Effi Barry, the District of Columbia's stoic former first lady, died Thursday. She was 63.
In 1990s, Effi Barry 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.
Barry praised his former wife in a news release Thursday, citing her success at securing city funding for AIDS awareness programs for the poor.
"The city is better off because of the great work she did in bringing hope to our neighborhoods," Barry said. "Effi was D.C.; we will all miss her."
A native of Toledo, Ohio, she met Marion Barry in 1976 when he was still married to his second wife and married him two years later, a few months before he was elected to his first term as mayor. She was divorced from jazz pianist Stanley Cowell.
A former model and school teacher, she actively supported various causes and was arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in 1985.
She acknowledged over the years that she knew of her husband's problems with substance abuse and philandering from the start of their marriage.
Barry learned she had leukemia last year and soon started campaigning for more black Americans to join the registry for bone marrow transplants.
She is survived by her and Barry's son, Christopher Barry, and her mother, Polly Lee Harris, both of Washington.
In 1990s, Effi Barry 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.
Barry praised his former wife in a news release Thursday, citing her success at securing city funding for AIDS awareness programs for the poor.
"The city is better off because of the great work she did in bringing hope to our neighborhoods," Barry said. "Effi was D.C.; we will all miss her."
A native of Toledo, Ohio, she met Marion Barry in 1976 when he was still married to his second wife and married him two years later, a few months before he was elected to his first term as mayor. She was divorced from jazz pianist Stanley Cowell.
A former model and school teacher, she actively supported various causes and was arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in 1985.
She acknowledged over the years that she knew of her husband's problems with substance abuse and philandering from the start of their marriage.
Barry learned she had leukemia last year and soon started campaigning for more black Americans to join the registry for bone marrow transplants.
She is survived by her and Barry's son, Christopher Barry, and her mother, Polly Lee Harris, both of Washington.
Effi Barry, the District of Columbia's stoic former first lady, died Thursday. She was 63.
In 1990s, Effi Barry 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.
Barry praised his former wife in a news release Thursday, citing her success at securing city funding for AIDS awareness programs for the poor.
"The city is better off because of the great work she did in bringing hope to our neighborhoods," Barry said. "Effi was D.C.; we will all miss her."
A native of Toledo, Ohio, she met Marion Barry in 1976 when he was still married to his second wife and married him two years later, a few months before he was elected to his first term as mayor. She was divorced from jazz pianist Stanley Cowell.
A former model and school teacher, she actively supported various causes and was arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in 1985.
She acknowledged over the years that she knew of her husband's problems with substance abuse and philandering from the start of their marriage.
Barry learned she had leukemia last year and soon started campaigning for more black Americans to join the registry for bone marrow transplants.
She is survived by her and Barry's son, Christopher Barry, and her mother, Polly Lee Harris, both of Washington.
In 1990s, Effi Barry 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.
Barry praised his former wife in a news release Thursday, citing her success at securing city funding for AIDS awareness programs for the poor.
"The city is better off because of the great work she did in bringing hope to our neighborhoods," Barry said. "Effi was D.C.; we will all miss her."
A native of Toledo, Ohio, she met Marion Barry in 1976 when he was still married to his second wife and married him two years later, a few months before he was elected to his first term as mayor. She was divorced from jazz pianist Stanley Cowell.
A former model and school teacher, she actively supported various causes and was arrested during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in 1985.
She acknowledged over the years that she knew of her husband's problems with substance abuse and philandering from the start of their marriage.
Barry learned she had leukemia last year and soon started campaigning for more black Americans to join the registry for bone marrow transplants.
She is survived by her and Barry's son, Christopher Barry, and her mother, Polly Lee Harris, both of Washington.
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