Barry’s turkey giveaway to go on despite his death

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marion Barry’s annual turkey giveaway will go on despite his death.

Barry’s spokeswoman LaToya Foster said Sunday at an early morning press conference at United Medical Center, where Barry died, that the annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway for needy residents would continue because “that’s what he would have wanted.”

The giveaway is scheduled for Tuesday at Union Temple Baptist Church in southeast Washington.

Television station WJLA-TV (http://bit.ly/11J2acS ) reported that 3,000 turkeys were scheduled to be handed out.

The 78-year-old Barry died early Sunday after collapsing outside his home. Barry served four terms as the city’s mayor and had been the councilman for Ward 8, the poorest of the city’s eight wards, since 2004.