Monday, January 9, 2006
Fred K. Hoehler Jr.Labor Educator
Fred K. Hoehler Jr., 87, founding director of the George Meany Center for Labor Studies (now the National Labor College), died of complications from prostate cancer Jan. 4 at his home in Bellingham, Wash.
Mr. Hoehler was working at the Brookings Institution in the late 1960s when Meany, then president of the AFL-CIO, asked him to set up a labor leadership education program on such topics as collective bargaining, organizing and union communication.
Mr. Hoehler developed the program at a conference center in Williamsburg and then persuaded Meany and the union's executive council to buy 47 acres just outside the Capital Beltway in Silver Spring to establish a permanent center.
Mr. Hoehler worked with Antioch College in Ohio to create a college degree program modeled after adult education programs he studied while touring the United Kingdom, recalled Robert Pleasure, who succeeded Mr. Hoehler as director of the Meany Center.
Thomas R. Donahue, longtime secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, said in a statement that Mr. Hoehler was "the most significant contributor to U.S. labor education. He trained thousands of labor leaders in this country. He was a pioneer in lifelong education."
Mr. Hoehler, born in Cincinnati, was the son of Fred K. Hoehler, who was Illinois's director of social welfare under Gov. Adlai Stevenson. After serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II, he graduated from Arizona State University and earned a master's degree in political science and industrial relations in 1947 from the University of Chicago.
He taught at the University of Puerto Rico and Penn State University before joining the AFL-CIO in 1954. Two years later, he became a professor of industrial relations at Michigan State University, where he taught until 1971.
He also served as education director for the United Steelworkers of America from 1964 to 1967 and wrote for the Brookings Institution from 1962 to 1970. He was executive director of the Meany Center for Labor Studies from its opening on Labor Day 1969 until he retired in 1984. The school was fully accredited in 2004.
Survivors include his wife, Lisa Portman Hoehler of Bellingham, and two sons, Fred Hoehler III and Dan Hoehler, both of California.
Karen Sue BrownRegistered Nurse
Karen Sue Brown, 54, a registered nurse who worked nearly 20 years at Potomac Hospital before retiring for health reasons in early 2005, died of kidney disease Dec. 23 at her home in Woodbridge.
She also worked at Sibley Memorial and Inova Fairfax hospitals earlier in her career.
Mrs. Brown was born in Fort Worth. She was about 15 when she and her family moved to the Washington area. She graduated from Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington and Creighton University in Omaha with a bachelor's degree in nursing. In the late 1980s, she received a master's degree in business administration from Marymount University.
As a volunteer, she sewed costumes and helped design sets for the Pied Piper Theatre in Prince William County. She was also an active supporter of the Woodbridge Senior High School's Madrigal Singers and chorus.
Her marriage to Kenneth E. Brown ended in divorce.
Survivors include two daughters, Kate Collins Brown and Lauren Julia Brown, both of Woodbridge; her mother, Norma O'Grady of Falls Church; four sisters, Cheryl Czapp of Annandale, Patricia Ruffin of San Antonio, Terry Johnson of Springfield and Timotha Rainey of Leesburg; and a brother, Michael O'Grady of Vienna.
Mintie Eberhart GlassArt TeacherMintie Eberhart Glass, 79, who taught art in Montgomery County high schools, died Dec. 31 at Suburban Hospital after a stroke. She lived in Bethesda.
Mrs. Glass moved to Bethesda in 1959. She began teaching art at Robert E. Peary High School in Rockville in 1960, the year the school opened. At Peary, she served as department chair and sponsored the Class of 1966. She remained at Peary until the school closed in 1984 and then taught at Wheaton High School for a year before retiring in 1985.
Her husband, Park Glass Jr., was a teacher and football coach in Montgomery County.
Mrs. Glass was born in Elizabeth, Pa. When she was 9, she was severely injured when she was struck by a car. She was in a coma for six weeks and had to relearn to walk and talk.
She graduated from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., in 1947, where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. She studied art, piano and voice as a young woman and performed as a mezzo-soprano soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
She received a master's degree in education from Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) in the late 1960s. Before moving to the Washington area, she taught in junior high and high schools in Pennsylvania.
In retirement, Mrs. Glass enjoyed traveling, attending the opera, reading, supporting the arts and working crossword puzzles. She was a volunteer at the Navy chapel at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, where she chaired the fellowship committee.
Survivors include her husband of 57 years, of Bethesda; three children, J. Robert Glass of Gaithersburg, Cynthia Glass Moses of Damascus and Sue Ellen Zellman of Long Valley, N.J.; and two grandchildren.
Robert J. StevensBaseball Player
Robert J. Stevens, 98, who was the oldest living former member of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, died Dec. 30 at Sunrise assisted living center in Frederick. He had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
He was a shortstop for the Phillies from 1929 to 1931 and had a batting average of .343 with 35 at-bats for the 1931 season. He also played in the Carolina League in the minors.
In August 2000, Mr. Stevens was honored at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, where he helped unveil a commemorative plaque to be placed at the original Baker Bowl ballpark. He played in the old ballpark in North Philadelphia, where the Phillies held games until 1938.
