Friday, February 16, 2007
Alden B. 'Andy' AndersonNavy Officer, Lay Minister
Alden B. "Andy" Anderson, 75, a retired Navy submariner and defense-industry executive and a Lutheran lay minister, died Feb. 2 of cardiac arrest at his home in Springfield.
Mr. Anderson was born in Cranston, R.I., the son of Scandinavian immigrants. He graduated from Brown University in 1952, and then, true to his Viking heritage and his own family's involvement with things nautical, he was commissioned in the Navy. His 29-year career included submarine duty, amphibious warfare and strategic and materiel planning, with service as commanding officer of the USS Cobbler and the USS Trenton, chief staff officer of Submarine Squadron 16 in Rota, Spain, and commodore of Amphibious Squadron 2.
He was awarded the Legion of Merit with Gold Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with Gold Star and other decorations.
After retiring in 1982 with the rank of captain, he became a vice president of Science Applications International Corp. In a 20-year career, he managed projects worldwide, primarily command and control center operations, and was a mentor to countless colleagues.
Following his second retirement in 2001, he began a course of study at Concordia College in Bronxville, N.Y., that allowed him to become a ministerial associate. One of the founding members of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield, he chose service to the sick and homebound as his primary ministry.
Mr. Anderson also was devoted to the Boston Red Sox, a devotion tempered only by a twinge of regret that he was never able to persuade his wife to abandon the New York Yankees.
Survivors include his wife of 50 years, June McLean Anderson of Springfield; two children, Sheryl Anderson Parrott of Los Angeles and Eric Anderson of Arlington; a sister; and two grandchildren.
George Hanscom WilsonBrigadier GeneralGeorge Hanscom "Hank" Wilson, 88, a brigadier general in the Air Force Reserve, died of ischemic heart disease Feb. 11 at The Virginian retirement community in Fairfax.
Gen. Wilson served in the Army Air Forces during World War II, then owned an insurance company in Macon, Ga. He served in the Air Force Reserve from 1958 to 1973, and his unit was mobilized twice. When he retired, he was the longest-serving wing commander in the Air Force.
He was born in Booneville, Miss., and attended Davidson College until enlisting in the Army Air Forces. He was a pilot instructor at Maxwell Field in Alabama and also flew B-29s at Tinian in the Pacific theater. He was discharged with the rank of lieutenant colonel, after working as deputy inspector for operations in Guam.
After operating his insurance company for 12 years, he returned to the Reserve. When he retired in 1973, he was working full time as base commander of Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia and wing commander of the 403rd Tactical Airlift Wing. Among his military awards were the Legion of Merit and a Meritorious Service medal.
Gen. Wilson and his wife traveled around the United States in a motor home for several months, then shipped it to Europe and drove it there for two years. Upon their return, they lived for eight years in Marietta, Ga. In 1983, they moved to The Virginian.
Gen. Wilson was a past president of the residents' association there and was a member of Providence Presbyterian Church in Fairfax. He also enjoyed photography and staged slide shows for civic and garden clubs in Northern Virginia.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Alma Tucker Wilson of Fairfax; a daughter, Sherry Wilson Brown of Alexandria; a sister; and a brother.
Frances A. DavilaSilver Spring TeacherFrances A. Davila, 100, an art and art history teacher at Northwood High School in Silver Spring from 1956 to 1976 and a longtime civic figure in Great Falls, died Feb. 13 at Powhatan Nursing Home in Falls Church. She had complications from a broken hip.
Mrs. Davila was a widowed high school art teacher in New Jersey and a writer when in 1950 she married Carlos Davila, a former Chilean ambassador to the United States and provisional president of Chile.
They settled in the Washington area in 1954 when he became secretary general of the Organization of American States. She was his personal assistant until his death in 1955.
Mrs. Davila became a teacher again, and her students at Northwood included future photographer Annie Leibovitz.
A Great Falls resident, she was a founder and former president of the Great Falls Music Association and a member of the community's Republican women's club and historical society.
Frances Adams was a native of Melrose, Mass., and a 1927 fine arts graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she focused on architecture. In the late 1940s, she received a master's degree in fine art from New York University.
During World War II, she worked at a Brooklyn dry dock helping develop camouflage techniques.
Her first husband, James S. Moore, whom she married in 1931, died in 1948. A daughter from her first marriage, Adeline "Dolly" Carpenter, died in 1984.
Survivors include a grandson and two great-grandsons.
Lillian G. JonesApartment ManagerLillian Gene Jones, 65, an apartment building manager, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Feb. 10 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She lived in Falls Church.
Ms. Jones, a native Washingtonian, graduated from Suitland High School and worked as a resident manager at a number of apartment buildings in the area, most recently at Coraline Gardens in Falls Church, until she retired in 2006.
Her marriage to Bobby Lee Robinett ended in divorce.
