Obituaries

According to the NSA Web site, Mr. Robinson was the first black engineer at the agency and was assigned to the research and development directorate. He worked on a team that built an early digital computer and retired in 1978 as an office chief in research and development.

Mr. Robinson, a native Washingtonian, was a 1942 graduate of Armstrong High School and a 1948 electrical engineering graduate of Howard University. He served in the Army in Europe during World War II.

A boater and fisherman, he was corresponding secretary of the Seafarers Yacht Club in Annapolis. He also was a former member of the board of directors of the Arc of D.C., which helps people with mental disabilities.

His other memberships included the Suaves social club and the Oyster Harbor Community Association. He lived in Washington and had a beach home in the Oyster Harbor neighborhood in Annapolis.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Jean Young Robinson of Washington; two children, Bonnie McKenzie and Marc Robinson, both of Washington; five sisters, Gloria Featherstone of Accokeek, Sheila Barnett of Clinton, Alicia Porter of Glenn Dale and Terita Gregory and Colette Proctor, both of Washington; two brothers, Leo Robinson of Philadelphia and Andre Robinson of Washington; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Donald Blake PetersonElectrical Engineer

Donald Blake Peterson, 72, a retired vice president and senior engineer with E.K. Fox & Associates, a consulting engineering firm in Fairfax, died Dec. 14 at the Gainesville Health & Rehabilitation Center in Gainesville. He had emphysema and congestive heart failure.

Mr. Peterson, an electrical engineer, joined E.K. Fox when it was formed in 1980 and worked there full time until 1999. He retired but continued as a consultant until his death.

During his career there, he worked on the firm's contracts with the State Department, which included field site investigation work, system studies, facility design and supervision of hundreds of overseas buildings operations projects.

Before 1980, Mr. Peterson worked for other private engineering firms as well as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Army Corps of Engineers. Some of his work experience included construction field supervision of large commercial and government projects with oversight of electrical power generating systems.

Mr. Peterson, who lived in Gainesville, was a native of Granville, N.D. He served in the Air Force in the 1950s and studied electrical engineering at the Columbia Technical Institute in Arlington.

He was a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Association of Electrical Inspectors.

His marriage to Mary H. Peterson ended in divorce.

Survivors include two daughters, Donna Hasty of Nokesville, Va., and Kim Ryman of Mount Jackson, Va.; five sisters; a brother; and three grandchildren.

Julie Ana HamiltonGraphic Designer

Julie Ana Hamilton, 55, a graphic designer with the U.S. Department of Labor, died of cancer Dec. 23 at her home in Upper Marlboro.

Ms. Hamilton was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and grew up in the District, graduating from McKinley Tech High School in 1968.

She held a variety of positions in graphic design, most of them in the Washington area. From 1989 until 2000, she was a senior desktop publications specialist at the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. From 2000 until 2004, she was a senior graphic designer at the American Association of University Women. She joined the Department of Labor in 2005 as a senior graphic designer.

Ms. Hamilton was a talented painter and had sold several of her works over the years. She also enjoyed the martial arts and achieved a third-degree black belt in kung fu.

Survivors include three daughters, Elise Dori Hamilton of Anaheim, Calif., Denis Lori Williams of Lanham and Nina Marie Schultz of Upper Marlboro; her stepfather, Clarence Willis of Gaithersburg; a sister, Stefanie Gina Bradley of Randallstown, Md.; a brother, Otto Gregory of Gaithersburg; and three grandchildren.