Obituaries

Mr. Joyner, a native of Ojus, Fla., came to the Washington area in the 1960s and started a business that did electrical work. He soon began to work for the Marriott Corp. and became the first manager to gross more than $1 million in the chain's Bob's Big Boy restaurant in New Carrollton. He left Marriott in 1988.

Mr. Joyner worked for several other restaurants, including Phil's Bar and Grill, a neighborhood eatery near his home in Beltsville. He retired five years ago.

He was a member of Moose Lodge No. 453 in College Park and enjoyed shooting pool and fishing. He was a fan of NASCAR and the Washington Redskins and noted with gratitude that the last football game he saw was a Redskins victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

His marriage to Carolynn Braswell ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of seven years, Shirley A. Sundstrom-Joyner of Beltsville; four children from the first marriage, James A. Joyner of Greenbelt, Ron Joyner of Belleview, Fla., David Joyner of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Shannon Joyner of Key West, Fla.; two stepdaughters, Phyllis Papadopoulos of Harrisburg, Pa., and Sheryl Gostomski of Ellicott City; a brother; a sister; and 13 grandchildren.

Vum Son SuantakSoil Consultant, Activist

Vum Son Suantak, 67, who spent about 10 years as an engineer and soil consultant for Geotech Engineers Inc. in Beltsville before retiring about 18 months ago, died Sept. 19 at his home in Beltsville. He had liver disease.

Dr. Suantak was a native of Burma who worked as a petroleum engineer for Exploration Logging in West Germany, New Jersey and Texas before settling in the Washington area in 1986. He self-published a book about the Zo people of South Asia and either formed or held office in numerous groups advocating for a democratic government to replace the current Burmese regime that named the country Myanmar.

He helped the Zo people of Burma, called the Chin, by sponsoring their visas and attaining refugee status for them. Hundreds of Chin stayed with him over the years, sometimes for more than a year. He helped build many of their homes and taught others to drive.

Dr. Suantak was a graduate of the University of Rangoon and received a doctorate in mineralogy and geochemistry from the Technische Universitat Bergakademie Freiberg in Germany.

In the early 1970s, he arranged for his family to leave the socialist-controlled government of Burma and settle in West Germany. He joined them after leaving Burma for Thailand on foot. From there, he flew to West Germany. He became a U.S. citizen in the early 1990s.

His marriages to Heidrun Hennig Suantak and Tha Tha Suantak ended in divorce.

Survivors include two daughters from his first marriage, Bianca Mang Khan Cing Son of Bochum, Germany, and Liana Zam Lian Vung Suantak of Ramstein, Germany; four brothers, Ngo Cing Thawng of Riverdale and Suak Kang, Cin Za Dal and Lian Kop Cin, all of Burma; a sister, Vung Khai of Burma; and two grandchildren.

Daniel J. Lynch Jr.CIA Information Officer

Daniel J. Lynch Jr., 73, a retired Central Intelligence Agency information officer on the Cuba desk, died of complications from diabetes Sept. 29 at a nursing home in Norristown, Pa.

Mr. Lynch had lived in Norristown since 2000 and before that in McLean, where he worked for the CIA from 1959 to 1988. During his career, he traveled extensively to Latin America and the Middle East.

Born in Java, Dutch East Indies, and raised in Philadelphia, he graduated from Temple University and served in the Army in Japan during the Korean War.

His wife, Sheila Lynch, died in 1977.

Survivors include a daughter, Jennifer Cotting of Silver Spring; a brother; a sister; and four grandchildren.