Wash Post Obituaries

Wizards owner helped transform D.C.

Peter Perl — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

He arrived in Washington more than 75 years ago, the gangly son of a Russian metal worker named Morris Pollinovsky who came to America a poor man speaking no English. Through decades of hard work and a seemingly unstoppable will, Abe Pollin rose to the top of the worlds of business, philanthropy and...

Charis Wilson dies; wife of photographer Edward Weston

Matt Schudel — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Charis Wilson, the model for some of the most haunting and intimate images created by her husband, groundbreaking photographer Edward Weston, died Nov. 20 in Santa Cruz, Calif., at age 95. The cause of death was not reported.

Alejandro R. Ruiz Sr.; Stormed Japanese machine gun bunker

T. Rees Shapiro — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Alejandro R. Ruiz Sr., 85, an Army infantryman in World War II who received the Medal of Honor for single-handedly storming a Japanese machine gun bunker -- twice -- during the Battle of Okinawa, died Nov. 23 at a hospital in Napa, Calif. He had congestive heart failure.

Craig Eder dies; chaplain of St. Albans School

Post — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Craig Eder, 90, an Episcopal priest who served as longtime chaplain of the private St. Albans School and who retired as assistant to the rector at St. Columba's Church in the District, died Nov. 22 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He had congestive heart failure.

High school English teacher Evelyn Sims McNeil

Post — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Evelyn Sims McNeil, 96, a high school English teacher who helped many of her students get into and succeed in college, died Nov. 13 of atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease at the Greyswood group home in North Bethesda.

Wizards owner helped transform D.C.

Peter Perl — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Margaret Feldman dies at 93; Southwest D.C. activist

Patricia Sullivan — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Margaret Feldman, 93, a community activist who organized a walking history tour of Southwest Washington and fought for neighborhood improvements for 20 years, died of heart disease Nov. 7 in Ithaca, N.Y., where she had lived since 2005. She also had Parkinson's disease.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Eva Dougherty, 87, a former security specialist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, died Nov. 16 at Potomac Valley Nursing and Wellness Center in Rockville, where she lived. She had Alzheimer's disease.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert E. Skinner, 92, a vice president in a real estate and insurance brokerage, died of congestive heart failure Nov. 9 at Capital Hospice in Arlington County.

Waldo Hunt, 88, dies; repopularized pop-up books in 1960s

Valerie J. Nelson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Waldo Hunt, 88, a Los Angeles entrepreneur who ushered in the modern renaissance in pop-up books when he revived the art form in the United States in the 1960s, died Nov. 6 of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Porterville, Calif.

Obituaries

Post — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Don R. Stivers, 83, an artist who specialized in painting military scenes, including depictions of the Civil War and of Buffalo Soldiers, died Nov. 5 at Washington Hospital Center. He had complications from a stent procedure.

GU professor served up a heady mix of rigor and enthusiasm

T. Rees Shapiro — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Walter I. Giles's U.S. Constitution and Law class, which he taught at Georgetown University for more than 40 years, was considered an intellectual proving ground for future lawyers and legislators. Among his students was a young Bill Clinton, who considered Dr. Giles one of his favorite college p...

Elisabeth Soderstrom , 82; Swedish opera singer

Matt Schudel — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Elisabeth Soderstrom, 82, a Swedish soprano who was greatly admired for her sensitive operatic roles and for her refined, delicately shaded voice, died Nov. 20 of a stroke in Stockholm.

Obituaries

Post — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Hans K. Bjorklund, 51, who had been a real estate agent for Tutt, Taylor & Rankin since 1994, was found dead Oct. 23 at his home in Washington. A spokeswoman for the District medical examiner's office said determination of the cause of death is pending further tests.

Obituaries

Post — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Florence Crawford Marvil, 84, who operated an antiques store in Washington, died Oct. 23 of congestive heart failure at her home at the Knollwood military retirement residence in the District.

Obituaries

Post — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Sylvia Meyer, 89, who did secretarial and accounting work for the federal government for nearly 20 years before retiring in 1957, died Nov. 10 at Sibley Memorial Hospital after a stroke. She was a Silver Spring resident.

