Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Robert Joseph PattersonCartographer
Robert Joseph Patterson, 87, a cartographer with the old Army Map Service, died March 3 of pancreatic cancer at Brook Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Sandy Spring. He was a longtime resident of Takoma Park.
Mr. Patterson was born in Lawrence, Mass., and worked in textile mills while attending what is now the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
During World War II, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers and met Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower while assisting in the mapping preparations for the D-Day invasion in 1944. He later served in France and Germany.
Mr. Patterson moved to Washington in 1945 to work as a cartographer with the Army Map Service, now the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He retired in 1983. In retirement, he participated in the Association of Mapping Seniors.
He lived in Takoma Park from 1946 to 2003 and helped lead a successful effort in the 1970s to defeat plans for a highway project that would have damaged Sligo Creek Park and adjacent neighborhoods.
Mr. Patterson enjoyed reading. He was also a devoted fan of the Washington Redskins and, for many years, visited the team's preseason training site in Carlisle, Pa.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Marianne Patterson of Leisure World in Silver Spring; four children, Paula A. Mack of Tucson, James A. Patterson of Silver Spring, Eleanor T. O'Donnell of Rockville and Andrea C. Edwards of Benicia, Calif.; nine granddaughters; and five great-grandchildren.
Rick HamiltonReal Estate DeveloperClaude Ricardo "Rick" Hamilton, 70, a real estate developer and community leader in Southern Maryland, died March 7 at Charlotte Hall Veterans Home. He had Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Hamilton, a longtime resident of Waldorf, began his real estate career in 1964 and founded Delta Realty Inc., in 1967. He worked as a real estate broker and developer of dozens of commercial and residential projects, primarily in Southern Maryland.
He was a licensed real estate appraiser and was sometimes called on to testify as a real estate expert in courtroom proceedings. He served on many local and state commissions and helped design the comprehensive zoning plan for Charles County, adopted in 1974. He was a member of the committee that developed a zoning plan for Waldorf and also served 10 years on the Charles liquor license board. He retired in 2005.
Mr. Hamilton was born in Washington and was a graduate of La Plata High School. He served in the Air Force in the 1950s and was a 1963 graduate of the University of Maryland. He attended American University's law school.
He was active in community service throughout his life and was president of the Waldorf Lions Club and the Charles Chamber of Commerce. In the 1990s, he was responsible for securing and purchasing a 320-acre site for Lions Camp Merrick, a camp for disabled children in Nanjemoy.
Mr. Hamilton was a member of many real estate trade groups and was a past president of the Southern Maryland Association of Realtors. For 27 years, he was a member of the board of governors of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity of the University of Maryland and served as board chairman.
He enjoyed boating.
Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Joy Hamilton of La Plata; two children, Trisha Baggott of La Plata and David Hamilton of Charlottesville; a brother, Ralph P. Hamilton of Fayetteville, N.C.; a sister, Ann Carpenter of White Plains; and two grandchildren.
Darren G. SiegallGaithersburg DentistDarren Glen Siegall, 53, who started Lakeforest Dental Associates in 1985 and retired from the Gaithersburg dental practice in 2004 because of ill health, died March 6 at his home in Darnestown. He had complications from diabetes.
Dr. Siegall was born in New York and raised in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He was a 1975 graduate of the University of Maryland and a 1980 graduate of the university's dental school.
He worked for other dentists before starting a business.
His avocations included gardening, volunteer coaching youth sports and investing in the stock market.
Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Gloria Jessop Siegall of Darnestown; four children, Andrea Siegall of Charlotte, N.C., and Elizabeth Siegall, Byron Siegall and Hillary Siegall, all of Darnestown; his mother, Dolores Siegall of Potomac; two brothers, Clay Siegall of Woodway, Wash., and Lance Siegall of Silver Spring; and two sisters, Doreen Quinn of Potomac and Annie Adams of Monmouth, N.J.
Joyce IoanesAttorney, Mental Health AdvocateJoyce Ioanes, 62, an attorney and mental health advocate for the state of Rhode Island, died Feb. 20 of acute myeloid leukemia at Miriam Hospital in Providence, R.I. She was a resident of Jamestown, R.I.
Ms. Ioanes was born in the District and grew up in Falls Church. She was a member of the first graduating class of Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in 1961 and played basketball and was a cheerleader. She received a bachelor's degree in 1965 from Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross and moved to Paris shortly afterward. She returned to Washington and taught French at Woodrow Wilson High School for a semester and also worked for the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
She moved to Rhode Island in 1968 and began a career as a social worker. After receiving a master's degree in psychiatric social work from Simmons College in 1971, she decided that many attorneys working on behalf of the mentally ill didn't understand their legal needs, so she enrolled in law school. She commuted to Boston by train to attend classes at night, receiving a law degree from Suffolk University in 1983.
She worked in Rhode Island's Office of the Mental Health Advocate for 35 years and was the assistant mental health advocate at the time of her death. A civil libertarian, she worked tirelessly for the rights of the mentally ill.
A Boston Red Sox fan, she took her portable radio to the beach so she wouldn't miss a game. She also enjoyed gardening, reading and music. She always shared her home with at least one cat.
Her marriage to Joseph Walsh ended in divorce.
Survivors include her partner of 22 years, Deb Ruggiero of Jamestown; her mother, Irma "Betty" Ioanes of Falls Church; and her sister, Barbara Ioanes of the District.
George E. WillisComputer SpecialistGeorge E. Willis, 76, a computer specialist with the old Defense Communications Agency, died March 8 of cardiac arrest at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was a 40-year resident of Springfield.
Mr. Willis was born in Dallas and served in the Marine Corps during World War II by claiming to be older than he was. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He was a graduate of Upper Iowa University.
He worked in banking and insurance in Dallas and Ohio before joining the Defense Communications Agency, now the Defense Information Systems Agency, in 1967. He was a computer specialist and program analysis officer until his retirement in 1991.
Mr. Willis was a docent at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and coached youth basketball and soccer in Springfield. He was a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Springfield.
He kept a powerboat at his second home in Rehoboth Beach, Del. He was a member of the Coast Guard auxiliary for 20 years and taught safe-boating classes.
Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Mary B. Willis of Springfield; three children, Charles S. Willis of Purcellville, Lea Ann Stevens of Farmville, N.C., and Steven D. Willis of South Riding; one brother; and seven grandchildren.
Jessie C. SwendimanChurch MemberJessie C. Swendiman, 90, a longtime church member in Kensington who served in the Navy Waves during World War II, died March 9 of congestive heart failure at Shanti Home hospice in Laurel. She lived in Kensington.
Mrs. Swendiman was born in Morristown, N.J., and graduated from Hunter College in New York. She taught high school English and Latin in New York before joining the Waves, the women's branch of the Navy, in World War II. She was a first lieutenant and served as assistant to the executive officer of the Potomac River Naval Command.
She remained in the Washington area after her marriage in 1945 and became an elder and deacon at Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church in Kensington.
Mrs. Swendiman was a Girl Scout leader and a Montgomery County election judge. She was a member of the PEO Sisterhood, a women's service organization; the Order of the Eastern Star; the Chi Omega sorority; and Homemakers of Montgomery County.
She enjoyed international travel.
Her husband of 30 years, Robert C. Swendiman, died in 1975.
Survivors include three children, Alan R. Swendiman of Kensington, JoAn S. McPhillips of St. Augustine, Fla., and Christine S. Stout of Reston; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.