Friday, November 3, 2006
Frank S. KadiFAA Official
Frank S. Kadi, 86, a Federal Aviation Administration official, died after a stroke Oct. 25 at his home in Conway, S.C.
Mr. Kadi was chief of the FAA's radar engineering division at the time of his retirement in 1974. He began his career as a radio technician in the Army during World War II, then joined the Civil Aeronautics Administration after the war. He later switched to the FAA. He helped design and install radar in the South Pacific and helped establish the Office of Telecommunications in the FAA.
He was born in Boltz, Pa., and attended Temple University. In retirement, he moved to Marco Island and Clearwater, Florida, then to South Carolina.
Mr. Kadi volunteered and coached his children's sports activities when they were young. He enjoyed the outdoors, particularly Deep Creek Lake, Md., and in retirement traveled to many destinations with the Earthwatch Institute and similar organizations.
His wife, Elaine Kadi, died in 1986.
Survivors include four children, Barbara Raven of Conway, David Kadi of Springfield, Karen Kadi of Fairfax and Steven Kadi of Marietta, Ga.; a sister; and five grandchildren.
Robert H. Cantrell Jr.Navy ScientistRobert H. "Bob" Cantrell Jr., 75, a retired scientist with the Department of the Navy, died Oct. 4 at Brooke Grove nursing home in Sandy Spring of a progressive dementia disorder. He was a 45-year resident of Silver Spring.
Dr. Cantrell was born in Fairfield, Ala., and received a bachelor's degree in physics from Harvard University in 1953. From 1953 to 1956, he served in the Navy, much of that time on the destroyer USS Stribling. He returned to Harvard and received a master's degree in mathematics and a doctorate in engineering in 1961.
For the first six years of his career, he worked at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel. In 1967, he joined the Department of the Navy at the David Taylor Research Center at Carderock. Working in the Signatures Department, his area of expertise was signal processing. He was instrumental in the development of systems to detect, measure and analyze submarine noise and helped develop new sonar systems installed on submarines.
The recipient of numerous awards for technical achievement and a mentor to younger colleagues, Dr. Cantrell retired in 1998.
In retirement, he devoted a great deal of time and energy to helping others. He was a longtime member of Silver Spring Presbyterian Church, where he served three three-year terms on the church session and 18 years as church treasurer.
He was a volunteer at Silver Spring HELP, where he and fellow church members worked moving furniture for the needy, and for many years was the behind-the-scenes coordinator for the congregation's WIC program. From 1998 to 2002, he was a laborer and volunteer executive director of Habitat for Humanity in Montgomery County.
His wife recalled that he loved his Navy years and stayed in touch with old Navy buddies and other lifelong friends. "He was always concerned for other people, always helping," she said.
Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Virginia Cantrell of Silver Spring; three daughters, Margaret L. Cantrell of Brooklyn, N.Y., Susan C. Gallagher of Seattle and Katherine C. Baranoski of Churchville, Md.; and three grandchildren.
Connie Lynn BeezerHairdresserConnie Lynn Beezer, 45, who was an office assistant in her family's business in Washington and also a hairdresser, died Oct. 27 at Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center in Crystal River, Fla. She had an infection after surgery for a broken hip.
Ms. Beezer was born in Punxsutawney, Pa., grew up in Laurel and was a graduate of Laurel High School. She graduated from the Aspen Beauty Academy in Laurel and worked as a hairdresser and beautician in the 1980s. She also did office work for her family's business, Delta Equipment Rental Inc. in Washington.
She moved to Homosassa, Fla., in 2001.
Her marriage to Douglas Carr ended in divorce.
Survivors include a son from another relationship, Jericho Lawson of Homosassa; her parents, Patricia Beezer of Homosassa and Howard Beezer of Punxsutawney; and a brother, Gary Beezer of Homosassa.
Margaret W. BoschetBank ManagerMargaret W. Boschet, 76, a retired bank manager, died of cancer Nov. 1 at Sligo Creek Nursing Home in Takoma Park. She was a Takoma Park resident.
Mrs. Boschet was born in the District and went to work as a bank manager at American Security Bank in 1949. She retired in 1999.
Her marriage to Paul Boschet ended in divorce.
Survivors include a daughter, Laura Johnson of Silver Spring.
Catesby Penniman JonesNaval Safety DirectorCatesby Penniman Jones, 84, a civilian employee of the Navy, died of a heart ailment Oct. 28 at his home in Springfield.
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 EditorNed 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.