Sunday, December 2, 2007
George MuzykMontgomery College Student
George Alexander Joseph Muzyk, 64, a former West Point cadet and merchant marine who helped his father at Threshold Services, a Silver Spring facility for those with mental illnesses or substance-abuse disorders, died Oct. 30 of cardiac arrest at his apartment in Germantown.
Mr. Muzyk was born in White Plains, N.Y., and grew up in various places around the globe as part of a military family. He studied at Bunson Gymnasium in Heidelberg, Germany, for two years in the late 1950s and kept a diary in German of his activities. He also kept a detailed account of his two-month bicycle trip through Northern Europe.
He graduated in 1961 from St. Johns College High School, where his father was the commandant of cadets, and attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School at Fort Belvoir before being accepted to the U.S. Military Academy. He stayed for 2 1/2 years at West Point -- where, a sister recalled, he ranked at the top of his class -- and then transferred to Georgetown University. He traveled widely as a merchant seaman.
Mr. Muzyk received a diagnosis of schizophrenia in his early 20s. Afterward, he spent many years taking classes at Montgomery College. He earned an associate of arts degree in 2006 and was inducted into Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.
"His earnest desire to help the mentally and emotionally challenged was evident in his letters and conversations," said a sister, Carol Kaylor. "He imitated his father in this effort."
The elder Muzyk was one of the founders of Threshold Services, which provides treatment, rehabilitation and housing for people with mental illnesses or substance-abuse disorders. For many years, Mr. Muzyk spent much of his time at Threshold Services, where he was something of a right-hand man for his father. Mr. Muzyk's father, retired Army Col. Alexander Frank Muzyk, died in 1989.
In addition to his sister, of Eau Claire, Wis., survivors include a brother, Kenny Muzyk of Bethesda, and another sister, Chrissy Disher of Santa Margarita, Calif.
-- Joe Holley
Herbert E. WeinerLabor Attache
Herbert E. Weiner, 86, a Foreign Service officer who was one of the early labor attaches in the State Department, died Nov. 26 at his home in Washington. He had Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Weiner, who was well known in U.S. and British labor circles, served in numerous posts abroad and in Washington. He was first posted as a labor attache in London in 1947.
During the late 1940s and into the 1950s, he was one of the U.S. diplomats engaged in promoting free labor unions in Europe as the United States sought to shore up European economies against the influence of communist parties.
Dr. Weiner later served in New Delhi, Lisbon, Ottawa and Sydney and retired in London in 1980. After retiring, he served as a consultant to the State Department on international labor matters.
He wrote "British Labor and Public Ownership" (1960) and lectured on international labor and labor management relations. He also taught at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
A native of New York City, he graduated from City College of New York in 1941. From Columbia University, he received a master's degree in economics and labor in 1943 and a PhD in economics and labor in 1957.
In retirement, Dr. Weiner remained keenly interested in British politics and corresponded regularly with political, government and labor officials in Britain, said a cousin, Leonard Wiener. He loved to get news from the BBC and had a shortwave radio to get its broadcast.
He was a member of Kesher Israel Congregation and enjoyed attending Sunday morning get-togethers at the Georgetown temple to discuss world affairs with other Washington notables.
Dr. Weiner also acted as mediator in small claims court in the District, where he attempted to help people resolve disputes before going before a judge.
His wife, Eva F. Weiner, a retired lieutenant in the Navy WAVES, died in 1988.
There are no immediate survivors.
-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Joseph O. UnverferthConsultant
Joseph O. Unverferth, 57, a consultant and proposal writer, died of a heart attack Nov. 4 at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He lived in Alexandria.
He was born in Alexandria and grew up in Dayton, Ohio. After high school, he briefly returned to the Washington area to work for the FBI. He served in the Navy from 1974 to 1979, working on aircraft avionics.
He moved to St. Louis, Mo., and graduated from Tarkin College. He went to work for McDonnell Douglas and Pratt & Whitney as a proposal writer. He returned to the Washington area in 1994 and wrote for NCI and SAIC. He became manager of proposals at KBR, an engineering and construction company, in 2005.
Mr. Unverferth enjoyed golf, good food, music, politics and crossword puzzles.
His marriages to Cynthia Durkee and Janet Egan ended in divorce.
Survivors include his companion, Debbie Glass of Alexandria; a daughter from his first marriage, Brooke Campbell of Mesa, Ariz.; a son from his second marriage, Kyle Unverferth of Atlanta; and a brother.
-- Patricia Sullivan
Cornelius R. 'Neil' Alexander Jr.Chief Hearing Examiner
Cornelius R. "Neil" Alexander Jr., 55, the chief hearing examiner of the D.C. Commission on Human Rights who was expert in discrimination law, died of cancer Nov. 19 at his home in Washington.
