Effi Barry | Former D.C. first lady, 63
Effi Barry, 63, the District of Columbia's stoic former first lady who endured her husband's drug abuse and unfaithfulness during his years as Washington's mayor, died Thursday.
Effi Barry, 63, the District of Columbia's stoic former first lady who endured her husband's drug abuse and unfaithfulness during his years as Washington's mayor, died Thursday.
She died of leukemia at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Md., said Justin Paquette, a spokesman for the hospital.
Effi Barry separated from Marion Barry in 1990, shortly after he was caught on videotape at a downtown hotel with another woman, smoking crack and asking her to have sex with him.
Throughout her husband's three-month trial, Ms. Barry sat in the front row of the courtroom with a hook and yarn. Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in prison.
Shortly after the trial, she moved to Virginia to teach health and sex education at Hampton University, her alma mater. The Barrys divorced in 1993, but she returned to Washington and supported him in his successful bid for a City Council seat in 2004.
Survivors include a son, Christopher Barry, and her mother, Polly Lee Harris.
- Associated Press