At the age of 73, Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady, has passed away, his family announced Monday.

“Jim touched the lives of so many and has been a wonderful husband, father, friend and role model,” said the Brady family according to NBC News.  “We are enormously proud of Jim’s remarkable accomplishments – before he was shot on the fateful day in 1981 while serving at the side of President Ronald Reagan and in the days, months and years that followed.”

Brady was seriously injured in the assassination attempt on Reagan carried out by John Hinckley, Jr., after being shot in the head by Hinckley.  The injuries sustained  from the attack left Brady confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.

The attack on the former president and the injuries sustained by Brady prompted the adoption of a federal law requiring background checks to be carried out on handgun buyers, according to FOX News.  The bill is called the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, or Brady Law, in honor of Brady who became an advocate for gun control after the attack.

The current press secretary for the White House, Josh Earnest, told Politico, he was aware of Brady’s deteriorating health, but was unaware of his passing before a White House briefing earlier Monday.

“He is somebody who really revolutionized this job,” said Earnest according to Politico.  ” He leaves a legacy that certainly this press secretary and all future press secretaries will aspire to live up to.”