Sen. Robert Byrd's Wife Passes Away

I've had plenty of criticism for Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, but today Sen. Byrd mourns the loss of his wife of nearly 69 years:

Erma Ora James Byrd, the wife of U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, has died after battling an illness for five years. She was 88.

Erma Byrd, who met her husband of nearly 69 years when they were in grade school, died Saturday at the couple's home in McLean, Va., according to Byrd's spokesman, Tom Gavin.

The senator and members of their family were with her when she died.

"Erma and I are complete and whole, a total that is more than the sum of its parts," Byrd said of his wife on their 65th wedding anniversary in 2002. "In my life, Erma Ora Byrd is the diamond. She is a priceless treasure, a multifaceted woman of great insight and wisdom, of quiet humor and common sense."

Anyone who can make a marriage last that long can't be all bad. My condolences to the family.