Trailblazing former Maryland delegate Christine M. Jones was laid to rest Friday at Bethlehem Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast D.C.
Jones, 83, died Jan. 26, three days after being pulled from a fire in her Temple Hills home.
A Texas native, Jones broke barriers when she became the first African American to represent Prince George's County in the Maryland General Assembly, where she served from 1982 to 1994. By the end of her term, Jones had worked as the Assembly's assistant majority floor leader and became the first female chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.
Before she served as a lawmaker, Jones taught for 30 years in the Prince George's County school system.
After her time in office, Jones and her husband were active in the community until he died.