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Obituaries
Mrs. Hobbs was born in the District. After the death of her mother, she was raised by her grandmother, who ran a boarding house in St. Petersburg, Fla. When she graduated from high school, she returned to Washington and completed her studies at the old Strayer Business College. She worked for several years as a legal secretary for Oliver & Donnelly.
She was a library volunteer at Bradley Hills Elementary School in Bethesda while her children were students there, and from 1952 to 1969, she was the school secretary at Westbrook Elementary School in Spring Valley.
  Warren Wright was known for boosting minority businesses. (Family Photo - Family Photo) |
Mrs. Hobbs and her husband were among the 50 founding families of Christ Congregational Church in Silver Spring. After moving to Bethesda, they became members of Bethesda Presbyterian Church, where Mrs. Hobbs established the church library and served as a volunteer librarian for 45 years. She was a member of the church for more than 50 years.
Her husband, Robert B. Hobbs, died in 2003.
Survivors include two children, Michael E. Hobbs of Alexandria and Marian L. Hobbs of Falmouth, Mass.; and a granddaughter.
Warren Kenneth Wright Jr.Maryland Procurement Adviser
Warren Kenneth Wright Jr., 69, who spent a decade as procurement advisor to the Maryland Board of Public Works before retiring last March, died Feb. 11 at his home in Chesapeake Beach. He had pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Wright was known for his efforts to boost minority business with the state. Last year, he received the Governor's Office of Minority Affairs' Robert L. Clay Leadership Award for exceptional service to the state's minority business enterprise program.
He was a native Washingtonian and a 1954 graduate of Coolidge High School. He attended Montgomery College.
Starting in 1962, he was a buyer for the University of Maryland and, soon after, had a central role in establishing the purchasing committee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
His later jobs included purchasing director for Prince George's County and procurement director for the Maryland Department of Transportation.
He was active in the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, and he started the Maryland chapter and served a term as the chapter's president.
In retirement, he was on the Chesapeake Beach planning committee.
Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Audrey Greulich Wright of Chesapeake Beach; seven children, Kenneth Wright of Chantilly, William Wright of Owings, John W. Wright of Springs, Pa., Catherine Fortney of Hughesville, Jeanne Hayden of Manassas, Judith Gillett of Huntingtown and JoAnne Wallmark of St. Leonard; a sister, Adrienne Caswell of Lusby; and 14 grandchildren.
James Michael KlineNSA Employee
James Michael Kline, 64, former chief of staff and consultant for the National Security Agency's Defense Special Missile and Astronautics Center, died Feb. 12 after a heart attack at his home in Bowie.
Mr. Kline worked for the NSA for his entire 42-year career, his family said, and he consulted for the intelligence agency even after his 2003 retirement.
He was born in Hazleton, Pa., and served in the Navy directly after high school. After leaving the Navy as a chief petty officer, he joined the NSA in 1963. He attended the University of Maryland University College while working for the government.
Survivors include his wife of 29 years, Judy Kline of Bowie; three children, Mark Kline of Sanford, N.C., Scott Kline of Jamestown, Mich., and Suzanne Kline Coblentz of Bowie; and eight grandchildren.
Jeremiah M. Colbert Jr.Private Detective
Jerry M. Colbert Jr., 79, a longtime Washington area private detective and retired insurance claims manager, died Jan. 19 of acute coronary syndrome at the Shady Grove Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rockville. He had been a resident of Lusby since 1981.
In 1970, Mr. Colbert teamed with his brother, John "JJ" Colbert, to form the Colbert Detective Agency. He became a private eye, handling mostly domestic cases, partly because he would be in business with his brother, said his son. "He was more proud of being a private detective than anything," said Jeremiah M. Colbert III of Columbia.
A Washington native, Mr. Colbert attended McKinley Technical High School before enlisting in the Navy in 1944. He served aboard the USS Nashville for two years during World War II. He later graduated from a veterans high school in the District.
For a while, Mr. Colbert played minor league baseball in Ohio and with the Wilson, N.C., Tobs, a Washington Senators affiliate. He also attended the University of Maryland.
After those endeavors, Mr. Colbert began a career in insurance claims. He worked for Markel Insurance Co., USAA and what was then known as Preferred Risk. He retired as a claims manager in 1991.
Mr. Colbert, who lived in Chevy Chase from 1961 to 1981, was a Little League baseball coach in Montgomery County for many years.
A golfer, he was a charter member of the now-defunct Brooke Manor Country Club in Olney and later Chesapeake Hills Golf Club in Lusby. He also enjoyed collecting sports memorabilia and model trains.
His first wife, Bette I. Colbert, died in 1970. His second wife, Eileen M. Colbert, died in 1991.
Besides his son, survivors include two other children from his first marriage, Michael L. Colbert of Alexandria and Wanda L. Wells of Gaithersburg; four stepchildren, Peter Devaney of Hyattsville, Christine Porter of Lusby, Sean Devaney of Catonsville and Brendan Devaney of York, Pa.; a brother, John J. Colbert of Ocean Pines, Md.; 15 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.