Original article no longer available
The Washington Post
July 8, 1997
Preschool Teacher Laurie Gretchen Odenheim, 50, who taught at the preschool day care center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda since 1979, was found dead inside her Arlington home July 8. A spokesman for the Northern Virginia medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was poisoning from ingestion of antidepressant and anticonvulsant drugs. Arlington police spokesman Tom Bell said there were no indications of foul play. Mrs. Odenheim was born in New Jersey. She graduated from the University of California at Irvine. She came to Washington in 1974 and later became active with the Langley Hill Friends Meeting, a Quaker religious organization. Other activities included volunteering as a translator for Central American refugees and women’s organizations in the Washington area. She was a member of the NOVA Chamber Singers, Langley Hill Round Singers and the Washington Choral Arts Society at the Kennedy Center. She was a member of Educators for Social Responsibility and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Her husband, Larry Barnes, died in 1974. Survivors include her son, Toby Odenheim of Arlington; two brothers; and a sister.
OBITUARIES Index Terms: OBITUARY Record Number: 812900 Copyright 1997