Effi Barry Dies

By Sonsyrea Tate Montgomery
WI Managing Editor
Thursday, September 6, 2007

Effi Barry, a former first lady of the District of Columbia, died of Leukemia Wednesday night. She was 62.
  
Barry, who was married to former mayor Marion Barry, most recently worked for the city's health department, where she pushed for resources and services to

combat HIV and AIDS in the city. She also was very active launching a successful photojournalism program for youth East of the River.
  
As news of her death spread, local elected officials issued press statements and her friends and co-workers spoke of fond memories.
  
“Today is a day filled with tremendous sadness for me and my family as we mourn the passing of former first lady Effi Barry,” said Barry, who now serves as Ward 8 councilman. They were married 14 years and remained friends afterwards. Effi helped her then ex-husband in his successful come-back campaign, and he joined Effi for a press conference two years ago when she launched a photo journalism camp at Birney Elementary School in Southeast.
  
“Effi was my cherished friend, a wonderful mother to my only son Christopher, and a beautiful human being,” Barry continued in his press statement. “Effi was born to serve and help others, but long after her service to this city was done, as first lady, she continued to give even more of herself in an effort to help those who could not help themselves. Chief among her many accomplishments, was her successful effort to secure city funding for HIV and AIDS awareness programs for the poor. She was a genuinely caring person with a huge heart. I feel fortunate to have had her as a part of my life for so many years. It is as if a part of me has left this world today as well.”
  
Effi Barry worked with Birney Elementary School faculty and students launching a photojournalism program that allowed students to tell the stories of their community the way they saw it. Through her sponsors and partnerships, the students’ work was featured at the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
  
“She was just like a little angle,” said Birney Principal Charles Webb. “She was working with a foundation, and they wanted to start a photojournalism program in Southeast Washington to give the children an opportunity to document their lives and interview the people in their lives,” he added. The program motivated the 14 students involved to read, write and develop analytical skills. Effi Barry knew the children’s names and circumstances, Webb said.
  
Effi Barry was diagnosed with leukemia in February 2006, and since then, she used her experience to encourage African Americans to donate urgently needed bone marrow and join the registry for bone marrow transplants, needed for life-threatening diseases like leukemia.
   
D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton noted Effi Barry’s characteristic dignity.  She is loved because of her grace, her dignity, her keen intellect and compassion,” Norton said. “She remains a role model to all women and the standard of courage to citizens throughout the District of Columbia. She truly embodied what it meant to be a first lady.”
  
Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said, “My wife Michelle and I along with all the residents of the District of Columbia are deeply saddened by the loss of former first lady Effi Barry.  She was a truly great woman who devoted her life to public service for this city, and who was beloved by its people. She will be remembered for her work on public health issues for our residents and as an incredible example of poise and grace.”
  
To honor her memory, and in conjunction with the wishes of our former mayor, Councilmember Marion Barry, Fenty asked that District of Columbia flags be flown at half-staff beginning Thursday and ending on the day of her funeral.
  
She is survived by her mother Polly Harris and her son Christopher.