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Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

James Wilson, 91: set up State Dept. human rights program

Patricia Sullivan — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

James M. Wilson Jr., 91, a career diplomat who established the State Department's human rights program and became its first coordinator, died Nov. 15 at Ingleside at Rock Creek retirement community in Washington. He had heart disease.

Obituaries

Post — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Patricia C. Siemien, 84, an assistant to speechwriters in the Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon White Houses and who later worked for the U.S. Information Agency, died Nov. 1 at Suburban Hospital. She had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Jeanne-Claude, 74; created vast fabric artworks with Christo

Matt Schudel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Jeanne-Claude, 74, the flame-haired wife and collaborator of the environmental artist Christo, who was her husband's valiant defender and handled the complex fundraising for their enormous fabric artworks, died Nov. 18 at a New York hospital after a brain aneurysm.

Dell Hymes, 82; linguistics, anthropology scholar

Emily Langer — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Dell Hymes, an influential scholar of linguistics and anthropology who helped pioneer the study of how people use language in their everyday lives, died of kidney failure Nov. 13 at a nursing home in Charlottesville. The retired University of Virginia professor was 82 and had Alzheimer's disease.

Obituaries

Post — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

George H. Harshaw Sr., 83, a critically acclaimed bass-baritone singer who operated a vocal studio in Washington for decades, died Nov. 2 of prostate cancer at his home in Silver Spring.

Justice Dept. lawyer Herbert J. "Jack" Miller Jr. dies at 85

Matt Schudel — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Herbert J. "Jack" Miller Jr., who led the Justice Department's war on organized crime in the 1960s and later brokered the pardon of President Richard M. Nixon and prevented the release of Nixon's White House tapes after the Watergate scandal, died Nov. 14 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in...

Former Maryland legislator William J. Goodman dies at 79

Patricia Sullivan — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

William J. Goodman, 79, a former Maryland legislator who championed a controversial 1979 tax freeze in Prince George's County, died Nov. 16 at his home in Lanham. He had Alzheimer's disease.

Wells Stabler dies; ambassador to Spain in post-Franco era

Post — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Wells Stabler, 90, a career Foreign Service officer who served as U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1975 to 1978, a critical period when the country was emerging from the long reign of dictator Francisco Franco, died Nov. 13 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington. He had congestive heart failure.

Robert Wenthold, 61; national deaf institute science chief

Post — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert J. Wenthold, 61, a neuroscientist who had been scientific director since 1968 of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, died of renal cancer Oct. 30 at his home in Bethesda.

Obituaries

Post — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

George M. Cornell, 89, a retired Pepco substation superintendent, died of sepsis Nov. 6 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington County. He lived in Arlington.

Lewis L. Millett, 88; daring, highly decorated Army officer

Adam Bernstein — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Lewis L. Millett, 88, a career Army officer who was briefly and somewhat misleadingly court-martialed for desertion during World War II and went on to receive the Medal of Honor for leading a bayonet charge during the Korean War, died Nov. 14 at a veterans hospital in Loma Linda, Calif. He had...

Clothing retailer Sy Syms, 83

Patricia Sullivan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Sy Syms, 83, the discount retailer who for 35 years told millions of television viewers that "an educated consumer is our best customer," died of heart disease Nov. 17 at his home in New York City.

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle dies at 95

Associated Press — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Pavle, who called for peace and conciliation during the Balkan ethnic wars of the 1990s but did not openly condemn extreme Serb nationalism, died of cardiac arrest Nov. 15 in a hospital in Belgrade, Serbia. He was 95.

Pierre Harmel, creator of key 1967 NATO policy, dies at 98

Associated Press — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Pierre Harmel, 98, a former Belgian foreign minister who wrote a 1967 strategy that led the NATO allies to seek detente with the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, died Nov. 15, it was reported from Brussels. The cause of death was not reported.

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Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Charles Sifton: Judge allowed N.Y. mayor to seek 3rd term

Post — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Charles P. "Tony" Sifton, 74, a federal judge for 30 years whose ruling in January allowed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for a third term, died Nov. 9 at his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. He had complications from sarcoidosis, a lung disease.

