Thursday, February 15, 2007
James R. GosnellBuilder, Real Estate Agent
James Robert Gosnell, 90, a businessman who worked in commercial real estate in Arlington, died Jan. 17 at his home in Middleburg following a stroke.
Mr. Gosnell, known to family and friends as Jimmy, was born in Washington and grew up in Arlington. After graduating from Washington-Lee High School in 1934, he began a business as a contractor in housing construction and built single- and multiple-family dwellings in Arlington.
He joined the Army during World War II and served as a staff sergeant in the 115th Infantry, 29th Division (Blue & Gray), traveling mostly on foot from Brest, France, in September 1944 to the meeting of U.S. and Russian troops in Germany at the Elbe River in May 1945. He returned from occupied Germany in January 1946.
After the war, Mr. Gosnell worked again in construction. In the late 1950s, he joined with his father and brother to form Fred A. Gosnell & Sons Realtors and worked in commercial real estate at their office on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. Mr. Gosnell retired in the late 1980s.
His wife of 42 years, Pauline Wyant Gosnell, died in 1980. A daughter from that marriage, Lynda Lee Stevens, died in 1996.
Mr. Gosnell was a member of Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Arlington from 1940 to 1990. He was past president of Washington Golf & Country Club. He served on the board of directors for Arlington Trust Co. and later First American Bank of Virginia, and on the board of the Salvation Army of Arlington.
He was active on several committees and solicited contributions for the improvement of Arlington Hospital.
A longtime Arlington resident, he moved to Middleburg in 1987.
Survivors include his wife, Anne Fling Gosnell, whom he married in 1985, of Middleburg; a daughter from his first marriage, Carol Ann Sheppard of Grasonville, Md.; four stepchildren from his second marriage, Pat LaGrange of Frederick, Debby Fling of Ocean City, Jim Fling of Corpus Christi, Tex., and Michael Fling of Hagerstown, Md.; four grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Sue Li LeeLibrarianSue Li Lee, 68, who retired from the State Department as a librarian in 2005, died of cancer Feb. 12 at her home in Fairfax.
She was born in Gansu Lanzhou, China, and had lived in the Washington area for 46 years. She graduated from Catholic University with a bachelor's in English and received a master's degree in library science from there in 1964. Mrs. Lee worked at the State Department for more than 25 years.
She was active in the Chinese Community Church in the District.
Her first husband, Edward C. Li, died in 2001.
Survivors include her husband, Chi Chang Lee of Fairfax; two children from her first marriage, Katrina L. Li of San Francisco and Philip W. Li of Vienna; her mother, Lao Lao of Taipei, Taiwan; three brothers, AO Wang of Columbia, Charles Wang of New York and Zu Wang of Taipei; and two sisters, Kathy Hou of Los Angeles and Amy Wang of Taipei.
Tai-Ming Jackson KwokPostal SupervisorTai-Ming Jackson Kwok, 51, a U.S. Postal Service supervisor, died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease Feb. 3 at his home in Centreville.
Mr. Kwok worked for the past 19 years at the Postal Service, first in Merrifield and most recently at Dulles International Airport.
He was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Ghana and Britain, where he attended Davis College. He moved to the Washington area in 1984.
Known for his easygoing nature, quirkiness and sense of humor, Mr. Kwok enjoyed martial arts, traveling, the Discovery Channel and horror movies.
Survivors include his wife, Li-Ming Chen of Centreville; two children, Sally Kwok and Sean Kwok, both of Centreville; his father, Sik-Chung Kwok of New York; a sister; and two brothers.
George R. WesleyD.C. Police Lieutenant
George R. Wesley, 79, who spent 25 years with the DC. police, died Feb. 8 at his daughter's home in Lanham. He was a resident of Temple Hills.
On the D.C. police force, Mr. Wesley worked with District high schools before retiring as a lieutenant in 1987. He received numerous awards and in 1963 was named, along with his partner, Melvin Hardy, Policemen of the Month for capturing two murder suspects.
After retiring, Mr. Wesley joined the U.S. Marshals Service as a court security officer in the D.C. Court of Appeals. He retired again in 2002.
Mr. Wesley was born in Rock Hall, Md., and attended Delaware State University in Dover, where he played football. He graduated from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne with a bachelor's degree in industrial education. After college, he served in the Army in Korea.
Mr. Wesley was active in several professional and civic organizations, including the Alpha Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the Fraternal Order of Police. He volunteered with the Metropolitan Boys and Girls Club in Washington.
His recreational pursuits included being in the company of his grandchildren, genealogy research, music and reading.
His marriage to Marlene Wesley ended in divorce.
Survivors include three children, Deborah Wesley and Michael Wesley, both of Lanham, and Yvette Schuler of Lorton; a sister; and four grandchildren.
Francis Ridley BeckmannArmy Colonel, Fairfax DeputyFrancis Ridley Beckmann, 80, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army and Fairfax County deputy sheriff, died of cancer Feb. 2 at Loudoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Leesburg. He lived in Linden.
Col. Beckmann, a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and a West Point graduate, served in the Army from 1944 to 1970, with posts in the Philippines, Korea, Alaska, Texas, Italy, Alabama, Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and Fort Meade.
He was a military policeman, public information officer, military historian and intelligence officer. He published military histories of Alaska, Italy and Vietnam. In 1960, he received a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Among his military honors were two awards of the Bronze Star Medal.
After leaving the Army in 1970, Col. Beckmann worked for the next 12 years on the sheriff's force in Fairfax County, retiring in 1982.
He enjoyed history, collected stamps and coins, and was an outdoorsman. He was also a member of the Lions Club.
His marriage to Elizabeth Bodmer Beckmann ended in divorce.
His wife of 44 years, Suzanna Wilson Beckmann, died in 2000.
Survivors include two children from his first marriage, Lynn H. Lutjen of Blue Springs, Mo., and Timothy Hoare of Overland, Kan.; three children from his second marriage, Eleanor B. Coppola of McLean, Natalie M. Beckmann of Seattle and Catherine B. Serbanica of Chatham, N.J.; and three grandchildren.
Dorothy I. RogersPostal Service SecretaryDorothy Ives Rogers, 99, who spent about a decade working at the U.S. Postal Service, including a stint as secretary to the U.S. postmaster general, before retiring in 1977, died Jan. 14 at Prospect Park Nursing Home in Brooklyn, N.Y. She had dementia.
Mrs. Rogers was born in Springfield, Conn., and married an Army Air Corps officer, Elmer J. Rogers Jr., in 1927. She accompanied him on his assignments until their divorce in 1951. He retired as an Air Force lieutenant general.
During World War II, Mrs. Rogers was a secretary in Washington for Rep. Stephen M. Young (D-Ohio). She left Washington in 2004.
Survivors include two daughters, Gloria Davies of Bryans Road and Judith Hauser of Teaneck, N.J.; 13 grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren.
Michael T. ButkiewiczCIA OfficerMichael Thomas Butkiewicz, 87, who worked for the CIA's directorate of operations from the early 1950s to the early 1970s, died Feb. 8 at the Washington Home hospice. He had cancer.
Mr. Butkiewicz, a Chevy Chase resident, was a Milwaukee native. He served in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II.
He was an economics graduate of the University of Miami, where he also did graduate work in economics.
Besides his CIA career, he was also an English tutor and a painter who exhibited at area galleries.
His marriage to Mary Louise Alexander Butkiewicz ended in divorce.
Survivors include a son, William Butkiewicz of Bethesda; a sister; and a grandson.