Monday, October 15, 2007
George Quinton Jones Jr.Librarian, Cathedral Docent
George Quinton Jones Jr., 87, a retired librarian who spent 20 years as a visitor services assistant and volunteer docent at Washington National Cathedral, died Oct. 7 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He had pancreatic cancer.
He was born in Portsmouth, Va., and moved to Washington as a child. He graduated from Eastern High School and attended Wilson Teachers College.
His first job was as a librarian with the D.C. Public Library. He also danced with the Mary Day Company, volunteered as an aide at D.C. General Hospital and Doctors Hospital and as house manager at Arena Stage.
Mr. Jones enlisted in the Air Force in 1947, and he served much of his tour in Colorado and Alaska.
He returned to Washington in 1951 and went to work behind the Main Reading Room desk at the Library of Congress. He later joined the American Battle Monuments Commission and the library at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, from which he retired in 1975.
Mr. Jones then went to work at Washington National Cathedral.
He was a member of Christ Church Georgetown, where he volunteered to fix breakfast for worshipers on Wednesdays, served on the altar guild and as an usher, and tended the yard. He was also in a Shakespeare theater group.
Mr. Jones made friends wherever he went, said Murray L. Howder, a friend. "He was the kind of person people gravitated to. He was very outgoing."
He leaves no immediate survivors.
-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Earnest D. 'Bull' JohnsonD.C. Principal
Earnest Douglas "Bull" Johnson, 68, an athletic coach and administrator in D.C. public schools who retired in 1995 as principal of Phelps High School, died Oct. 1 at Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham after a heart attack.
Starting in 1968, Mr. Johnson worked at Eastern High School for about 20 years. He was a health and physical education teacher and coached the football, basketball and golf teams. He was Eastern's assistant principal when he left for Phelps.
He helped introduce a traditional academic component to Phelps, which had been a vocational school where students took academic classes at nearby Spingarn High School. He was a recipient of many school service awards.
Mr. Johnson, an Upper Marlboro resident, was a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., where he was captain of his high school football team. After high school, he served in the Army and played on service teams in football, baseball, basketball and boxing.
He was a 1968 health and physical education graduate of North Carolina A&T University.
Survivors include his wife, Sandra Gray Johnson, whom he married in 1967, of Upper Marlboro; two children from his marriage, Ernie "Ricky" Johnson and Victoria J. Wilkerson, both of Upper Marlboro; a daughter from a previous relationship, Stephanie Boothe of Albany, N.Y.; four brothers, Victor Johnson Jr. of Winston-Salem, Raymond Johnson of New York, Ivory Johnson of Clarksville, N.C., and David Johnson of Baltimore; a sister, Helen D. Johnson of Winston-Salem; and a granddaughter.
-- Adam Bernstein
Elizabeth S. WarburtonRegistered Nurse
Elizabeth Schettig Warburton, 94, a registered nurse who spent more than 30 years working for the Group Health Association, an early health management organization in the Washington area, died Oct. 2 at Summerville at Woodward Estate, an assisted living home in Bowie, after a heart attack.
Mrs. Warburton worked for the Group Health Association until 1980 and then spent several more years as the nursing supervisor for the World Bank's health clinic. In the 1990s, she did volunteer work at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney.
She was a native of Carrolltown, Pa., and a 1934 graduate of Temple University nursing school. She was a nurse for Philadelphia hospitals until settling in the Washington area in 1948.
She was a longtime resident of Leisure World in Silver Spring until moving to Bowie more than two years ago.
Her husband of 50 years, Charles F. Warburton Sr., died in 1984. A daughter, Joan Bloomquist, died in 2001.
Survivors include a son, Charles F. Warburton Jr. of Bowie; six grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein
Dorothy Sandison CulverEditor
Dorothy Sandison Culver, 93, who was an editor with a trade association and for federal agencies, died Oct. 6 at Wilson Health Care Center of Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg. She had cancer and dementia.
Mrs. Culver moved to Washington in 1947 and worked as an editor with the Association for Childhood Education International for nine years. She worked at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology from 1956 to 1962 while under the aegis of the National Academy of Sciences. From 1962 until her retirement in 1976, she was an editor at the Central Intelligence Agency.
Mrs. Culver was born in Huntsville, Mo., and was a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University. She received a master's degree in education from George Washington University in 1954.
She was a member of the Woman's National Democratic Club and the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. She lived in Washington and Silver Spring before moving to Gaithersburg in 1984.
She had been a member, successively, of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington, Woodside United Methodist Church in Silver Spring and Grace United Methodist Church in Gaithersburg.
Her marriage to Leslie Carlson ended in divorce.
Her second husband, Kermit Culver, died in 1982.