Va. volunteer and homemaker Doris G. Halverson, 93, dies

Post — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Doris G. Halverson, 93, a homemaker and volunteer for the National Prayer Breakfast, died of ovarian cancer Oct. 16 at her home in Arlington County.

Obituaries

Post — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Virginia "Gia" Adams, 64, a former member of the Alexandria City School Board who most recently was a teacher at Glen Forest Elementary School in Fairfax County, died Nov. 6 at her home in Alexandria. She had endometrial cancer.

Edward Woodward, 79, dies; British actor, spy in 'Equalizer'

Adam Bernstein — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Edward Woodward, 79, an urbane and versatile British stage actor who specialized in playing introspective men of conscience and who gained his widest following on the TV drama "The Equalizer" as a disillusioned spy who offers his services to ordinary people, died of pneumonia Nov. 16 at a hospital...

Carol A. Orr, 49, dies; Navy chef cooked for pope, president

Patricia Sullivan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Carol Ann Orr, 49, a Navy chef who cooked for the White House and the pope, and then in retirement for middle school children in Woodbridge, died of breast cancer Nov. 9 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. She lived in Woodbridge.

Bobby Frankel, Hall of Fame racehorse trainer, dies at 68

T. Rees Shapiro — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Bobby Frankel, 68, a Hall of Fame racehorse trainer whose eye for thoroughbred talent turned losers into winners and winners into bigger winners, culminating in more than 3,500 career victories and $225 million in purse money, died Nov. 16 at his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif. He had cancer, said...

Bernard Korenblit, technology researcher at Johns Hopkins, dies

Post — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Bernard Korenblit, 92, who retired around 1990 from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory as director of technology transfer, died Oct. 29 at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney. He had complications from leukemia.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Richard Duffey, 81, who retired in 2003 as a risk manager for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, died Oct. 21 of respiratory arrest at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington County. He lived in Arlington.

Novelist Donald Harington dies; respected chronicler of Ozarks

Matt Schudel — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Donald Harington, an Arkansas novelist whose quirky, experimental books set in the Ozarks gave him a reputation as one of America's finest, if least known, writers, died Nov. 7 of pneumonia at a hospice in Springdale, Ark. He was 73 and had throat cancer and other ailments in recent years.

Thomas Graff dies; helped transform U.S. water policy with environmental group

Juliet Eilperin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thomas J. Graff, 65, who helped transform the nation's water policy as the longtime regional office director in California for the Environmental Defense Fund, died Nov. 12 at a hospital in Oakland after battling thyroid cancer for more than two years.

Obituaries

Post — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Wilson L. "Bill" Darrow, 84, a retired director of administrative services at the National Academy of Sciences who was also a volunteer firefighter and strawberry farmer, died Nov. 5 at his home in Glenn Dale, Md., of a degenerative neuromuscular disease.

A Local Life: Gilbert Kombe, 49, world HIV/AIDS expert

Patricia Sullivan — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Most of Gilbert Kombe's brothers in Kitwe, Zambia, are engineers. But as he grew up, he noticed that what his family talked about most often was sickness and health, as relatives became ill, recovered or plotted how to avoid disease.

Ruth Abbott, 89; Takoma Park, Md., activist, mayor's wife

Matt Schudel — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Ruth Abbott, 89, an activist who helped lead protests, voter registration drives and preservation efforts in Takoma Park, where her husband served three terms as the city's feisty mayor, died Oct. 14 of congestive heart failure at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. She lived in a house in Takoma...

Bruce King, 85: Cattleman, 3-term N.M. governor

Associated Press — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Former New Mexico governor Bruce King, a cattle rancher who served more time as governor than anyone else and became an institution in state politics, died Nov. 13 at his ranch in Stanley, N.M. He was 85.

Obituaries

Post — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Virginia "Ginny" Shacklett, 80, who worked as a bookkeeper in her brother's law office for many years, died Oct. 15 of lung cancer at her home in Alexandria.