Survivors include three children, Robert Lee Robinett of Berryville, Va., Dawn Marie Simpson of Somerset, Pa., and Patrice Renee Kempf of Falls Church; three brothers, Arthur Jones of King George, Va., Robert Jones of Huntingtownand Gerald Jones of Deltona, Fla.; a sister, Teresa Riker of Waldorf; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
James Richard HammAir Traffic ControllerJames Richard Hamm, 76, an air traffic controller, died from complications of pulmonary fibrosis Feb. 6 at his home in Sterling.
Mr. Hamm worked for the Federal Aviation Administration from 1952 to 1980, then returned to work in 1987 until retiring a second time in 1994.
He was born in Los Angeles and grew up in McMechen, W. Va. He served four years in the Navy and settled in the Washington area in the mid-1950s while working for the FAA.
He was a member of the Leesburg United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Martha Hamm of Sterling; two children, Michael Hamm of Valrico, Fla., and Stacy Dye of Arlington; two sisters, Polly DeNoon of Moundsville, W. Va., and Linda Pack of Warrenton; and three grandchildren.
Gerhardt I. HepnerElectrician, Carwash OwnerGerhardt I. Hepner, 80, a master electrician and former owner of Duke's Car Wash in Alexandria, died of renal failure Jan. 15 at his home in Rockville.
Mr. Hepner was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and moved to Washington as a youth. He worked a variety of jobs starting at age 10, from carrying groceries to selling streetcar passes. He graduated from the old Central High School at 16 and found work at the Census Bureau.
Drafted into the Army during World War II, he served in the United States. Because he spoke German fluently, he was assigned to several prisoner of war camps. After his discharge, he took courses at George Washington University while also working for National Shirt Shops and Woodrow's Menswear on H Street NE.
Mr. Hepner graduated from Ben Franklin University in 1963 and worked as an office manager for Pinkson Electric Co. in Rockville for many years. After his shift ended, he would go out to job sites to do electrical work until he earned his master electrician's license.
He owned and operated Duke's Car Wash in Alexandria for a number of years until 1998, when the city condemned the land to build a library on the site.
Mr. Hepner was a longtime Washington Redskins fan, starting when he sold programs at the old Griffith Stadium. He enjoyed playing cards with the Progress Club, a nonprofit charitable group in Rockville, and traveling to Atlantic City for gambling.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Rita Hepner of Rockville; three children, Jay Hepner of Gaithersburg, Shoshana Brounstein of Rockville and Allen Hepner of Boyds; two sisters, Edith Nussbaum of Rockville and Marian Colbert of Orlando; and two grandchildren.
John W. MorrisonCIA Training OfficerJohn W. Morrison, 88, a training officer for the Central Intelligence Agency from the early 1950s to the early 1970s, died Feb. 7 at Greenspring Village retirement community in Springfield. He had complications from a broken hip.
Mr. Morrison, a former McLean resident, became director of the CIA's intelligence school. The school offered orientation classes for new employees, mid-career courses for select employees and training on analysis, among other functions.
John Watson Morrison was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up in Teaneck, N.J. He was a 1940 graduate of Williams College and received a master's degree in English from Columbia University in the late 1940s.
He joined the Navy before the United States entered World War II and was on the battleship Nevada during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Later, he commanded a PT boat squadron in the South Pacific.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth Brown "Betsy" Morrison of Greenspring Village; two children, John W. "Jock" Morrison Jr. of Taos, N.M., and Janet Morrison of Fairfax County; and a grandson.
Mark OusleyAuto Parts ManagerMark Ousley, 52, who had a lifelong love of all things automotive and was wholesale parts manager for Sterling Chevrolet, died Feb. 8 of leukemia at Georgetown University Hospital. He lived in Sterling.
Mr. Ousley was born at Fort Belvoir and grew up in Arlington. He graduated from Yorktown High School and went to work in the automotive industry, first working in auto parts at area Chevy dealers while also repairing cars. He worked with Sterling Chevrolet for about 13 years until the time of his death.
He had a particular affinity for NASCAR, Chevys and Harleys. He also was a Washington Redskins fan and liked watching games with his friends on weekends.
Most of all, said his mother, he loved being a father, mentor and friend to his 17-year-old daughter, Samantha.
His marriage to Kelly Austin ended in divorce.
Besides his daughter, of Sterling, survivors include his mother and stepfather, Sandy and Burl Siemers of Falls Church; his father and stepmother, Harold and Nora Ousley of Naples, Fla.; five sisters, Joy Wright of Falls Church, Jan Finks of Dallas, Ga., Alice Laing of Fairfax City, JanMathov of Brambleton and Patty Runge of Remington; two brothers, Joe Ganley of Vienna and Gary Lavinus of Ashburn.
Thomas Phillips ArmourCIA and Dept. of Defense OfficialThomas Phillips Armour, 58, a career intelligence officer at the Central Intelligence Agency who later served as a program manager with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, died Feb. 11 at his home in Reston. He had brain cancer.
Mr. Armour was born in Cleveland and spent his childhood in several locations throughout the country before graduating from McLean High School in 1966. From Cornell University, he received two electrical engineering degrees: a bachelor's degree with distinction in 1970 and a master's degree in 1971. He also received a master of business administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1975.
