Phyllis Barbour Nesmith, R.I.P.

Phyllis Barbour Nesmith, who was married to Michael Nesmith from 1964 through 1972 and gave birth to two children with him, passed away recently due to ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). She inspired some of Nesmith's greatest solo songs, such as "Continuing," "Lazy Lady," and "Conversations," and sang background on "Auntie's Municipal Court" from The Birds, The Bees, and the Monkees.

Ms. Barbour/Nesmith was also a frequent subject of teen-magazine articles and held up as an ideal "celebrity wife" due to her moral standards (she was a devout Christian Scientist) and pleasant personality. I can see no evidence that this perception was wrong.

She had a terrible car accident in 1968, and during this time, Michael Nesmith had an affair (and a child) with another woman. It's said that the gulf created there never really healed. After the breakup, she continued to raise her children and eventually got into politics, working on energy issues from a liberal Democratic perspective. That's just one more thing to respect about her.

RIP. Love is only sleeping. Behind that wall, we're all still here.