Obituaries

Jeanne Sutherlin EndterNorthern Virginia Volunteer

Jeanne Sutherlin Endter, 67, a Navy wife who did volunteer work in Northern Virginia after settling in the Washington area in 1970, died Nov. 9 at her home in Fairfax County. She had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mrs. Endter was born in El Dorado, Kan., and raised in Colonia, N.J. She attended Virginia Intermont College in Bristol, Va., and married in 1958.

She volunteered many hours to her children's sports, Scouting, religious and education activities at Frost Middle School and Robinson Secondary School, both in Fairfax County, and Fairfax Presbyterian Church.

Survivors include her husband, retired Navy Cmdr. Bill Endter of Fairfax County; three children, Christina Markey of Arlington, Kenny Endter of Burke and Jim Endter of Fairfax County; a sister, Patricia Rodgers of Far Hills, N.J.; two brothers, Jim Sutherlin of Washington and Bob Sutherlin of Kernersville, N.C.; and two grandchildren.

Eleanor Margaret HigginsArmy Department Employee

Eleanor Margaret Higgins, 83, a contract officer at the Army Department's Defense Supply Service from 1956 to 1983, died Nov. 11 at Inova Alexandria Hospital. She had abdominal cancer.

Ms. Higgins, an Alexandria resident, was a receptionist from 1983 to 1990 for Dr. Thomas F. McGough, an Alexandria general practitioner and the city's former public health director.

She was a native of Kansas City, Mo., and a dietetics graduate of what is now University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kan.

During World War II, she did tire-rationing work for the Kansas City rationing board.

She received several commendations for her Army Department work.

She leaves no immediate survivors.

Helen C. RaineyAdministrative Assistant

Helen C. Rainey, 83, who worked as assistant to the dean of students at Marymount University in Arlington from 1967 until her retirement in 1986, died Nov.12 at Virginia Hospital Center after a stroke.

Mrs. Rainey, an Arlington resident since 1951, was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia. She studied business at Mount Saint Vincent College in Halifax. In 1944, she married Harry Rainey, whom she met in Halifax while he was stationed there during World War II.

The couple became charter members of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington.

She was also a member of the Ninettes golf group and the Bridge Club at Washington Golf and Country Club and an original member of the Columbine Club of the Edward Douglass White Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Her husband died in 2002. A daughter, Eileen Rainey, died in 1994.

Survivors include five children, Joseph Thayne Rainey of Vienna, Rosemary Loney, Kevin Gerard Rainey and Terence James Rainey, all of Arlington, and Patricia Reese of Monkton, Md.; and 16 grandchildren.

John Anthony 'Tony' ColsonIntelligence Analyst

John Anthony "Tony" Colson, 61, retired senior intelligence analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, died Nov. 11 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington after cancer surgery in July.

Mr. Colson, an Alexandria resident, worked at DIA from 1978 to 2004. His areas of expertise included the Middle East and Latin America.

He was born in Los Angeles and raised in Rome and Brighton, Mass. After Army service, he graduated from Boston College, from which he also received a master's degree in Russian and East European history.

He received master's degrees in international relations from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and in romance languages from the University of Georgia.

He was fluent in Italian, Spanish, French and German, and he occasionally served as an interpreter for foreign delegations.

He was a member of the Orders and Medals Society of America, a nonprofit group dedicated to the collection and preservation of military and civilian decorations.

Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Lorraine Snow Colson of Alexandria; three sisters; and a half brother.