Obituaries

Elmer Zamudio CanetMaintenance Technician

Elmer Zamudio Canet, 61, a maintenance technician at High Meadows Farm in The Plains, died Sept. 10 at Georgetown University Hospital of complications from surgery for liver cancer. He lived in The Plains.

Mr. Canet was born in Bula, the Philippines, and was a graduate of the College of San Juan de Letran in Manila. He worked in the shipping industry before he immigrated to the United States and settled in The Plains in 2001.

He enjoyed karaoke and watching sports.

Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Annabelle Alfelor Canet of The Plains; two children, Noreen Alzona of Wellington, New Zealand, and Carlo Magno Canet of Manila; one sister; five brothers; and four grandchildren.

-- Matt Schudel

John Howard NoonanNSA Analyst

John Howard Noonan, 78, a former analyst with the National Security Agency, died Sept. 11 of respiratory failure at his home in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

Mr. Noonan was born in Norwood, Mass. He served in the Army from 1946 to 1948 and was recalled in 1950 and 1951.

He worked with NSA and its predecessor organization from 1948 until his retirement in 1985. He was based in Hawaii from 1965 to 1969 and from 1982 to 1985. From 1974 to 1977, he was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in London.

He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church and later of Resurrection of Our Lord Roman Catholic Church, both in Laurel.

Mr. Noonan lived in Savage for 42 years before moving to Florida in 2002.

Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Sarah M. Noonan of Cocoa Beach; four children, John H. Noonan Jr. of Savage, Joseph Noonan of Baltimore, Allison Harmon of Gilbert, Ariz., and Marianne Mason of Cocoa Beach; a brother; and nine grandchildren.

-- Matt Schudel

James Keith RobertsPublic Health Administrator

James Keith Roberts, 76, a specialist in maternal and child health care for public health agencies, died Aug. 28 of complications from lung cancer at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. He lived at Leisure World in Silver Spring.

Mr. Roberts began his public health career in the early 1960s in Franklin County, Ky., and later worked with the Kentucky state government. In 1964, he moved to Baltimore to direct maternal and child health programs for the city.

He joined the federal government in 1965 and was in charge of public health programs in New York, New Jersey and the Virgin Islands. In 1975, he moved from New York to the Washington area to administer public health services for children and women with the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

He retired in 1983 but returned to the government in 1986. He retired from the Department of Health and Human Services in 1996 as deputy director of the Division of Services for Children With Special Health Needs.

Mr. Roberts was born in Middlesboro, Ky., and interrupted his college studies to serve in the Air Force from 1955 to 1959. He studied Chinese at Yale University when he was in the Air Force and was stationed in Taiwan. He developed a lifelong interest in Chinese language and culture, which he continued to study throughout his life.

After graduating from the University of Kentucky, he received a master's degree in public health from the University of Minnesota in 1963. He received a master's degree in public administration from New York University in 1976. In 1983, he received a law degree from Southland University, a now-defunct correspondence institution in Pasadena, Calif.

Mr. Roberts lived in Rockville from 1977 to 1996. For the last 10 years of his life, when he was affected by macular degeneration, he was cared for by a friend and neighbor, Joe Dulany, and his wife, Susan Dulany.

Survivors include a brother.

-- Matt Schudel