PHOENIX, May 27 (UPI) -- The wife of the state treasurer of Arizona died this week several hours after giving birth to her first child, the family says.
The baby, Austin Michael Martin, was in critical condition Tuesday, The Arizona Republic reported. A spokeswoman for his father, Dean Martin, said that the baby weighed 8 pounds when he was born.
Kerry Martin, 34, died late Monday night. The family did not release details on the cause of death or the name of the hospital where she died.
"Words cannot describe the grief I share with so many due to the sudden and tragic loss of Mrs. Kerry Martin," Gov. Jan Brewer said. "Kerry was a kind, hard-working, eternally optimistic young lady, a tremendous leader in her own right."
The couple had been married for more than 13 years. They met the day that Kerry, then a high school senior in Phoenix, registered at Arizona State University, the newspaper said.
Kerry Martin had been working since 2005 on aquatics programs for poor children. Becky Hulett, her former supervisor, said she got a voice-mail Friday from Kerry suggesting a program to collect swim suits for children who cannot afford them.