Obituaries

Matt Schudel — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:10:00 EST

Thomas J. Graff, 65; helped transform U.S. water policy

Juliet Eilperin — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:52:55 EST

Thomas J. Graff, 65, who helped transform the nation's water policy as the longtime regional office director in California for the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund, died Nov. 12 at a hospital in Oakland after a more than two-year battle with thyroid cancer.

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Sat, 14 Nov 2009 09:52:55 EST

James R. Lilley, 81; U.S. ambassador to China

John Pomfret — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

James R. Lilley, 81, a longtime CIA operative in Asia who served as ambassador to China during the Tiananmen Square crackdown and was regarded as one of the most pragmatic voices on the modern Sino-American relationship, died Nov. 12 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He had complications related to pr...

Earl Cooley dies; one of the first smoke jumpers dropped into a fire

Patricia Sullivan — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Earl Cooley, 98, who was one of the first two U.S. Forest Service smoke jumpers to parachute into a forest fire and later was a spotter on the Mann Gulch fire that killed 13 firefighters, died Nov. 9 at his home in Missoula, Mont., of pneumonia.

Capt. William B. Ecker; proved Soviets had missiles in Cuba

Adam Bernstein — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Retired Navy Capt. William B. Ecker, 85, who led low-level sorties over Cuba in October 1962 and provided photographic evidence of Russian missile installations that almost led to a nuclear confrontation between the Soviets and the United States, died Nov. 5 at a hospital near his home in Punta...

Obituaries

Post — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Jean R. Broadway, 60, a former bank executive who served as a school finance officer at the H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington County from 1996 to 2000, died Nov. 11 at her home in Wilmington, N.C. She had liver cancer.

Obituaries

Post — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

F. Kathryn Gibson, 64, a member of the board of the National Spiritual Science Center, a Washington-based nondenominational organization for the study of metaphysics, clairvoyance and spiritual development, died Oct. 15 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. She had lung cancer.

John J. O'Connor III, 79; husband of Supreme Court justice

Adam Bernstein — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

John J. O'Connor III, 79, an Arizona lawyer and civic leader who became active in Washington's social and charitable circles after his wife, Sandra Day O'Connor, became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, died Nov. 11 in Phoenix. He had Alzheimer's disease.

Obituaries

Post — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Louis G. Leiser, 81, a retired Air Force major general who flew more than 100 combat missions during the Korean War and later became chief of staff for the NATO Allied Air Forces of Southern Europe, died of cardiopulmonary arrest Oct. 17 at his home in Fairfax City.

Gene D. Cohen, 65: Psychiatrist broke ground in geriatrics

Patricia Sullivan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Gene D. Cohen, an impish geriatric psychiatrist who championed the idea that people past retirement age have untapped stores of creativity and intellectually rigorous skills in their later years, died Nov. 7 of prostate cancer at his home in Kensington. He was 65.

Virginia Luce Allen, 92: Founded Georgetown Senior Center

Adam Bernstein — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Virginia Luce Allen, 92, who started the Georgetown Senior Center to alleviate what she called the "plague of loneliness" for the neighborhood's older residents, died Oct. 28 at the Washington Home hospice after a stroke in August.

Mattie Cummings, 92; mother of D.C. Council's Marion Barry

Adam Bernstein — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Mattie Cummings, 92, a onetime Mississippi sharecropper who was the mother of D.C. Council member Marion Barry, died Nov. 8 at a nursing home in Memphis, where she had spent much of her life as a domestic worker.

Obituaries

Post — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Ruth B. Brooks, 75, a real estate agent with Long & Foster in Annapolis from 1989 to 1999, died Oct. 24 at Reston Hospital Center. She had Alzheimer's disease.

Vitaly L. Ginzburg dies; Russian physicist, Nobel recipient

Patricia Sullivan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Vitaly L. Ginzburg, 93, a Russian scientist and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in physics who said that his work on the Soviet Union's hydrogen bomb saved him from Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic purges decades earlier, died of cardiac arrest Nov. 8 in Moscow, the Russian Academy of Sciences...

William Whitman dies; diplomat, writer revealed hidden D.C.