Over the past 20 years, Mr. Alexander heard and ruled on cases involving housing discrimination toward gays and HIV-positive renters, employment discrimination based on race and hostile work environment cases based on sexual orientation.
His best-known case was a 2001 ruling, overturned on appeal, ordering the Boy Scouts of America to reinstate two gay men as leaders.
Mr. Alexander was a guest lecturer at the Georgetown University and Howard University law schools and the University of Maryland African-American studies program. He conducted equal-employment opportunity training sessions for District employees and for staff members of the District's Office of the Attorney General.
Before he joined the Commission on Human Rights, Mr. Alexander was a legal adviser at the District's old Office of Personnel from 1984 to 1987. Before that, he was a staff attorney for the Federal Trade Commission, where he conducted systematic investigations and hearings on unfair or deceptive trade practices.
He was a leader in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community locally and the mid-Atlantic region, and served on the boards of Scarlet's Foundation, the Center for GLBT in Metro DC, and Among Friends, a nonprofit crisis transition program.
He was born in Montclair, N.J., and moved to Washington. He graduated from Howard University and received a law degree from Rutgers University in 1976.
He was a member of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, where he co-chaired the 2007 annual conference. He was president of the Maryland, District of Columbia Association of Administrative Adjudicators.
His partner, Darell Osher, died in 1992.
No immediate family members survive him.
-- Patricia Sullivan
J. Clifford SantleyCotton Lobbyist
J. Clifford Santley, 89, former chief economist and director of the International Cotton Advisory Committee, died of complications of a stroke Nov. 21 at his Falls Church home.
Mr. Santley worked at the organization for 25 years, traveling to almost 100 cotton-producing and cotton-consuming countries. He retired in 1986, then worked for several more years as a real estate agent for Mary Price-Howell Properties in Fairfax County.
He was born in Runcorn, Cheshire, England, and after his schooling, went to work at Imperial Chemical Industries. During World War II, he entered the Royal Air Force and served in North Africa, where he was in charge of photographic equipment for the 8th Army.
He was based in Cairo during the war and graduated long distance from London University. After the war, he graduated from Liverpool University. He worked for the Raw Cotton Commission in Liverpool until 1951, when he moved to Washington.
Mr. Santley, who spoke French and Spanish, prided himself on never forgetting the basic Arabic he learned while in Cairo. He also was a music lover, bridge player, gardener and follower of economics and financial news.
He was a founding member of the New Dominion Chorale and a small local madrigal group. He was a member of the vestry at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Dunn Loring.
Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Jennifer Santley of Falls Church; a son, David Santley of Houston; and two grandchildren.
-- Patricia Sullivan
Jesse WeinsteinArchitect
Jesse Weinstein, 88, an architect whose firm designed many apartments, offices and public buildings in the region, died of heart disease Nov. 17 at his home in Washington.
Mr. Weinstein worked his entire 48-year career with a firm that became known as Abel & Weinstein. Known as Berla & Abel when he joined it in 1946, the firm designed "dozens of important apartment houses, such as the Towers, the Canterbury House, and the Irene, in addition to the Van Ness Centre," wrote James M. Goode in "Best Addresses: A Century of Washington's Distinguished Apartment Houses."
He also designed the Crestwood, Greenleaf and Appoline apartments in the 1950s, Van Ness Centre in 1963, the Highland House and Irene Apartments in the 1960s, the Regency of McLean from 1974 to 1985 and Bethesda Place in 1987.
His commissions included the Chevy Chase Office Building in 1967, Rosslyn Center in 1977 and Silver Spring Center in 1986. He designed an addition to the Shoreham Hotel in 1958 and the 1978 Dumbarton Oaks Library renovation.
Mr. Weinstein retired in 1994.
He was born in Baltimore and moved to Washington as an infant. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1936 and Catholic University in 1940. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Air Forces in the Pacific, where he did engineering work on the long airstrip from which the Enola Gay took off to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Mr. Weinstein designed his family home in 1950 in Somerset, where he served on the Town Council for four years during that decade.
He was a past president of the Washington chapter of the American Institute of Architects and also was active in its national organization. In retirement, he was part of a Catholic University alumni group known as the "Antiquated Architects."
He was a member and past board member of Temple Sinai. A keen amateur photographer, he had a darkroom and joined a camera club. He also enjoyed travel, tennis and classical music.
His wife of 56 years, Eleanor Price Weinstein, died in 2002.
Survivors include three children, Sarah Weinstein of Dorchester, Mass., Amy Weinstein of Washington and Alan Weinstein of Blacksburg, Va.; and four grandchildren.
-- Patricia Sullivan