Obituaries

Mr. Burton worked for the company as a young man and was its sole proprietor from 1963 until he retired in 1984.

In addition to designing and manufacturing awnings, R.C.M. Burton & Son also made canopies, wrought iron pieces, flags and interior decorations for such clients as the White House and the Smithsonian Institution as well as Garfinckels and Woodward & Lothrop stores.

He was a native Washingtonian and a 1937 graduate of Roosevelt High School. He served in the Army Ordnance Corps in Europe during World War II. He was a Kensington resident.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Dorothea Preil Burton of Kensington; two children, Chris Burton of the Montclair community in Prince William County and Priscilla DeMilt of Olney; four grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters.

-- Adam Bernstein

Hilda Diana BarrettTeacher

Hilda Diana Barrett, 75, a retired teacher in Baltimore County and Howard County schools, died Dec. 22 of cancer at the Ellicott City Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. She was a resident of Columbia.

Mrs. Barrett was born in Deep Creek, Va., and grew up in Newark and other places in New Jersey. She received her undergraduate degree from Newark State Teachers College (now Kean University) in 1954 and her master's degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1978.

She taught for 40 years in Baltimore County, Baltimore City and Howard County elementary and middle schools. After her retirement in 1994, she was a substitute teacher in the Howard County School System for 13 years.

Mrs. Barrett was a member of First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Columbia, where she served as an usher, substitute Sunday school teacher and substitute treasurer. She did volunteer work with a number of organizations and received the 1999 Outstanding Volunteer award from her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. She also enjoyed traveling and had visited Aruba, the Bahamas, Hawaii, Paris, London, Iceland, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia.

Her marriage to Thomas Douglas Wallace Sr. ended in divorce.

Survivors include two sons, Thomas Douglas Wallace Jr. of Bowie and Todd Wallace of Fishers, Ind.; a sister, Barbara Hillman of Woodstock, Ga.; two brothers, James L. Barrett Jr. of Flanders, N.J., and David Hugo Barrett of Columbia; and two granddaughters.

-- Joe Holley

John Patrick Thomas SullivanMarine Corps Officer, Math Instructor

John Patrick Thomas Sullivan, 70, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps and a mathematics and statistics professor, died Dec. 22 at Georgetown University Hospital of thyroid cancer. He was a Sterling resident.

Mr. Sullivan was born in Chicago and graduated from the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Bainbridge, Md. He received his undergraduate degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1962 and a master's degree in operations research from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1970.

In 1966, he commanded Company B, 5th Marines of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam, one of three tours of duty he served in Vietnam. He was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1980, he taught mathematics and statistics at American University and Northern Virginia Community College until his death.

Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Donna Rae Sullivan of Sterling; four children, Susanne Perciavalle of Waterford, Shannon Knox of Hunt Valley, Md., Siobhan Pietruszkiewicz of Baton Rouge, and Sean Sullivan of Sterling; a brother; and two grandchildren.

-- Joe Holley