Obituaries

In 1979, a line judge in a match between Guillermo Vilas and Marty Riessen at the Washington Star International tennis tournament made a close call that went against Vilas, the top seed and the tournament's only real drawing card. Vilas got angry. He argued. He served up a zinger of an obscenity, directed at Mr. Tufenk, who was umpiring.

Mr. Tufenk sat in the chair and listened, although he didn't overrule the call. Had he defaulted Vilas, he would have risked the wrath of the fans and promoters. So he took it.

"So why would anyone want to be a tennis official?" John Feinstein of The Washington Post asked him a couple of years later.

"Good question," he said. "You get into this because you love tennis, probably because you once wanted to be great and you weren't and because you've got enough ego that you love being out there, you know, show biz."

Haig Karekin Tufenk, of Armenian descent, was born in St. Paul, Minn. Shortly after graduating from high school, he joined the Army Air Forces in 1946 and served in what became the Air Force until 1949. He graduated in political science from the University of Minnesota in 1957 and then joined NSA. He retired in 1988.

Mr. Tufenk, who umpired his first tournament in 1969, was one of the founders of Washington Area Tennis Officials. He umpired the U.S. Open and other major professional tournaments across the country and in later years worked the college circuit.

"Once people were umpires just to be around players, to go to the cocktail parties and hang around with them," Mr. Tufenk told The Post in 1981. "Not now. We're not even allowed to fraternize on the men's tour under the rules. Now you have to do it because you have pride in what you're doing. And you better be good."

"He just loved what he did," said his longtime partner, Grace Farrior.

Survivors, in addition to Farrior of the District, include a brother and sister.

-- Joe Holley

Francis J. FabrizioDental Professor

Francis J. Fabrizio, 96, a retired clinical professor in the Dental Department of Georgetown University and a practicing dentist in the District, died Dec. 9 at Washington Home and Community Hospice of complications of a series of strokes.

Dr. Fabrizio, a third-generation Washingtonian, graduated from Eastern High School. He received a bachelor's degree from George Washington University in 1931 and a dental degree from Georgetown University in 1935. He also did postgraduate work at New York University and the University of Pennsylvania.

As a dental student, he was instrumental in establishing a Georgetown connection with the Navy Dental Corps, thereby providing scholarships for dental students and a source of Navy dentists.

After receiving his dental degree, he established a private practice in the District and began teaching at Georgetown. During World War II, he was a Navy dentist in Jacksonville, Fla., and he remained active in the Naval Reserve, ultimately achieving the rank of rear admiral.

He returned to his practice and to teaching after the war. He also helped create a residency program for periodontics at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. He retired from his practice in the late 1960s and from teaching in 1974.

Dr. Fabrizio served as president of the District of Columbia Dental Society and as national vice president of the American Dental Association. He was a founder of the Georgetown Club of Washington and was its second president. He also served as vice president of Georgetown University's national alumni association.

With his brother, Michael Fabrizio, he owned and operated the Henlopen Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, Del., from 1951 to 1971. He was involved in a number of civic and philanthropic efforts in Rehoboth Beach.

He was a member of the Metropolitan Club and the Rehoboth Beach Country Club.

His wife, Louise Ryan Fabrizio, died in 1995.

Survivors include two children, C.A. Knoll and Francis J. Fabrizio Jr., both of the District; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

-- Joe Holley

Carolyn RiceTeacher

Carolyn Rice, 66, a teacher for 20 years in Prince George's County public schools, died of lung cancer Dec. 3 at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla., where she lived for the past 12 years.

Mrs. Rice taught English at Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie and a school in Riverdale, before retiring in 1995.

She was born in Baltimore and graduated from Salisbury State Teachers College in 1963. She did graduate work at the University of Maryland and Bowie State University.

She taught English in Baltimore County schools and then taught at Creative Garden Nursery School in Crofton before joining the private Wroxeter-on-the-Severn in Severna Park. She joined the Prince George's school system in 1975.

She moved to Florida from Severna Park after her retirement.

Her marriage to Dr. Edward H. Mitchell ended in divorce. Her second husband, Felix Rice, died in 1998.

Survivors include a son from her first marriage, Jesse S. Mitchell of Edgewater; two stepsons, David Rice of Dallas and Seth Rice of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and two grandsons.

-- Patricia Sullivan