Post — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

William B. Whitman, 73, a diplomat and travel writer whose guide to the District's hidden corners is in its fifth edition, died of major organ failure Oct. 30 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He was a Washington resident.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The Nov. 8 Local Life story about restaurateur Anita Tellez reported that the first Anita's restaurant generated $2 million in sales in its first year, a figure noted in a 1998 article about Tellez in the Santa Fe New Mexican. Tom Tellez, president of Anita's Corp., said the figure was $100,000.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Donald Chaikin, 76, a personal injury lawyer who was president of the D.C. Trial Lawyers Association in the early 1980s, died of Parkinson's disease Oct. 26 at Aventura Hospital in Aventura, Fla., where he had lived since 2000.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Kim Brenegar, 49, who owned the Ornamental Garden, a Capitol Hill landscaping business, died Oct. 9 in an automobile accident in Springport, N.Y. She was a passenger in a car driven by her daughter, who was injured in the accident.

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Nick Counter, 69, dies; led coalition of Hollywood studios

Richard Verrier — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Nick Counter, 69, a long-standing negotiator for the major studios who squared off against Hollywood writers during a 100-day strike last year, died Nov. 6 in Los Angeles. The family of the former president of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers declined to specify the cause of...

Anita's founder spiced up D.C. area diets

Lauren Wiseman — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

When Albuquerque native Anita Tellez arrived in the Washington area in 1969, she went looking for a taste of home. That meant tacos and fiery but flavorful red and green chilies.

Memoirist wrote 'The Endless Steppe'

Matt Schudel — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Esther Hautzig, 79, whose memoir of growing up in exile in Siberia, "The Endless Steppe," has become a classic of children's literature, died Nov. 1 at a New York City hospital. She had Alzheimer's disease.

Obituaries

Post — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Miriam Coffin, 92, a member of Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington and a volunteer with Meals on Wheels, died Oct. 30 at the Fair Haven retirement home in Sykesville, Md., after a stroke.

Paul L. Bloom, 70; battled Big Oil in Carter years

Matt Schudel — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Paul L. Bloom, 70, an Energy Department lawyer who led a Carter administration effort that recovered billions of dollars from major oil companies that had overcharged their customers, died Oct. 9 of pancreatic cancer at Montgomery Hospice's Casey House in Rockville. He lived in Chevy Chase.

William C. Miller, 79; Montgomery, Md., judge

Post — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

William C. Miller, 79, a retired Circuit Court judge in Montgomery County, who meted out the longest sentence in the county's judicial history up to that point, died Oct. 30 of congestive heart failure at his home in Silver Spring.

Obituaries

Post — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Peter A. Rohrbach, 56, a communications lawyer who had been a partner since 1987 at Hogan & Hartson in Washington, died Oct. 25 at the University of Maryland hospital in Baltimore. He had complications from lymphoma.

Obituaries

Post — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Manuel Solis, 91, who served briefly as Panama's president during Manuel Noriega's military regime, died of respiratory failure Nov. 6 at his home in Panama City.

Obituaries

Post — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Anna L. Wood, 86, who was a member of Graham Road United Methodist Church in Falls Church for 53 years, died Oct. 4 at the Sunrise Senior Living center in Oakton. She had heart disease.

Obituaries

Post — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

William Belton, 95, a Foreign Service officer who in retirement became a major contributor to Cornell University's ornithology library, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 25 at his home in Great Cacapon, W.Va.

Francisco Ayala, 103; Spanish author, Franco foe

T. Rees Shapiro — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Francisco Ayala, 103, a highly honored Spanish author and sociologist whose opposition to the dictatorship of Gen. Francisco Franco led him into decades of self-imposed exile and influenced the enduring theme of his literary career -- the toxic effect of power -- died Tuesday at his home in Madrid....

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John W. Mashek, 77; reporter covered presidential races

Adam Bernstein — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

John W. Mashek, 77, a political reporter who covered presidential campaigns and conventions spanning four decades and was a panelist on televised presidential and vice presidential debates, died Nov. 3 at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney after collapsing at his granddaughter's soccer game. The...

Montgomery Planning Board member Jean B. Cryor dies at 70

Post — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Jean B. Cryor, 70, a Montgomery County Planning Board commissioner who was long active in Maryland journalism and Republican politics, died Nov. 3 at her home in Potomac. She had cancer.

