Obituaries : Ella Udall, 59; Congressman’s Wife

McLEAN, Va. — The wife of long-time Arizona congressman and former Democratic presidential candidate Morris Udall was found dead Saturday at the couple’s home, the apparent victim of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, police said. She was 59.

The congressman discovered the body of his wife, Ella, slumped over in the car inside their garage at about 9:50 a.m., police said. The engine was still running and the doors to the garage were closed, they said. No note was found, Udall spokesman Robert Neuman said.

“We are investigating the death as a suicide,” said Warren Carmichael, a Fairfax County police spokesman.

Neuman said Ella Udall, a former congressional aide who married the congressman in 1968, had not been suffering from ill health nor emotional problems and recently seemed in good spirits. It was the second marriage for both of them.

“It comes as a great shock,” Neuman said.

A native of Virginia, Ella Udall had worked extensively on Capitol Hill, serving as staff assistant on the House Postal Service and Civil Service committees.