Obituaries

David Myer Brogi Army Colonel

David Myer Brogi, 73, a retired Army colonel, died March 1 at Washington Hospital Center of complications from heart surgery. He lived in Annapolis.

Col. Brogi served 22 years as an intelligence officer and studied Hungarian at the military's language school in Monterey, Calif. He served along the border of Hungary during the Cold War and had three tours of duty in Germany. He was battalion commander of a military intelligence unit in Vietnam in 1966 and 1967.

He studied at the Army War College and at the Command and General Staff College. From 1969 to 1972, he taught at the Defense Intelligence School in Washington. He retired as a full colonel in 1977 after undergoing open-heart surgery. His decorations included the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal.

Col. Brogi was born in Cornwall on Hudson, N.Y., and graduated from Syracuse University. He received a master's degree in sociology from Syracuse in 1969.

He lived in Fort Washington from 1977 to 2003, when he moved to Annapolis. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Piscataway and volunteered for Mary's Center, a counseling service for pregnant women.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Mary Anna Brogi of Annapolis; five children, Maria Daugherty of West Springfield, David Brogi of College Park, Jennifer McFadden of Fort Washington, Anna Marie Tomassoni of St. Leonard and Lisa Wills of Annapolis; and 17 grandchildren.

Paul Lee Thornton II Chef

Paul Lee Thornton II, 42, a longtime local chef, was found dead at his home in Clarksburg on March 15. The cause of his death is under investigation by the Maryland medical examiner's office.

Mr. Thornton was born in Ravenna, Ohio. He grew up in Montgomery County and graduated from Germantown High School in 1981. He served in the Marine Corps from 1981 to 1985 and survived the terrorist attack in Beirut on Oct. 23, 1983, that killed 241 U.S. military personnel.

For the past 20 years, he was a chef at restaurants in Washington and Montgomery. He worked at Paolo's restaurant in Rockville for several years, as well as at Bullfeathers in Gaithersburg and Hard Times in Germantown. He had worked at a Bob Evans restaurant in Germantown for the past eight months.

Mr. Thornton regularly cooked Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless in Montgomery County. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 9862.

Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Bonnie L. Thornton and Edward Duncan of Berkeley Springs, W.Va.; his father and stepmother, Paul L. Thornton Sr. and Linda Thornton of Statesville, N.C.; a sister, Heidi Dean Christiansen of Baton Rouge, La.; and three stepbrothers, Anthony Duncan of Honolulu, Craig Duncan of Columbus, Ky., and Christopher Duncan of Annapolis.

Clyde Whitney Nichols Chiropractor

Clyde Whitney Nichols, 49, a Bethesda chiropractor, died March 23 from a heart attack at Washington Hospital Center. His death was attributed to complications from Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Dr. Nichols was born and raised in Bethesda. He graduated from Harker Preparatory School in Potomac in 1973 and from West Chester State University in Pennsylvania in 1977. He worked as a pharmaceutical representative in the Washington area before enrolling at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, where he completed his training in 1985.

He opened his Bethesda practice in 1986, and his clients included a number of well-known sports figures from the area.

Dr. Nichols was a physical fitness buff and proponent of daily exercise. He was a dedicated in-line skater and cyclist and, as a weight lifter, participated in numerous local and state competitions.

Survivors include his father, Henry E. Nichols, and stepmother, Mary Ann Nichols, both of Chevy Chase; and a sister.