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Md. Couple Perish In Early Morning Fire
Firefighters think Craig Reynolds might have been trying to rescue his wife, who used a wheelchair, from their Kensington home.
(By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)
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Two firefighters and the midshipman were treated for minor injuries. The fire closed Connecticut Avenue in both directions for several predawn hours.
Patricia Reynolds was born in the Illinois town of Martinsville, the daughter of an inventor employed by the Shell Oil Co. He put his eight children through college. It was at the University of Illinois that she met her future husband.
Craig Reynolds graduated at the top of his high school class in Alton, Ill., and had reached his senior year at the university when he met Patricia.
The war put their plans on hold. He served in the Pacific as head of finance for the Tenth Army.
"Around payday," he would later tell his sons, "I was the most respected man around."
The couple married in June 1947 and settled outside Washington. Craig Reynolds went to work for the U.S. Census but moved to the Commerce Department after two years, telling his family, "It'll drive me crazy if I have to count another number," according to Dave Reynolds, their only surviving child. Their firstborn, Craig Bryant, died eight years ago.
The elder Reynolds served in the Commerce Department for 32 years. Retirement suited the pair. Pat, deeply religious, woke at dawn to read the Bible and make coffee and biscuits. She filled the home with antiques, not from Kensington's famed antique row but from Goodwill stores and yard sales. She had an eye for such things.
"Basically, they spent their days drinking coffee, talking to each other and being in love," their son said.
Recent health problems made them more reliant on neighbors. The McCrorys did the couple's grocery shopping, took out their trash and brought in their Washington Times. The Schiponis brought home-cooked meals.
The last time Jack McCrory saw them, on a clear and breezy Sunday, they were sitting on the back porch, enjoying their garden.
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