M. Bruce Gwinn, a longtime Congressional aide who worked for five House committees, died last week in his home.

Gwinn, 53, who started working on Capitol Hill in 1973, died in Alexandria, Va., on Jan 29. He had colon cancer.

He most recently worked in the Energy and Commerce Committee under Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and started his career as a staff assistant to a subcommittee of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee.

Gwinn, a native of Charleston, S.C., received his bachelor’s degree from Duke University. He also served as a senior policy analyst for the Government Reform and Oversight Committee from 1995 to 1997. While there, he was responsible for regulatory issues.

After that, Gwinn joined the House Commerce Committee as a professional staff member responsible for international trade.

With that position, he also handled tort reform, fuel economy and the food safety provisions of the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, among other issues.

Gwinn is survived by his wife of nine years, May Yoneyama Gwinn of Alexandria; two sons, M. Dylan Gwinn of New York City and L. Byron Gwinn of Alexandria; and his daughter, Maria Gwinn of New York City.

— Sara Faiwell