He was a navigator for the Air Force, where he flew combat missions in AC-119K gunships in Vietnam and worldwide airlift missions.
Mr. Armour joined the CIA in 1975 and held a number of analytic, staff officer and managerial positions involving foreign strategic systems, computing and methodological support, intelligence collection, arms control and strategic vision. His last assignment was senior technology officer for the Directorate of Intelligence, with responsibility for helping the Directorate think strategically about the impact of technology on its business.
His recommendations resulted in new initiatives at the agency, including a significant effort to reinvent the intelligence production process. In recognition for his work, Mr. Armour achieved the Senior Intelligence Service rank.
Mr. Armour also served two invited tours at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as program manager, initially with a research and development program known as Genoa, aimed at revolutionizing the formulation of U.S. national security policy.
After retiring in early 2001, he became chief technology officer and chief information officer for Creative Technology Inc. After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, he was asked to return to DARPA to build on his previous work in the initiation of a new counterterrorism program.
At the time of his death, Mr. Armour was a principal with Jasmah Consulting, where he continued to assist intelligence community and Department of Defense organizations in improving mission effectiveness.
Mr. Armour was an avid private pilot and the proud owner of a Cessna 172 aircraft.
Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Janet Cook Armour of Reston; a son, Douglas Cook Armour of Los Angeles; his parents, Thomas and Jeanne Armour of Williamsburg; and a sister, Jayne Storey of New Plymouth, Idaho.
Mary Kathryn NennoAffordable Housing AdvocateMary Kathryn Nenno, 83, a retired associate director with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, died Feb. 10 of atherosclerotic coronary vascular disease at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pa. A former District resident, she had lived in Bryn Mawr since 2002.
Miss Nenno was born in Olean, N.Y., and was a 1945 graduate of Elmira College in New York. She studied at the Institute of Local and State Government at the University of Pennsylvania in 1945-46 and received a master's degree in government from the University of Buffalo in 1948.
She was director of research and publications for the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority from 1950 to 1960, when she moved to Washington to join the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, an advocacy group for affordable housing. She was the organization's associate director for policy development until 1991. In 1992, she became a visiting fellow at the Urban Institute. She retired in 1996.
Miss Nenno was the author of numerous publications about housing, urban planning and urban development, including the book "Ending the Stalemate: Moving Housing and Urban Development into the Mainstream of America's Future" (1996).
In Washington, she was a member of St. Stephen Martyr Roman Catholic Church, where she was a liturgical minister and chaired the Finance Council. She served on the board of St. Mary's Court, a housing development for low-income senior citizens operated by the Episcopal Church in Washington. She also was a member of the John Carroll Society, an organization of Roman Catholic professionals, and the Woman's National Democratic Club.
Survivors include a brother.
George EbnerArchitect, Contractor
George Ebner, 85, an architect and contractor who founded a family construction business, died of congestive heart failure Feb. 8 at his home in Wheaton.
With his brothers, Mr. Ebner owned and operated Ebner Brothers Builders Inc. for 35 years, building homes, small commercial projects and warehouses. He retired about 20 years ago and moved to Palm Coast, Fla.
Born in Hungary, he grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Budapest. He graduated in architecture from the Technical University of Budapest and served in the Hungarian Army during World War II. After the war, he worked on the reconstruction of Germany until 1949, when he immigrated to the United States.
After learning English and working as a draftsman in several Washington architectural firms, he became a registered architect.
In 1955, Mr. Ebner and his brothers opened their firm, first building homes and later expanding into such projects as the Fairland Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the Fernwood House Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, the Kindness Animal Hospital in Wheaton, the North Rockville Veterinary Hospital and several commercial warehouses in Rockville.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Mary Ebner of Wheaton and Palm Coast; six children, Marie Hartman of Pasadena, Cathy Ebner Rainard and G. Thomas Ebner, both of Wheaton, Sue Birch of Steamboat Springs, Colo., Lizanne Weigand of Barnesville and Tim Ebner of Broomfield, Colo.; and 20 grandchildren.
Phyllis LuccarelliHomemaker, Church MemberPhyllis Luccarelli, 77, a homemaker and member of St. Louis Catholic Church in Alexandria, died Feb. 8 of complications from heart surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. She was an Alexandria resident.
Mrs. Luccarelli was born in Sayre, Pa., and was a homemaker in Trenton, N.J., before moving to Alexandria in 1962. From the 1970s through the 1990s, she provided child care in her home for a number of families. She stayed in close contact with those families over the years and also enjoyed spending time with her own children and grandchildren.A son, Vincent Luccarelli Jr., died in 2005.
Survivors include her husband of 57 years, Vincent Luccarelli of Alexandria; three children, Philip Luccarelli of Fairfax, Donna Womack of Youngsville, N.C., and Paula Panayiotou of Limassol, Cyprus; a sister; two brothers; and four grandchildren.