Kathryn Frost, 57; Retired Army Major General

Retired Maj. Gen. Kathryn George Frost, who was the highest-ranking woman in the Army when she stepped down last year after a 31-year career, died Friday of breast cancer. She was 57.

Frost, the wife of former Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas), had battled cancer for four years.

“Kathy was a woman of incredible strength,” he said in a statement. “I will miss her deeply.”

Frost was commander of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which operates the commissaries and post and base exchanges on military installations nationally and overseas, including in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“She was well-known for her work to champion personnel policies, education and leadership innovations for the U.S. Army,” said Army spokesman Paul Boyce. “She will certainly be missed by those who worked with her and those who benefited from her expertise and vision.”

Before becoming the exchange service commander, Frost served four years as adjutant general and commander of the eastern sector of the Military Entrance Processing Command.

She worked in Berlin on the staff of former Gen. Colin Powell when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She also worked as a White House social aide during the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations.

Her husband held office for 26 years before losing his 2004 reelection bid after Texas’ congressional districts were redrawn. The Frosts were married in 1998 in the U.S. Capitol.

They moved from Dallas to Washington last year to be near Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where Frost was undergoing treatment.

A native of Latta, S.C., Frost graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in library science from the University of South Carolina in 1970. She earned a master’s degree in counseling at Wayne State University in Michigan while on active duty with the Army.

She also graduated from the Army War College.