Erma Ora Byrd, the wife of Senator Robert Byrd, died yesterday at age 88 at their home in McLean, Virginia following an illness of five years. Senator Byrd and members of his family were with Mrs. Byrd when she passed on.
Senator Byrd and his wife were married for 69 years. They met in grade school and married at age 19.
Mrs. Byrd did not seek the limelight. She did not give an interview to the press until 1982, insisting that the voters elected her husband and not her.
In addition to her husband, the senior Senator from West Virginia and former majority leader of the U. S. Senate, Mrs. Byrd is survived by two daughters, five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
I hope all the readers of Daily Kos will join me in expressing their condolences to Senator Byrd and his family on the loss of a great lady of West Virginia