Alvin J. Kushner, 82; IRS official and College Park mayor

Post — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Alvin J. Kushner, 82, an IRS official who served as mayor of College Park in the 1980s and was a seven-term city council member, died of renal failure Oct. 12 at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park. He had been a College Park resident since childhood.

Lee Hu Rak, 85; South Korean spy led '72 accord with North

Associated Press — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Former South Korean spy chief Lee Hu Rak, who brokered the signing of a historic 1972 peace document with North Korea after a secret trip to Pyongyang, died Oct. 31 at a hospital in Seoul. He had a brain tumor and was 85.

Israeli photographer Yosef Hadar dies; did outreach for World Bank

Post — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Yosef "Yossi" Hadar, 66, an Israeli photographer who founded the World Bank's community relations program to foster better ties between the development bank and its host city of Washington, died Oct. 30 at a hospital in Sarasota, Fla. He had leukemia.

Obituaries

Post — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Dale A. Bates, 74, a retired electrical engineer who worked for a Silver Spring defense contracting company, died Oct. 9 of liver disease at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda. He lived in Poolesville.

Obituaries

Post — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Barbara L. Beyer, 62, president and chief executive since 1987 of Avmark, an aviation consulting company in Vienna, died Oct. 23 at a hospital in Daytona Beach, Fla., of complications from abdominal surgery. She lived in Oakton.

Nien Cheng dies at 94; memoir recounted Cultural Revolution

Patricia Sullivan — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Nien Cheng, 94, whose memoir "Life and Death in Shanghai" was widely praised as one of the most riveting accounts of the Cultural Revolution, died Nov. 2 of cardiovascular and renal disease at her home in Washington.

Thomas L. Jenkins, 54; architect was devoted Capital fans

Post — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Thomas Llewellyn Jenkins, 54, an architect with the federal court system who was such a rabid Washington Capitals fan that his photo appeared on the hockey team's season tickets, died Oct. 14 of esophageal cancer at Georgetown University Medical Center. He lived in Washington.

Renowned anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss dies at 100

Alexander F. Remington — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Claude Lévi-Strauss, 100, who was one of the preeminent anthropologists of the 20th century and whose erudite, often mind-bendingly labored studies of indigenous Brazilian tribes led to influential theories about human behavior and culture, has died. News reports said that he died Oct. 30 of card...

Claire Rathbun Bergeron, 81, former office manager

Post — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Claire Rathbun Bergeron, 81, a former office manager at a Rockville printing company, died of respiratory failure Oct. 20 at Hillside House, an assisted-living facility in Clarksville.

Eileen B. Levi, 80; directed Montgomery Head Start program

Post — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Eileen B. Levi, 80, who directed the Montgomery County public schools' Head Start program for many years, died Oct. 4 of congestive heart failure at Manor Care nursing home in Potomac.

Francisco Ayala, honored Spanish author, dies at 103

T. Rees Shapiro — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:26:45 EST

Dave Treen, 81; GOP governor loosened Democrats' grip on La.

Post — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Dave Treen, 81, who was elected Louisiana's first Republican governor since Reconstruction in 1979 but lost a reelection bid to flamboyant Democrat Edwin Edwards four years later, died Oct. 29 at a hospital in a New Orleans suburb. He had complications from a respiratory illness.

Obituaries

Post — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

The Nov. 3 obituary for William R. Claytor, a Washington obstetrician and gynecologist, incorrectly reported the number of babies he delivered. It was more than 6,000.

Author of 'Life and Death in Shanghai' dies at 94

Patricia Sullivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:14:00 EST

Jessie Cohen, 'panda photographer' at D.C. zoo, dies at 57

Patricia Sullivan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Jessie Cohen, known around the world as the "panda photographer" for the hundreds of images she shot of the charismatic creatures at the National Zoo in Washington, died Oct. 24 of breast cancer at her home in Silver Spring. She was 57.

Public relations executive John M. Reed, 82, dies in D.C.

Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

John M. Reed, 82, a veteran public relations executive who specialized in international clients including the computer giant Hewlett-Packard, the biopharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pan American World Airways, died Oct. 24 at his home in the District of cardiopulmonary arrest.

