Obituaries

Jeffrey MerriamDevelopment Specialist

Jeffrey Merriam, 53, an international development specialist, died Oct. 8 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He had multiple myeloma. He lived in Lorton.

Over the years, Mr. Merriam had worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Chemonics International, Planning and Development Collaborative International, Planning and Learning Technologies, and the World Council of Credit Unions. His work took him to southern and northern Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, including Russia, Siberia and Ukraine, and the South Pacific.

Mr. Merriam was born in Oakland, Calif., and grew up in a foreign service family living in the District, Alexandria, Munich, Amman, Jordan, and Istanbul. He graduated from Groveton High School in Alexandria and received his bachelor's degree from Washington College on Maryland's Eastern Shore. He received a master's degree in international development from the University of Chicago in 1978 and an MBA from George Washington University in 1986.

He married in 1978, and he and his wife worked as United Nations volunteers in Lesotho in southern Africa.

Mr. Merriam enjoyed fly-fishing, hiking, birding and, most of all, dog walking in Canaan Valley, W.Va., and North Hero, Vt.

Survivors include his wife of nearly 30 years, Mary MacNair Merriam of Lorton; two daughters, Stephanie Merriam and Sarah Merriam, both of Lorton; his father and stepmother, Duke and Caroline Merriam of Washington; a sister; and two brothers.

-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb

Leontine Connolly TansillAcquisitions Assistant

Leontine "Tina" Connolly Tansill, 94, who was an acquisitions assistant at the Congressional Research Office of the Library of Congress for 25 years, died Sept. 23 at her home in White Plains. She had pulmonary edema following a heart attack.

At the Library of Congress, Mrs. Tansill also directed and performed in shows, including chorale performances. She was a member of the Library's cooking and gardening clubs. She retired in 1979.