Former Northern Territory politician and Katherine mayor Fay Miller will be honoured with a state funeral following her death at the age of 75.
The long-serving community leader died on Saturday morning after suffering from an incurable bone marrow cancer, myelofibrosis, for several years.
NT government announced she would be recognised at a state funeral on May 26.
Ms Miller was the member for Katherine in the NT parliament from 2003 to 2008, and served as the town's mayor from 2012 to 2020.
She was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 2021 for significant service to local government, tourism and the Katherine community.
In a statement, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said Ms Miller had been a "generous and courageous woman" who had been an "advocate for all".
"Fay Miller was a pioneering Territory woman. She paved the way for many, and was a strong advocate of her community," she said.
"This State Funeral for Fay will recognise her decades of community service, and how she meant so much to so many."
Ms Miller's husband Dennis Cheal thanked the NT government for the offer of a state funeral.
"Fay's family is deeply moved by the Territory government's desire to commemorate her service to the NT and love of her fellow Territorians," he said in a statement.
"As Fay herself said: 'Absolutely not expected, but accepted with great humility'."
Opposition and Country Liberal Party (CLP) Leader Lia Finocchiaro welcomed news of the state funeral for Ms Miller, who represented Katherine for the party.
"Fay Miller was a Territory treasure who helped shape our community," she said,
"It is only fitting that she be honoured with a State Funeral where her remarkable impact can be truly recognised."
Current member for Katherine Jo Hersey she said was delighted with the news.
"This will be a wonderful way to acknowledge Fay's contribution to not only Katherine, but the broader Northern Territory as the Local Member and Mayor," she said.
Katherine Town Council mayor Lis Clark said a state funeral was a fitting tribute to Ms Miller's work for the town as both an elected member and resident.
Originally from South Australia, Ms Miller spent more than three decades in Katherine after moving to the inland NT town in 1989.
She sat on the front bench and was deputy NT opposition leader for a time following her election to NT parliament in 2003 and re-election in 2005.
Stepping down from NT politics after an almost fatal car accident, she went on to serve as mayor of Katherine for almost a decade, including leading the town through a groundwater contamination crisis involving PFAS firefighting chemicals at RAAF Base Tindal.
Ms Miller retired in 2020 after being diagnosed with myelofibrosis, moving from her beloved Katherine to Darwin for treatment.
She is survived by her husband Dennis, children, step-children and grandchildren.