Reporter Gerry van der Heuvel Donovan dies; ambassador's aide

Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Gerry van der Heuvel Donovan, 91, a former journalist who was press secretary to first lady Pat Nixon, died Oct. 25 of congestive heart failure at her home in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Z. Taylor Vinson; NHTSA lawyer an expert on history of cars

Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Z. Taylor Vinson, 76, a longtime lawyer for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who was also an internationally known automobile historian, died Oct. 25 of myelodysplasia at Inova Alexandria Hospital. He lived in Alexandria.

Jean-Francois Bergier dies; historian critical of Swiss in WWII

Associated Press — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Jean-Francois Bergier, 77, a Swiss historian who led a highly critical probe of Switzerland's conduct during World War II, died Oct. 29 at a hospital in Blonay, near Lake Geneva. He had cancer.

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Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Obstetrician William R. Claytor; targeted high-risk patients

Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

William R. Claytor, 83, a Washington obstetrician and gynecologist who delivered more than 6,000 babies during a career spanning five decades and was among the first black doctors on the staff at area hospitals, died Oct. 21 at Washington Hospital Center. He had chronic obstructive lung disease.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Helen W. Askew, 79, an operators' manager at the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. in the late 1940s and early 1950s, died Oct. 19 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. She had complications from a perforated bowel.

Obituaries

Post — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Robert P. Bazile, 92, a Haitian military leader who sought exile in the United States after the rise of the Duvalier regime in the late 1950s and became a statistician with the Organization of American States, died Oct. 25 at his home in Washington. He had congestive heart failure.

Obituaries

Post — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Donald W. Woodall, 62, a finance and accounting executive who retired in 2008 from The Washington Post as director of financial operations, overseeing systems handling billing, payroll and other projects, died Oct. 28 at his home in Roselle, Ill., after an apparent heart attack.

Charlie Lee; Many lives revolved around square-dance caller

Joe Holley — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Consider the square dance, that all-American spectacle of lively tunes. Picture the swirling petticoats and frisky dancers whirling and twirling to the squeals of a fiddle and the directions of a caller who is invariably male and whose patter combines the directiveness of a drill sergeant with the...

Michelle Triola Marvin, 75; lawsuit pioneered palimony

Elaine Woo — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Michelle Triola Marvin, 75, the former live-in girlfriend of Lee Marvin whose lawsuit against the actor established the legal concept of palimony, died Oct. 30 at the Malibu home she shared with actor Dick Van Dyke, her companion of more than 30 years. She had lung cancer.

John O'Quinn dies; won verdicts against implants, tobacco

Post — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

John O'Quinn, 68, a flamboyant Texas lawyer who won billions in verdicts against makers of breast implants, pharmaceuticals and tobacco products, died Oct. 29 in a traffic accident in Houston.

Obituaries

Post — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Najla Showker, 98, a retired professor of French and linguistics, who was well known in Washington's Arab American community, died Oct. 28 of respiratory failure at the Washington Home hospice in the District.

Robert C. Lautman, 85; architectural photographer

Patricia Sullivan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Robert C. Lautman, 85, a renowned architectural photographer whose gorgeously lit work included Washington National Cathedral, Monticello, Mount Vernon and countless private residences, died of pancreatic cancer Oct. 20 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He lived in Washington.

Roy DeCarava, 89; Celebrated N.Y. photographer

Matt Schudel — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Roy DeCarava, 89, whose intimate, often melancholy black-and-white images of Harlem life made him one of the most respected photographers of his century, died Oct. 27 in New York. His family declined to provide the cause of death.

Jessie M. Scott, 94; promoted nurse education

Post — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Jessie M. Scott, 94, a retired assistant surgeon general in the U.S. Public Health Service who led the division of nursing for 15 years, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 20 at the Washington Home hospice. She lived in McLean.

Obituaries

Post — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Thaxter Swan, 86, an intelligence officer in the CIA for 32 years, died Oct. 22 of angiosarcoma, a rare cancer, at Friends Nursing Home in Sandy Spring. He lived in Silver Spring.