratic values,” said Jon Hoadley, Executive Director, Stonewall Democrats.

“Our organization was proud to call her a champion, and so many of our members were blessed to call her a friend,” said Hoadley.

“Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones was an outstanding friend and an amazingly productive Congresswoman for our city and greater Cleveland. She never shied from difficult issues and, in fact, she led on them. Locally, I believe that her support for pro-equality positions directly propelled the passage of legislation which has positively impacted our families,” said Keli Zehnder, president of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats, in a statement.

Tubbs-Jones was a frequent guest at the annual Human Rights Campaign Gala Dinner in Cleveland and was a recipient of the HRC Equality Award, recalled HRC President Joe Solmonese.

“The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community has not just lost an ally, but a friend,” said Solmonese. “Representative Tubbs Jones could always be counted on to speak out for civil rights and was an outspoken advocate for LGBT equality. She will be greatly missed.”

Tubbs Jones, elected in 1998, was one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s biggest boosters during the primaries and was to have been a superdelegate at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Although she backed Barack Obama in June, Tubbs Jones has said Obama can’t win unless Clinton’s supporters rally behind him.