Saturday, May 19, 2007
Donald CarmichaelCIA Officer
Donald Carmichael, 85, a former undercover operative for the CIA, died May 10 of emphysema at his home in Palm Beach, Fla.
Mr. Carmichael, who was born in Asheville, N.C., moved to Washington as a boy and graduated from the former Devitt Preparatory School. He was a congressional page in his teens and led a dance band in high school.
He served as a Navy pilot during World War II, then settled in Colombia for several years, operating a cargo airline. He transported orchids to Miami and used amphibious airplanes to take livestock and other cargo to inland locations in Colombia. Political turmoil beginning in 1948 forced the airline to disband.
Mr. Carmichael joined the Central Intelligence Agency about 1950 and was an undercover operative in Colombia, Thailand, Hong Kong and other places in Asia and Latin America. He also served as assistant chief of covert action at CIA headquarters.
While stationed in Colombia, he organized an effort to build thousands of units of low-cost housing. After retiring from the CIA in 1975, he entered the construction business as the owner of Continental Homes. The company built moderate-income housing in Latin America and Africa with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The company was later sold.
After living in Washington for many years, Mr. Carmichael moved to Palm Beach in 1992 and started Carmichael Properties, a real estate investment firm. He was a founding director of Island National Bank in Florida, later absorbed by Wachovia.
He also served on the board of directors of the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach. At the chapel's annual fundraisers, Mr. Carmichael was known for his Linzer tortes.
He enjoyed the seafaring novels of Patrick O'Brian and organized costume parties that featured meals from the novels.
Mr. Carmichael enjoyed sailing and competed in ocean races. In 2000, he wrote an unpublished novel about his experiences with the CIA in Colombia.
His marriage to Nancy Carmichael ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 23 years, Anne P. Carmichael of Palm Beach; four children from his first marriage, Lisa F. Jackson and Ceci Carmichael, both of New York, Maggie McKay of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Dr. Donald C. Carmichael of Staunton, Va.; a brother; and seven grandchildren.
Ellen S. WeeksNavy WAVE, HomemakerEllen S. Weeks, 86, a former Navy WAVE, teacher and homemaker, died April 12 of congestive heart failure at Hilton Head Regional Medical Hospital in South Carolina.
She was born Margaret Ellen Schofield in Baltimore and spent most of her life in the Washington area. She graduated from St. Cecelia's Academy and Trinity College in Washington in 1942. Immediately after college, she enlisted in the Navy WAVES.
During World War II, Mrs. Weeks served as a lieutenant commander and worked on secret projects related to the development of bomb sites and heat-seeking missiles in the Office of Naval Intelligence in Washington. After the war, she attended Catholic University on the GI Bill and received a master's degree in psychology.
Mrs. Weeks taught briefly in D.C. public schools and years later was a substitute teacher. She volunteered in Montgomery County and enjoyed travel and golf.
Her marriage to Charles J. Savarese ended in divorce.
She moved to Hilton Head Island in 1975.
Her husband, John K. Weeks, whom she married in 1978, died in 1986.
Survivors include three children from her first marriage, Mary Ellen Savarese of Kensington, Barbra Savarese of Garrett Park and Charles J. Savarese of Port Charlotte, Fla.; and five grandchildren.
Edward Rocco TaloneBusiness OwnerEdward Rocco Talone, 90, who founded a company that sells large-scale industrial equipment, died May 11 at Holy Cross Hospital of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He lived at the Riderwood Village retirement home in Silver Spring.
Mr. Talone was born in Philadelphia, moved to Mount Rainier in his teens and graduated from Mount Rainier High School. He attended the University of Maryland and worked for the Works Progress Administration, where he learned to use dynamite and helped build Powder Mill Road in Beltsville. He also worked for a railroad-car manufacturing company in Philadelphia before enlisting in the Army in 1940.
He served primarily in India during World War II, earning a field commission as an officer and eventually reaching the rank of captain. He helped in the construction of the Ledo Road, a military convoy route linking China and India.
Returning to Washington, Mr. Talone graduated from the University of Maryland in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He worked for Fairchild Industries, an aircraft manufacturer in Hagerstown, Md., before moving to Baltimore, where he worked as a salesman for the John P. Clark Co., selling industrial equipment.
In 1960, Mr. Talone formed the E.R. Talone Co. in Silver Spring. His business, now operated by his son, sells large industrial equipment to manufacturing concerns and salvage companies. Mr. Talone retired when he was 70. He was a member of the American Society of Metals, now called ASM International.
A resident of Silver Spring since 1962, Mr. Talone was a member of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Silver Spring, volunteered at his children's schools and was an assistant scoutmaster.
He had a lifelong interest in the Panama Canal and toured the canal with his wife after he retired. He was also captivated by space exploration and attended several NASA launches in Florida, including the 1969 launch of Apollo 11, the first space mission to reach the moon.
He also enjoyed fishing and boating on the Chesapeake Bay and was a member of the Calvert Yacht Club.
His wife of 57 years, Mary Cunningham Talone, died in 2002.
Two sons, Phillip Talone and Kerry Talone, died in 1948 and 1956, respectively.
Survivors include three children, JoAnne Eitzen of Laurel and John Talone and Edward Talone, both of Silver Spring; and a sister, Anna Mae McCormick of College Park.
Rose SmithRetail ClerkRose Smith, 94, a retail clerk for 45 years and a homemaker, died of complications from gastric volvulus, an abnormal rotation of the stomach, April 26 at Holy Cross Hospital.
Mrs. Smith was born Rose Brodsky in Philadelphia and moved to Atlantic City in her youth. She married Joshua Oscar Braer in 1934, and in 1948 the couple moved to Washington, where they owned and operated a small grocery. They moved to Hyattsville in 1952, six years before Joshua Braer's death. She subsequently lived in Silver Spring and finally in Rockville.
She supported her family by babysitting and later by working as a clerk at Drug Fair in Bethesda; Compliment, a handbag shop in Rockville; and the J.C. Penney store in Wheaton. She retired in 1994.
She married Howard Leagan, who died in 1975, and Leon Smith, who died in 1988. Two children from her first marriage preceded her in death: Bernice Harris in 2002 and Arnold Braer in 2006.
Survivors include three children from her first marriage, Lee Mahoney of Edgewater, Marc Braer of Glendale, Ariz., and Elaine Richey of Columbia; two stepchildren from her third marriage, Bernice Shapiro of Rockville and Ted Smith of Silver Spring; 18 grandchildren; 34 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-granddaughter.