All My Children’s Paul Avery & Wife Sheila Avery Killed in House Fire

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A house fire in New Jersey has taken the lives of an All My Children fan-favorite and his wife.

Paul Avery—who played Foxy’s bartender Hughie on the soap opera during the 1980s—and his longtime partner Sheila Avery died on June 16 after flames engulfed their home in Blairstown, N.J., according to local police.

The couple were found unconscious when firefighters responded to a call about a burning building around 1 a.m., New Jersey State Police told Ridge View Echo, a newspaper co-founded by Paul. Authorities said CPR was performed when Paul and Sheila were rescued, but the pair succumbed to their injuries.

An official cause of death was not given.

In the wake of the tragic incident, Paul and Sheila’s daughter Kyle Avery shared that the family is “devastated” by the loss.

“We loved them so much, and they loved us so much, and nobody ever had to wonder if that was so,” she wrote in a June 16 Facebook post. “We’re grateful to the Blairstown Fire Department for their efforts.”

In his later years, Paul pivoted to a career in writing with bylines in New Jersey Herald, Blairstown Press and Warren County Magazine. He was also a feature contributor for the New York Times, per his obituary.

As a resident of Blairstown for over three decades, Paul was also involved in his New Jersey community. He served on the Blairstown Township Committee from 2012 to 2018, when he stepped down to be a full-time caregiver to his wife Sheila after her stroke. 

“The great thing about living in a small town,” Paul told Ridge View Echo, “is that you can actively participate in it.”