May 19, 2023

Marion Berry, a Democrat who served Arkansas’s First Congressional District for seven terms, died following a long illness. Born in Stuttgart (Arkansas County), Berry was the son of a rice farmer. He later became a licensed pharmacist and a farmer before entering into local politics. From 1993 to 1996, Berry served as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton for Agricultural Trade and Food Assistance. Berry was an advocate for an expanding funding for services to veterans and their families, as well as the expansion of healthcare for poor and rural Americans.