Obituaries

Susanna 'Susie' SporidisAssociate Dean, Volunteer

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Susanna Beggs "Susie" Sporidis, 48, the former associate dean of a school for students with learning disabilities, died July 31 of breast cancer at Sibley Memorial Hospital. She lived in Bethesda.

From 1993 to 1996, Mrs. Sporidis was associate dean for students at the Chelsea School, a private school in Silver Spring.

Mrs. Sporidis was born in Alexandria and was one of a set of triplets, with her sisters Grace and Augusta. She was a 1977 graduate of Alexandria's old St. Agnes High School, where she was captain of the cheerleading squad. She graduated in 1981 from Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., and received awards in college for modern dance.

For several years, she worked in human resources in New York. In 1985, she completed a diploma program in personnel management at New York University. She returned to the Washington area in the late 1980s.

She was a member of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington. She volunteered at Grace Episcopal Day School and in 2001 helped found WWLAX, a support program for the Walt Whitman High School boys' lacrosse team. She helped plan and organize annual alumni games.

Mrs. Sporidis had battled breast cancer for 16 years.

Survivors include her husband of 26 years, John A. Sporidis of Bethesda; two sons, Taso W. Sporidis of St. Mary's City and John E. Sporidis of Blacksburg, Va.; her mother, Mary Elizabeth Beggs McCrea, and stepfather, Joubert Stein McCrea, of Alexandria; and four sisters, Barbour "Barbie" Frank of Alexandria, Lilian Koebke of North Potomac, Grace "Mimi" Larsen of Rosholt, S.D., and Augusta Castle of Goodlettsville, Tenn.

-- Matt Schudel

David O. CloseCIA Far East Specialist

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David Olaf Close, 76, a Far East specialist who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 31 years and spent a decade as an independent CIA contractor specializing in training, died Aug. 13 at George Washington University Hospital after a stroke. He was a Fairfax County resident.

Before his retirement in 1986, Mr. Close worked in the office of the director of intelligence. He had served in the directorates of operations, intelligence and science and technology during his career.