Survivors include a son from her first marriage, Richard Lee Carlson of Arlington County; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
-- Matt Schudel
Elvira Reyes SighuasStore Owner
Elvira Reyes Sighuas, 73, who owned and operated several health food stores in metropolitan Washington, died Sept. 30 of a brain aneurysm at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She lived in Centreville.
Ms. Sighuas, a native of the Philippines, immigrated to the Washington area in 1967. She was an accountant with a mortgage broker in Arlington for 10 years, then worked at a GNC health and vitamin store for two years.
In 1979, she opened Food for Health, a health-food and nutrition store in Arlington. She later renamed the business A-1 Nutrition Stop and expanded with stores in Washington and Centreville, which she managed with her daughters. She retired in 2000.
Ms. Sighuas was born on Mindoro Island, Philippines, and received a college athletic scholarship for her swimming talent. She was a graduate of the University of the East in Manila, with a degree in banking and finance.
She lived in Arlington before moving to Centreville about 10 years ago. She enjoyed assisting elderly neighbors by driving them to medical appointments and stores. She also enjoyed playing bingo and visiting casinos.
Her marriages to Gaudencio Martinez and Elmer Sighuas ended in divorce.
Survivors include five children from her first marriage, Jen Martinez-Bentley of Virginia Beach, Mike Martinez of Silver Spring, JoMay Schleicher of Raleigh, N.C., Alexander Martinez of Pensacola, Fla., and Mark Martinez of Kathleen, Ga.; two brothers, Ewaldus Reyes of Arlington and Ephraim Reyes of Sydney; two sisters, Edith Morales of Reston and Edelwina Fontanilla of Gainesville; and eight grandchildren.
-- Matt Schudel
F. Barry ShayPatent Lawyer
Frederick Barry Shay, a retired patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office who became a patent lawyer, died of complications of pneumonia Oct. 7 at Sibley Memorial Hospital. He was 84.
Mr. Shay was born the youngest of three sons in Buffalo and grew up there and in Midland, Ontario. He served in the Army infantry from 1943 to 1946 in the Asian Pacific theater.
After graduating from Canisius College in Buffalo with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, Mr. Shay taught high school math in Bliss, N.Y. In 1952, he joined the staff at the Catholic mission of Friendship House in Harlem, N.Y., where he met his future wife.
Mr. Shay graduated from Georgetown University's law school in 1960 and worked at the Patent and Trademark Office as a patent examiner specializing in toys and gem cutting, among other areas, for more than 30 years. After his retirement in 1986, Mr. Shay continued to work in patent law in private practice.
Mr. Shay, a resident of Washington, was a parishioner at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, where he was a member of the Aramatheans, a Bible study group, and the choir. He volunteered at Christ House in the District.
Mr. Shay enjoyed Irish dancing and was a member of the Blackthorn Stick dancing group. His other hobbies included chess, theater, telescope-making and travel.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Mary Jane Prah Shay of Washington; three children, David Shay of Silver Spring, Joseph Shay of Brighton, Mass., and Mary Shay Doughty of North Andover, Mass.; a foster son, James Kelly of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and seven grandchildren.
-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Frank DonaltyShipping Executive
Frank Donalty, 67, a top executive of a Washington shipping company, died of a heart attack Oct. 11 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He lived in Great Falls.
Mr. Donalty was a partner and chief financial officer of Fettig & Donalty, a company that charters cargo vessels for the international shipping industry. Acting as a broker and agent for countries, businesses and private relief agencies, he arranged contracts for transporting commodities internationally by ship, truck and rail.
He also managed cargo operations at ports in the United States, Australia and elsewhere throughout the world.
Mr. Donalty was born in Utica, N.Y., and worked his way through a Catholic high school as a golf caddy. He graduated from Niagara University. He served as a Navy officer from 1962 to 1966, including a year aboard the USS Independence aircraft carrier. He also supervised a Navy petroleum inspection station in Saudi Arabia and managed operations of tankers transporting petroleum for the Navy.
Mr. Donalty joined the predecessor of Fettig & Donalty in 1966 and was made a full partner in 1971.
He was appointed to the National Defense Executive Reserve by the secretary of transportation. He served as a U.S. participant in NATO conferences and was chairman of the NATO tankers committee during NATO exercises.
He was a member of the board of directors of the Association of Shipbrokers and Agents and chaired its government activities committee. He was elected to the board of governors of the Propeller Club and was a member of the City Club, Great Falls Citizens Association and St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Great Falls.
Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Mary Lynn "Lindy" Donalty of Great Falls; four children, Sean Donalty of Oak Harbor, Wash., Trish Donalty of Washington, Erin Donalty of Great Falls and Brian Donalty of Fairfax County; one brother; two sisters; and two grandsons.
-- Matt Schudel