Obituaries

Mr. Jones, a native of Washington, attended high school in Georgia and college at Georgia Tech until World War II interrupted his studies. He served in the Navy in the Pacific theater, then completed college at the University of Virginia. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and retired from the Naval Reserves as a lieutenant commander in 1962.

Mr. Jones then worked as a civilian for the Department of the Navy in a variety of positions in the Washington area, including as a technical director and professional engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Indian Head. He retired in 1982 as the director of safety in what was then the Naval Missile Safety Systems Command in the Naval Sea Command.

He was a member of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Alexandria, the St. Andrew's Society of Washington, the Jamestowne Society, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Lions International and other fraternal groups. He enjoyed boating on the Chesapeake Bay and studying naval history.

His first wife, Mary Alda Tucker Jones, died in 1958. A daughter, Ann Virginia Jones, died in 1974.

Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Sylvia Jones of Washington; a son from his first marriage, Robert ap Catesby Jones of Oak Park, Calif.; two stepchildren, Craig Newkirk of Asheville, N.C., and Robin N. Leigh of Gloucester, Va.; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

Ned Charles HelfCIA Editor

Ned Charles Helf, 87, an editor for the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service, died of kidney failure Oct. 31 at his Arlington home.

Mr. Helf, who worked for the Directorate of Science and Technology in the broadcast service his entire career, was a bureau chief in London, Vienna and Cyprus. He retired in 1973 as head of the radio propaganda branch of the service.

The FBIS was formed in 1941, charged with monitoring and translating publicly available media, such as Izvestia and Pravda from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The service was reorganized last year as the Director of National Intelligence Open Source Center.

Mr. Helf did not mince words when it came to the construction of Interstate 66. The road was built about 250 feet from his house, and as president of the Maywood Community Association, he described sound barrier walls as "pea green atrocities."

"They have actually painted some of the retainer walls the color of mud. . . . It's supposed to be natural, I guess . . . natural mud," Mr. Helf said in 1979. Three years later, he had not mellowed. "I fought the road for years, and when it opens, it's going to be stinky and noisy," he said.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, and a graduate of Ohio State University, Mr. Helf served in the Army field artillery in Europe and the South Pacific during World War II. Among his military awards was a Bronze Star. He moved to the Washington area in 1949 and went to work for the CIA.

In his later years, he was physically restricted by a stroke. He enjoyed playing duplicate bridge.

His wife of 53 years, Frances Knight Helf, died in 1999.

Survivors include his wife of five years, Pathma Helf of Arlington; two daughters from his first marriage, Susan Culhane of Princeton, N.J., and Linda Helf of Charlottesville.