Former 6th District Rep. Beverly Byron dies at 92

Yahoo

11-02-2025

It was just one month before the general election in 1978, and Beverly Byron was like a 'house afire — on a mission,' her son Barton 'Kimball' Byron said in an interview on Monday.
Beverly's husband, Goodloe Byron, had been the incumbent representative of Maryland's 6th Congressional District when he died suddenly of a heart attack during a jog along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Beverly Byron had just been appointed to take his place on the ballot.
Up until that point, Beverly had no political aspirations of her own. She did, however, have years of behind-the-scenes experience supporting her husband's campaigns for the Maryland General Assembly and later for Congress.
Beverly, a Democrat, easily won election that fall and went on to serve seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Her time in elected office ended after a successful primary challenge by then-state Del. Thomas Hattery in 1992, but she remained active in local political circles for the rest of her life.
On Sunday, Beverly Byron died of heart failure at her home in Frederick, her family said. She was 92.
Born in Baltimore in 1932, Beverly was the daughter of Ruth and Harry Butcher. As a child, she lived in Washington, D.C., at the Wardman Park Hotel while her father served as a wartime Naval aide to General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Beverly was a graduate of the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., and later attended Hood College in Frederick. She married Goodloe, the father of her three children, in 1952.
Kimball on Monday recalled 'a cast of characters' rotating through the family's living room as he grew up to help with phone banking, printing campaign materials and keeping track of votes on election night.
'My mother organized all of it,' Kimball said. 'And you would not believe how organized it was.'
As a congresswoman, Beverly frequently worked across the aisle and became known as a conservative figure in the Democratic party. She championed military and national security issues, serving as chair of the Military Personnel and Compensation subcommittee of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.
Roy Dyson, a Democrat who represented Maryland's 1st Congressional District from 1981 to 1991, served with Beverly on the Military Personnel and Compensation Subcommittee.
In an interview on Monday, Dyson praised Beverly as 'very diligent' and 'a very hard worker' for whom he had great admiration.
'She was one of the people who was decent, who made Congress respected,' he said.
Ron Young, whose tenure as mayor of Frederick overlapped with both Goodloe and Beverly's time in the U.S. House, said the congresswoman worked closely with officials in Frederick to achieve their goals over the years.
He said Beverly has been 'an icon in Frederick for a long time, as has the whole family.'
Goodloe, who represented the 6th District from 1971 until his death, was the son of William and Katharine Byron, both of whom also held the seat.
Beverly's mother-in-law Katharine also won election to the 6th District seat following the death of her husband. Unlike Beverly, she only served one term.
After leaving Congress, Beverly continued to be a leader in the community, chairing the boards of CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Maryland Technology and Development Corporation, and the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Naval Academy.
She was appointed in 1993 by then-President George H.W. Bush to serve on the Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) Commission, which coordinated changes and closures for military bases after the Cold War.
Tom Slater, who worked on the campaigns of both Beverly and her husband and who served for many years on the Frederick County Democratic Central Committee, said Beverly was 'very feisty' up until the end of her life.
The Frederick County Democratic Central Committee in 2023 established the Beverly B. Byron award to honor women or women-led organizations for their support of Democratic women running for political office, Slater said.
April McClain Delaney, a Democrat who was sworn in as the 6th District representative last month, remembered Beverly in a post on Twitter for her 'piercing intellect, dry humor, dogged persistence, long public service and her big heart.'
'I am the first woman in the 30 years following her tenure to represent Maryland's 6th District and have been privileged to come to know her incredible spirit and learn from her life experiences,' McClain Delaney wrote. 'At 92, she still kept abreast of every political development, was seemingly sharper than most half her age and even up to two weeks ago was calling me with sage insights. God bless you, Bev, for a life well lived in purpose and community, and a light for all to see.'
In a statement on Monday, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Ken Ulman called Byron 'a trailblazer whose service to Maryland and the nation will leave a lasting legacy.'
Former Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat who served in Congress with Byron, called the late congresswoman 'a great advocate for our state and a real champion for the United States military.'
'I worked very closely with Congresswoman Byron to bring resources to Western Maryland, jobs and opportunity for the region and support for men and women in the military,' Mikulski wrote in a statement.
'She was outdoorsy and I was indoorsy — we made a perfect combination,' the statement continued.
In a statement on Monday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Beverly was a 'true American patriot and great Marylander' and 'a proponent for a strong national defense and American leadership around the world.'
Mollie Byron, Byron's first grandchild, works as Gov. Wes Moore's senior adviser and director of intergovernmental affairs. In an interview on Monday, she said her grandmother shaped her interest in politics and public service.
'I could always call her and she would give me good advice. That was huge, and very rare and special that I got to have that,' Mollie said, adding that Byron had particular insight into the balance between being a mother and being active in politics.
Byron is survived by her children Goodloe Edgar Byron Jr., Barton Kimball Byron, and Mary Byron Kunst; her daughters-in-law Jane Byron and Hannah Byron; and several grandchildren, including Mollie.
Byron was preceded in death by B. Kirk Walsh, her second husband who died in 2019.
A visitation for Byron will be held at Keeney and Basford Funeral Homes in Frederick on Feb. 24 from 3 to 6 p.m. A memorial service will be held on February 25 at St. Ignatius of Loyola in Ijamsville at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, Byron's family is requesting contributions be made to the American Heart Association and the Catoctin Land Trust.