Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Harold B. PenneMarine Corps Officer
Harold B. Penne, 90, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who was a pilot in World War II and the Korean War, died of pneumonia Dec. 21 at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital. He was a longtime resident of Fairfax County.
Lt. Col. Penne, known as Hal, was born in Winner, S.D. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1940. After he completed pilot training in 1941, he was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant and assigned to the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Fla., where he was an instructor.
He also was selected to join the Pensacola Thousand Aviator Study, which monitored the medical histories of 1,056 naval aviators throughout their military careers. The program was designed to develop a database of major health factors that affect pilot performance.
In 1943, he joined a Marine divebombing squadron in the South Pacific and served two combat tours in the Guadalcanal-Solomon Islands campaign. Assigned to command the squadron, he led the attack on Bougainvillea Island.
Returning with the squadron to the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, Calif., he began a program that trained pilots for combat operations. After a series of temporary assignments, he returned to the western Pacific theater. At the end of the war, he joined the staff of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing on Guam.
During the Korean War, he commanded an attack squadron and served as the executive officer of the Marine Aircraft Group. He also commanded a transport squadron.
His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon with three stars and the Korean War Campaign Ribbon with one star.
Lt. Col. Penne retired from the Marine Corps in 1962 and joined the Naval Intelligence Command, where he participated in the production of equipment that supported aircraft and weapons research and development. He also participated in the production of National Intelligence Estimates.
He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland during his military career. He also attended the Naval Post Graduate School, the Marine Amphibious Warfare School and the Armed Forces Staff Command Course in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering.
He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Alexandria and served on the ushers team.
Lt. Col. Penne's first wife, Barbara Hoge Penne, died in 1994.
Survivors include his wife of 12 years, Pamela A. Doyle-Penne of Alexandria, and a sister.
-- Joe Holley
Gertrude Seal BurwellHomemaker, Church Member
Gertrude Seal Burwell, 84, a homemaker and church member, died of cardiovascular and Parkinson's diseases Nov. 29 at Fairfax Nursing Center in Fairfax, where she lived.
Mrs. Burwell, a native of Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., moved to Washington during World War II to work as a secretary. She married and traveled with her husband, a military officer and CIA employee, to Asia and Europe.
A member of the Friendship United Methodist Church in Falls Church, she enjoyed cooking, working in her flower garden and arranging flowers. She also read, solved crossword puzzles, played cards, bowled and hunted for morel mushrooms.
Her husband, James S. Burwell, died in 2005.
Survivors include three daughters, Patricia Boyd of King George, Va., Barbara Schulze of Woodbridge and Marsh Smith of Fairfax; a sister, Velva Blevins of Colora, Md.; seven grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
-- Patricia Sullivan
E. Douglas 'Doug' BurtonWashington Business Owner
E. Douglas "Doug" Burton, 89, who owned and operated his family's Washington awning business, R.C.M. Burton & Son, died Dec. 11 at Clayton Comfort Care nursing home in Silver Spring. He had Alzheimer's disease.
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