Obituaries

After his retirement in 1972, Mr. Warren took art courses and painted, primarily in acrylics, still-lifes, portraits and landscapes. His landscape subjects included the Chesapeake Bay, which he loved to cruise on his fishing boat.

His impressionistic-style paintings have been displayed at the Museum of the Sons of the American Revolution in Louisville, the College Park Aviation Museum and the Prince George's County Hall of Fame.

He was a docent at the National Museum of American Art and a member of the College Art Association, the Washington Society of Landscape Painters, the Prince George's Arts Council, the Prince George's Art Association, the Artists' Equity Association and the advisory board of the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel.

He also belonged to the Sons of the American Revolution, the Rotary Club of College Park and Sigma Nu social fraternity.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Ruth Warren of Silver Spring; three children, Virginia Haberman of Greenbelt, Nancy Warren of Oakland, Calif., and William Warren Jr. of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; and five grandchildren.

William P. OlsenAir Force Colonel

William P. Olsen, 82, a retired Air Force colonel and intelligence officer who worked for defense contractors and became a licensed Realtor, died Jan. 2 at his home in Vienna of complications of aortic stenosis.

Col. Olsen was in the Air Force from 1951 to 1976. He served for 11 years at the Strategic Air Command in Nebraska and had a tour in Saigon during the Vietnam War. He settled in the Washington area in 1971 when he received his final active-duty assignment, as director of Air Force intelligence systems.

His decorations included the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.

After his military retirement, he was a program manager for defense contractors Bunker-Ramo Corp. and Titan Systems. He earned his real estate license in the late 1980s and worked for Shannon & Luchs and Weichert Realtors in Northern Virginia before retiring in 1996.

William Pross Olsen was born in Bend, Ore., and was raised in Depoe Bay, Ore. He served in the Marine Corps as a radar technician in the Pacific during World War II, and he participated in operations on Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal.

After the war, he was a political science graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where he was president of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

He was a former member of an advisory board on service academy admissions for U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.). He was also a former board president of the Sandpiper Dunes Condominium Association in Ocean City, Md., where he had a home until recently.

His wife of 53 years, Geraldine Bowles Olsen, died in 2005.

Survivors include a daughter, Greer Lautrup of Oakton, and a half-brother.

Martin L. GlassGovernment Lawyer

Martin L. Glass, 74, a former Potomac resident and government lawyer in the 1960s and 1970s, died Dec. 31 at the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Hospice. He had brain cancer.

Mr. Glass worked for the Navy Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the General Accounting Office.

Martin Lester Glass was born in Milwaukee and served in the Army infantry during the Korean War. His decorations included the Purple Heart.

He was a graduate of the University of Southern California, where he also received a master's degree in education. He was a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles law school, and from George Washington University he received a master's degree in law, with a focus on government contracts. He also received a master's degree in taxation from California State University at Northridge.

He left government employment on a medical disability related to his war injuries. He moved to California in the early 1980s and was involved in a variety of activities, including weight training, computer repair, car repair and tax preparation help for senior citizens. He lived in Canoga Park, Calif.

His marriage to Sandra Bach Glass ended in divorce.

A daughter, Alison Narvaez, died in 1996.

Survivors include a son, Tony Glass of Los Angeles; a sister; and two grandchildren.

Jeffery B. ChisholmTeacher

Jeffery Bryan Chisholm, 49, a teacher at Accotink Academy in Springfield, died Dec. 29 of pneumonia at George Washington University Hospital. He was a resident of Lake Barcroft.

In 1998, he joined Accotink Academy, a private therapeutic day school for students with learning and emotional disabilities. During his years at the school, he was a lead teacher, a behavioral counselor and an instructional aide for students ranging in age from 6 to 22.

"He was a fixture at Accotink," said Julia Oaks, the school's admissions director. "He really taught these children how to respect each other."

Mr. Chisholm was born in Rockland, Maine, where he was an all-state basketball player in high school. He received an undergraduate degree in business from St. Michael's College in Vermont in 1979 and also studied theology at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minn. He attended graduate classes in early childhood and special education at St. John's and George Mason University.

He was a resident prefect at Georgetown Prep from 1984 to 1987, a director of international students and resident activities director at St. John's Preparatory School in Minnesota from 1987 to 1989 and a special education teacher aide in Waldoboro, Maine, from 1989 to 1992.

From 1993 to 1998, he was a program assistant with the Arc of Montgomery County.

Mr. Chisholm was active in several organizations, including the Arc of Northern Virginia, Knights of Columbus, the Civil War Round Table and early childhood development programs.

He enjoyed being on the water, whether vacationing with family and friends on the Maine coast, the beaches of Maryland and Delaware, or Lake Barcroft.

Survivors include five brothers, David Chisholm of Rockland, Peter Chisholm of Danvers, Mass., Stephen Chisholm of Washington and Matthew Chisholm and Mark Chisholm, both of New York City.