The event brought him a host of new admirers. "He still got fan letters and was still signing autographs," said his son William L. Stevens of Monrovia.
Mr. Stevens, who went by Bob, was born in Chevy Chase and graduated from the old Western High School in Washington. He was a founding member of the Chevy Chase Bearcats baseball team.
During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in Long Island, N.Y.
He lived the past year in Frederick but spent most of his life in Montgomery County, both in Chevy Chase and for 50 years at his family home in Rockville.
He worked for 30 years in the accounting department of the Veterans Administration, until 1971. He then drove the bookmobile for the Montgomery County Public Library Service, retiring in 1977.
Mr. Stevens coached Rockville Little League baseball from 1960 to 1967, winning the 1967 championship.
He had been a lifetime member of the Association of Professional Ball Players of America since 1928.
His wife, Lucy S. Stevens, died in 1992.
Besides his son, survivors include two children, David A. Stevens of Thurmont, and Mary Dolly Stevens of Purcellville; and four grandchildren.
S. Thomas StathesArchitect
S. Thomas Stathes, 93, an architect who was also involved in real estate and banking, died Dec. 31 at Brighton Gardens nursing home in North Bethesda of complications from Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Stathes was born in New York to parents who were recent immigrants from Issari, Greece. The family moved to Washington when he was an infant. He graduated from McKinley Technical High School and from Catholic University's architecture school in 1933.
He was a graduate instructor at CU and won numerous competitive medals and awards for design, including being named a multiyear finalist for the Rome Prize scholarship.
He won the Paris Prize for Architecture in 1938, which led to his attendance at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris for a year, until the outbreak of World War II.
From the time of his graduation until 1942, he also worked as a practicing architect for several private firms and the government. While working at the War Department, he participated in the design of the Pentagon. One of his design renderings is in the National Archives.
Mr. Stathes served as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers in Europe during the war, attaining the rank of captain.
After the war, he returned to Washington, where he established an architectural firm. During his career, he designed a wide range of private and public buildings. With his brother, Peter Stathes, he founded and operated a Washington real estate company, Consolidated Properties. In the 1950s, he was also a founder and secretary of Montgomery Federal Savings and Loan in Kensington, which no longer exists.
Mr. Stathes, a Silver Spring resident, designed his home in Woodside Park.
Active in professional and civic affairs, he was a member of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, the Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Reciprocity Club, for which he served as president of the Washington chapter and international secretary. He was also a member of the American Institute of Architects and served as president of the Washington chapter.
He was a member of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington and was on its board of trustees.
A lifelong pigeon fancier, Mr. Stathes raised and raced birds for more than 70 years.
His marriage to Eileen Pincombe ended in divorce. A son from that marriage, Brian P. Stathes, died in 1971.
Besides his brother of Kensington, survivors include his wife, Joanne Stathes, whom he married in 1971, of Silver Spring; a son from his first marriage, Christopher T. Stathes of Rockville; a stepson, John Forbes of Silver Spring; two sisters, Christine Coppage of Nokesville, and Jane Cook of Kensington; and five grandchildren.
Richard C. BarnhartComputer Specialist, MusicianRichard C. Barnhart, 65, a former minister, Army Special Forces member, IBM systems specialist and bluegrass musician, died of gangrene Dec. 19 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. He was a 45-year resident of Arlington.
Mr. Barnhart worked for IBM for 30 years, retiring in 1993. He specialized in mainframe computers.
He was born in Buffalo and graduated from the University of Buffalo. After college, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds but opted to attend seminary at Martin Luther Seminary and Augsburg College in Minneapolis, earning master's degrees in theology in 1958. He worked briefly as a Lutheran pastor in Buffalo.
During the Korean War, Mr. Barnhart volunteered for the Army and was a tank driver during the post-hostilities peacekeeping phase. He served on several domestic bases and volunteered for Special Forces training at Fort Bragg, N.C., eventually making 200 successful parachute jumps.
He was sent to Vietnam early in the 1960s, working for the CIA in undercover positions, and was responsible for rescuing downed military air crews, killing enemy snipers and disrupting Viet Cong operations. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action and conspicuous bravery after the infantry battalion he was accompanying was ambushed. Mr. Barnhart, then a master sergeant, jumped on the back of truck, seized a .50-caliber machine gun and several automatic weapons, and fired into the enemy forces, discarding each gun as it ran out of ammunition. His action enabled the infantry battalion to take cover.
After the Vietnam War, he became a folk songwriter and was acquainted with the trio Peter, Paul and Mary. He then switched to bluegrass, developing a technique for using the dulcimer, ordinarily a folk instrument, in traditional bluegrass songs. Mr. Barnhart organized a bluegrass band called Rapid Run that played for a number of years in the 1970s and 1980s at the former O'Carroll's club in Arlington.
He helped found the Capitol Area Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association and played in the Capitol Gospel Band for four years before suffering a stroke, which prevented him from playing the guitar.
Mr. Barnhart was a volunteer youth sports coach. He also enjoyed bowling.
He had no immediate survivors.