The Washington times., 1921-10-27
MOURN
TEACHER FOUND
DEAD IN SCHOOL
Arrangements Not Yet Com
pleted for Burial Of Mary
Alice Berry.

Miss Mary Alice Berry, thirty eight
years old, for more than twenty years
a District public school teacher, and
sister of Albert c. Berry. president of
the Chesapeake and Potomac Tele-
phone Company, was stricken with
heart failure yesterday afternoon and
died in her class room in Toner school,
Twenty-fourth and f streets north
west.
Discovery OF Miss Berry's body was
made at l o'clock this morning by
detectives and friends after, they had
forced open the building following the
failure of the teacher to return TO the
home of her sister, Mrs. Emma r
Garthe, widow of Louis Garthe, former
newspaper correspondent, at 2400 Six
teenth street northwest, with whom
she lived.
Alive at O'clock.
The body of Miss Berry was lying
between two aisles of the class room.
She was last seen alive by George
Degelman, janitor of the school
building, who claims to have talked
with her shortly after o'clock. He
said Miss Berry told him she was
soon to leave for her home. At 5
o'clock he sounded the school gong
as notification he intended closing
the building, believing, he says, that
Miss Berry had left.
When Miss Berry did not return to
her home for dinner, II was at first
believed she was with friends, as she
had planned to attend a meeting of
teachers last night. At IL o'clock
when she failed to return home, Mrs.
Garthe became alarmed and efforts
were made to find If Miss Berry had
n Il,
No trace could be found of the
school teacher, and at ~ o'clock Hal
Smith and Grafton Wilcox, news
paper correspondents, and friends of
Miss Berry went to police headquar-
ters. Night Inspector of Detectives
Cornwell sent Detectives Stringfel-
low and Lynn to the school to see
IL Miss Berry was there.
Finding the school dark and locked
and unable to locate the janitor, the
detectives forced a door of the build
ing and after a search found Miss
Berry's body lying on the floor OF her
classroom. Coroner j. Ramsey Ne
witt gave a certificate of death due
to natural causes, probably from heart
disease. IL was evident that Miss Ber-
ry was at work when stricken, as
student reports and other papers were
on the desk near where she was found
dead.
Graduate Of Western.
Several weeks ago Miss Berry had
fainting attack and was taken to
Emergency Hospital. She quickly re-
covered and went to her home, not
making any mention of having been
to the hospital to her sister Mrs.
Garthe.
Miss Berry had been a teacher at
Toner School for five years. She was
herself educated in the District public
schools and was a graduate of West
ern High School.
Born i'm Georgetown, Miss Berry
was n daughter of the late Edgar p.
Berry who for more than forty years
was connected with the Farmers and
Mechanics National Bank Beside her
sister, Mrs. Garthe. and brother A. G.
Berry, Miss Berry is survived by
another brother, G. A. Berry, who is
connected with the Hog Island Ship.
building Company Of Philadelphia.
No arrangements had been made ut
noon for her funeral. The body IL ~
Gawler's undertaking establishment.
Her death was n shock to her many
friends as she enjoyed the admiration
OF the hundreds OF District teachers.