TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a 14-term incumbent and a fixture in his hometown of Paterson for more than four decades, died Wednesday, according to a statement from his social media account. He was 87.

Pascrell had been in and out of the hospital with an illness recently.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce that Bill Pascrell Jr., our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away this morning,” Pascrell's X accounted posted on Wednesday. “Bill fought to his last breath to return to the job he cherished and to the people he loved.”

Pascrell was slated to run for a 15th term in the fall.

A lifelong resident of Paterson, Pascrell served in the Army and Army Reserve after college and graduate school. He worked as a teacher in Paterson and served on the Board of Education there from 1979 to 1982 before going on to the state Legislature.

He was Paterson's mayor from 1990 to 1996, when he ran for Congress.