Maryanne Trump Barry, retired federal judge and sister of Donald Trump, dead at 86
Maryanne Trump Barry, a former federal judge and the older sister of former President Donald Trump, has died at the age of 86.
The NYPD confirmed the death at her Upper East Side home on Monday, saying there was nothing to indicate her death was suspicious and that the medical examiner will determine the cause.
Barry was first appointed to the U.S. District Court of New Jersey in 1983 by then-President Ronald Reagan, and then to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, by then-President Bill Clinton in 1999. She retired in 2019.
In a statement posted on social media Tuesday, the former president wrote, "My great sister, Maryanne, passed away yesterday at the age of 86. A truly beautiful woman, tall and elegant, with a presence like no other, she was also a tremendous student, intellect, and Judge."
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she earned a master's degree in 1962 from Columbia University and her law degree from Hofstra University in 1974. She became an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey that same year.
Barry was born in New York in 1937, the eldest of five Trump siblings. The eldest son, Fred Trump Jr., died in 1981 and the youngest, Robert Trump, died in 2020. They are survived by 77-year-old former President Donald Trump and sister Elizabeth Trump Grau, 81.
Barry, the widow of attorney John J. Barry, whom she married in 1982, was not immune to the family's scandals. At the time of her voluntary retirement, she was being investigated for suspected violations of judicial conduct rules related to alleged Trump family schemes to dodge taxes on their inheritance.
While Barry publicly supported her brother, she was captured criticizing him in audio recorded by her niece, Mary L. Trump, the daughter of Fred Trump Jr. who published a tell-all memoir about her family, including her uncle, in 2020. On the recordings released by the author and psychologist, the judge criticized her brother's border policies, behavior and character.
In his statement following her death, Donald Trump said his decision to run for president made his sister's life more difficult. "The Fake News, and others, went after her mercilessly, and because of the fact that she felt it inappropriate, due to her position, to defend herself, it just never stopped! While tough and strong, she was made to suffer in those years from 2016 until her Retirement," he wrote.
He continued, "I will never forget the many times people would come up to me and say, 'Your sister was the smartest person on the Court.' I was always honored by that, but understood exactly what they meant—They were right! She was a great Judge, and a great sister. She will be truly missed!"
