Obituaries

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Sister Miriam AndreTeacher, School Administrator

Sister Miriam Andre, CSC, 90, a retired Catholic school teacher and administrator, died April 23 of congestive heart failure at St. Mary's Convent in Notre Dame, Ind.

Sister Miriam Andre was born Elizabeth Margaret Williams in Alexandria and graduated from St. Mary's Academy in Alexandria in the early 1930s. She took business courses at night at Dunbarton College of Holy Cross in the District and for 15 years worked in the business office of the International Association of Machinists. During World War II, she was a Red Cross nurse's aide -- capped by first lady Edith Galt Wilson -- and served in local military hospitals.

In 1950, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in South Bend, Ind., and received an undergraduate degree in business in 1956 from St. Mary's College in Notre Dame. She also took classes in business at Catholic University.

She taught business for many years at Mackin High School in the District, Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington and St. Patrick's Academy in the District and from 1962 to 1968 was principal of St. Patrick's. She also served for 12 years as an administrator of her religious community, including 10 years as eastern regional superior.

In 1981, Sister Miriam Andre returned to the Academy of the Holy Cross, where she worked as a guidance counselor and director of admissions. She also worked on the school's archives before retiring to St. Mary's in 2005.

There are no immediate survivors.

Charles Martin BeazleyPostal Carrier

Charles Martin Beazley, 84, a retired Army master sergeant and a former Arlington postal carrier, died of complications of cancer May 7 at his Arlington home.

Mr. Beazley, a native of Petersburg, Va., enlisted in the Navy during World War II and served in the South Pacific. After the war, he worked on railroads in southern Virginia. He joined the Army during the Korean War and also served in Vietnam. Mr. Beazley specialized in marine engineering. Among his awards was a Bronze Star. He retired as a master sergeant in 1966.

He began delivering mail in Arlington after leaving the Army, and retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 1982.

Mr. Beazley worked as handyman for many years in the Arlington area. A self-educated man, he was an avid reader who could discuss politics, history, baseball and football.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Ann Louise Beazley of Arlington; a daughter, Cheryl Beazley Erdman of Glenwood, Md.; and two grandchildren.

Evelyn Beatrice BrownellOffice Manager

Evelyn Beatrice "Bea" Brownell, 85, a former administrative assistant and office manager at the Pentagon and with other organizations, died May 2 of kidney cancer at her daughter's home in Augusta, W.Va.

Mrs. Brownell, a native of Greensboro, N.C., came to Washington in the 1940s and held secretarial positions with several federal agencies. In the 1950s, she became an assistant to a commander at Otis Air Force Base in Massachusetts. In that position, she helped make arrangements for President John F. Kennedy's entourage while Kennedy was visiting Cape Cod.

Mrs. Brownell later lived in Germany, England and Japan for several years, while her husband was stationed overseas with the Air Force and Defense Department. She held administrative positions at U.S. military bases abroad.

In 1968, the family moved to Arlington, and Mrs. Brownell became an administrative assistant and office manager with the Air Force at the Pentagon. From the late 1970s until her retirement in 1992, she was an office administrator with MRFAC Inc., an independent firm that helps regulate radio frequencies.

From 1969 until the late 1990s, Mrs. Brownell lived in Sterling. She later lived in Waynesboro, Pa., and with her daughter in West Virginia.

Survivors include her husband of 56 years, Peter B. Brownell of Hagerstown, Md.; five children, Jeanne K. Moses of Newton, N.C., Peter B. Brownell III of Denver, Belinda A. Brownell of Dickerson, Susan M. Daniel of Leesburg and Barbara J. Forrester of Augusta; 15 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Gennaro 'Jerry' FerraraCIA Officer

Gennaro "Jerry" Ferrara, 91, a former CIA officer, died April 27 of cerebral arteriosclerosis at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, Calif. He had lived in Valencia for the past two years.

Mr. Ferrara was born in Belleville, N.J., and worked in his father's cabinet shop and antiques store. He was an Army officer during World War II, stationed for much of it in India.

After the war, he graduated from George Washington University and in 1949 received a master's degree in international relations from the University of California at Berkeley. He joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1950 and served as an intelligence officer until retiring in 1978.

He lived in Bethesda from 1963 to 2005, when he moved to California.

Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Dorathea Ferrara of Valencia; three children, Barbara Ferrara of Springfield, Ill., Martha Ferrara of Valencia and William Ferrara of Noble, Okla.; and a sister.