Obituaries

Dr. Shostak worked at the Office of Naval Research until 1974, then became a consultant to several technology and defense contractors, including Anser Corp. in Crystal City. He retired in 1999.

He was born in Syracuse, N.Y., and graduated from City College of New York in 1936. He landed a job with the Federal Communications Commission's office in Kansas City, Mo., which led to his position as a regional officer in charge of the FCC's Radio Intelligence Division during World War II. He used radio direction-finding equipment to locate spies transmitting reports to Germany. Near the end of the war, he joined the Navy, and later the Navy Reserve.

He received a doctorate in physics from Catholic University in 1955.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Bertha Shostak of Falls Church; three sons, Seth Shostak of Mountain View, Calif., Robert Shostak of Portola Valley, Calif., and David Shostak of Fairfax County; and two granddaughters.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Lorenzo VillacortaArtist

Lorenzo Villacorta, 71, an artist who directed the art department at Washington's International School during the 1980s, died of lung cancer Aug. 5 in a hospital in Turin, Italy.

Mr. Villacorta was born in Ciclayo, Peru, and studied law at the University of San Marcos in Lima, Peru, and medicine in Cordoba, Argentina. After he moved to the United States in 1961, he received a master's degree in fine arts from what is now California College of the Arts in 1977.

He worked at the Washington school from 1979 to 1987, while creating brilliantly colored acrylic abstract works. His paintings were shown in the Musee du Luxembourg and Palais des Congrès in Paris, the National Gallery of Thailand in Bangkok, the Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes in Cordoba and Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano in Lima.

In the Washington area, he exhibited his works at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Arlington Arts Center. His work is currently displayed at the Turin Cultural Center in Italy.

His marriage to Sharon Tate ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife, Lynn Ellingston of Turin; two daughters from his first marriage, Connie Kimpel of Spokane, Wash., and Lixa James of Calistoga, Calif.; a daughter from his second marriage, Laura Villacorta of Turin; and five grandchildren.

-- Patricia Sullivan