MINNEAPOLIS — The wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale has entered hospice care.

A statement released Sunday on behalf of the Mondale family says Joan Mondale entered hospice care Friday. The statement was released by Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, where the Mondales have been longtime members.

The family is asking for privacy at this time, as Joan Mondale’s “life on this earth moves peacefully to its close.”

Mondale is 83.

She built a reputation as a national cultural arts advocate while her husband was vice president.