James W. CroghanUSDA Official

James W. Croghan, 83, who retired in 1987 as assistant to the administrator of the Agriculture Department's Agricultural Soil Conservation Service, died Jan. 2 at Goodwin House Baileys Crossroads, a retirement home in Falls Church. He had Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Mr. Croghan was a dairy and grain farmer in Shelby County, Iowa, before becoming the Des Moines-based state director of the Agricultural Soil Conservation Service in 1961.

He moved to USDA headquarters in 1964 as a specialist in grain policy and became a member of the senior executive service.

James William Croghan was born in Woodbine, Iowa, and served in the Pacific in the Marine Corps during World War II.

In retirement, he spent 15 years as a starter at Pinecrest Golf Course in Fairfax County.

His memberships included St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Falls Church, the American Legion and the Knights of Columbus.

He moved to Goodwin House from Annandale about four years ago.

A daughter, Lisa Croghan, died in 1982.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Kathleen McAllister Croghan of Goodwin House; three children, Anne Giese of Alexandria, Greg Croghan of Annandale and Joe Croghan of McLean; a sister; two brothers; and nine grandchildren.

Maria Agnes Di FrancescoHomemaker, Volunteer

Maria Agnes Di Francesco, 91, a homemaker and volunteer for many years in Southeast Washington, died Dec. 30 of congestive heart failure at Riderwood Retirement Community in Silver Spring.

Mrs. Di Francesco was born in Foggia, Italy, and grew up in Waterbury, Conn. She came to Washington to attend Trinity College and received her bachelor's degree in 1936. She briefly attended graduate school at Catholic University before her marriage.

In the late 1930s, she worked at the Italian Embassy and at Catholic University, and she was a substitute teacher at Eastern High School and Notre Dame High School. During World War II, she taught English and French at Surrattsville High School in Clinton.

After the war, Mrs. Di Francesco and her husband settled in Southeast Washington, where he practiced medicine for 40 years and she volunteered at the D.C. Cancer Society. For the society, she helped map Southeast Washington and Prince George's County into zones for volunteers.

She held a number of volunteer positions at Providence Hospital and was named an honorary lifetime member of the Women's Board of the hospital. In addition, she volunteered with the Literacy Council of Montgomery County and was a member of the Italian Cultural Society of Washington.

Survivors include her husband of 64 years, Dr. Vincent James Di Francesco of Silver Spring; three children, Rosa T. Lee of Fort Pierce, Fla., Patricia Bender of Philadelphia and Maria Christmann of Silver Spring; and five grandchildren.

Merlin L. BrubakerPublic Health Service Doctor

Merlin L. Brubaker, 84, a doctor who spent 20 years with the U.S. Public Health Service before retiring in 1982 on assignment as a National Library of Medicine special medical assistant, died Dec. 21 at Frederick Memorial Hospital after a heart attack.

Dr. Brubaker spent much of the 1970s on loan to the Pan American Health Organization as regional adviser for leprosy and venereal diseases.

Afterward, he was the Puerto Rico-based director of the health service's Caribbean regional office as well as the Washington-based director of refugee health affairs.

He wrote and co-authored several medical papers and was a recipient of the Public Health Service Commendation Medal, among other honors.

Merlin LeRoy Brubaker was a native of Live Oak, Calif., and a 1946 graduate of the California College of Medicine (now the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine).

In 1952, he received a certificate in hygiene and tropical medicine from the University of London and became a medical missionary in Nigeria focusing on tropical medicine.

He received a bachelor's degree in 1956 from the University of La Verne in California and a master's degree in education in 1962 from the University of California at Los Angeles.

In retirement, he was a docent at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, mentored foreign students at the University of Maryland and served on Frederick Community College's multicultural committee. He lived in Thurmont.

His marriage to Paulina Hylton Brubaker ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 28 years, Carolyn Mills Brubaker of Thurmont; four children from his first marriage, Judith Scott of Richmond, Jon Brubaker of Dallas, James Brubaker of Carlsbad, Calif., and Joel Brubaker of Mechanicsville; two children from his second marriage, Marcela Brubaker of Thurmont and Robert Brubaker of Portland, Maine; a sister; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Emma Maria de PazReader's Digest Employee

Emma Maria de Paz, 93, a former administrative assistant with the Latin America edition of Reader's Digest, died Dec. 22 of a pulmonary embolism at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. She was a resident of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg.

Ms. de Paz was born in Havana. After attending the University of Havana law school, she joined Reader's Digest Latin American edition in Havana and moved with the company to New York in 1960. She was an administrative assistant to the comptroller before retiring in 1978.

She moved to Arlington the next year to be near her family and moved to Asbury Methodist Village in 1999.

She was a pianist and took up painting after moving to Arlington. She also enjoyed traveling in Europe, Latin America and the United States.

Survivors include two sisters, Haydee P. Sterling of Bethesda and Oria Capo of Havana.