Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Vincent J. BosakRecords Manager

Vincent J. Bosak, 87, a records manager for the CIA and the National Archives and Records Administration, died of pulmonary fibrosis March 30 at Laurel Regional Hospital. He lived in Silver Spring.

Mr. Bosak came to Washington in 1950 to join the Foreign Broadcast Information Service of the CIA as an editor and information analyst. He became involved in records and information management in the mid-1950s as the importance of managing and protecting vital government records was being recognized. As the records manager for the Office of Security, he established early computerized systems for managing CIA security records.

From 1967 to 1972, he served as the CIA's records administration officer, directing the agency's records management program. He also established a training program for managing office records.

In 1973, he moved to the National Archives and Records Administration, where he directed several information management functions and provided oversight on records programs throughout the federal government.

From 1970 to 1980, he also taught a records management course at American University. He retired in 1980.

Mr. Bosak was born in Olyphant, Pa., and served in the Army Air Forces during World War II and participated in the D-Day Invasion, the Battle of the Bulge and other campaigns. He graduated from the University of Scranton and received a master's degree in public administration from American University about 1960.

He became a certified records manager in 1975 and served on the Institute of Certified Records Managers' board of regents and its examination development committee.

He also was editor in chief of the Records Management Journal and national executive secretary of the Association of Records Executives and Administrators. He was assistant editor of the Association of Record Managers and Administrators' Records Management Quarterly and was instrumental in the merger of the two associations.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 55 years, Judith Martin Bosak of Silver Spring; two children, Ann Bosak Thompson of Potomac and James Martin Bosak of Raleigh, N.C.; and three grandchildren.

Janet Esther KraftAccountant

Janet Esther Kraft, 87, a former accountant with the United Mine Workers of America, died April 25 of complications of Alzheimer's disease at the Holy Cross Nursing and Rehabilitation Center hospice in Burtonsville.

Mrs. Kraft, a Burtonsville resident, was born in Altoona, Pa. She was a resident of the Washington area for 68 years. She was an accountant with the UMW's health and retirement funds department from 1954 to 1984. She also kept the books for National Teen Age Republicans, an auxiliary organization of the Republican Party.

She enjoyed gardening and ceramics.

Her marriage to Daniel Richard Kraft ended in divorce.

Survivors include two daughters, Patricia Benkert of San Jose and Kathy Michels of Severna Park; two sisters; a brother; three grandsons; and two great-grandchildren.

Bart FerrisAdvertising Salesman

Bart Ferris, 78, an advertising salesman for the Army Times Publishing Co.'s Journal newspapers in suburban Washington from 1972 to 1990, died April 9 at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mr. Ferris, a Fairfax County resident, worked part time for the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce selling memberships through the 1990s.

He was born Herbert Feldstein in New York and changed his name when he became a radio announcer in the late 1950s.

He worked in radio in New York, Springfield, Ohio and Washington before joining the Washington Daily News as an advertising salesman in the early 1960s. He was an Army veteran of the Korean War.

Mr. Ferris was a member of Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church and a former president of Springfield Community Theatre, where he had acted.

His avocations included golf.

His wife of 49 years, Zelda Salzman Ferris, died in 2004.

Survivors include two children, David Ferris of Burke and Laurie Ferris-Lindsay of Fairfax; a brother; two sisters; and four grandchildren.

Anne 'Annie-Lou' von SothenArtist

Anne "Annie-Lou" von Sothen, 75, a Washington-based painter and sculptor whose work appeared at the Corcoran Gallery, the Touchstone Gallery and the Washington Women's Art Center, among other venues, died April 17 at Georgetown University Hospital. She had pneumonia.

Mrs. von Sothen tended to apply cubist or abstract techniques to mundane scenes of life, such as a dentist's office or electric line repairmen at work. In her art, body parts might appear in unexpected places. She used bold color strokes as well.

Anne Louise Christler was a Pittsburgh native and a graduate of Vassar College. She studied art in Paris and Florence before receiving a master's degree in fine arts at George Washington University in the mid-1960s.

Her memberships included Georgetown Presbyterian Church and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Survivors include her husband of 40 years, David von Sothen of Washington; a son, John von Sothen of Paris; a brother, Charles M. Christler Jr. of Rockville; and two grandchildren.

Jerry SantosGuitarist

Gerald Lawrence "Jerry" Santos, 54, a longtime guitarist in local rock and pop bands, died April 26 of cardiac arrest at his home in Falls Church.

Mr. Santos, who began playing guitar at 13, was a self-taught musician and began working professionally while in high school. He was a member of many bands through the years, including Grendel, Fantasy, Dance Patrol and the Jerry Santos Band. Most recently, he was with the group Native Sons. He frequently performed in clubs and bars throughout the Washington region.

Mr. Santos was born on a U.S. Air Force base in Germany, where his father was stationed. He lived in Alaska as a boy before his family settled in Arlington. He was a 1971 graduate of Washington-Lee High School.

Mr. Santos owned 10 guitars and was practicing most recently on a 12-string Rickenbacker he received for Christmas.

He was a movie aficionado and, over the years, had rescued and cared for six abandoned rabbits in his neighborhood.

Survivors include his wife of seven years, Terry Santos of Falls Church; his parents, Gerald L. Santos Sr. of Westport, Mass., and Louise Phillips of Falls Church; a sister, Debra Wright of Falls Church; and two brothers, Jeffrey Santos and Steven Santos, both of Woodbridge.