Wife, in Clerical Garb, Impressed by Spouse’s Testimony

Linda Poindexter, wearing her clerical collar to the Iran- contra hearings, said Thursday she is very impressed with the way her husband, Rear Adm. John M. Poindexter, is handling himself.

Poindexter’s wife, ordained as an Episcopal priest seven months ago, avoided the more traditional pearls worn by other wives, such as Betsy North, in favor of a short-sleeved black shirt, a white priest’s collar and a white skirt.

She said she wears her clerical collar every day because of her work. To maintain a “look of femininity,” she and other women in the priesthood often vary the color of their blouses, she said.

“I’m very impressed with how he is getting the truth out,” she said of her husband in a telephone interview after the hearings.