STATE SENATORS
State Sens. Allyson Schwartz, D-Phila., left, Christine Tartaglione, D-Phila, center, and J. Barry Stout, D- Washington, listen to former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge deliver his proposed 1999-2000 state budget in Harrisburg, Pa., in this Feb. 2, 1999 file photo. Stout died at his home in Bentleyville on Saturday evening.
(AP photo / Paul Vathis)
BENTLEYVILLE, Pa. -- J. Barry Stout, who spent nearly four decades as a Pennsylvania lawmaker, has died. He was 79.
Stout's death was confirmed by his daughter, Lisa Stout-Bashioum. Stout died at his home in Bentleyville, Washington County, on Saturday evening, according to a story on triblive.com.
The Democrat was elected to the state House in 1971 where he served until he ran for the Senate and took that office in 1977. Stout remained in the Senate until he retired in 2010, becoming the Democratic chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, the story said. He had expressed particular pride in the Mon-Fayette Expressway and Southern Beltway, two transportation projects meant to improve access to the Monongahela River Valley, which he served.
The Thompson-Marodi Funeral Home in Bentleyville is handling visitation Wednesday and Thursday. Friday's funeral is at the First Presbyterian Church in Bentleyville.