Obituaries

An active volunteer, she gave tours at the Folger Shakespeare Library and provided assistance at WETA public television and the American Red Cross of Prince George's County. She served on the board of trustees of the old Morris Cafritz Memorial Hospital in Washington, which later became Greater Southeast Community Hospital, where she helped establish the gift shop. Earlier, she had raised money to help with the construction of the hospital, her family said.

Mrs. Strickler also was active with cancer research and preventive care projects in Washington and was a longtime volunteer tutor for high school and college students in science, math and nursing.

A native of Penfield, she graduated as one the first female science teachers from Clarion State Teachers College in Pennsylvania in 1947. She taught science in high schools in Pennsylvania and later worked as a medical technologist at Stanford University Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif.

Mrs. Strickler, a registered nurse licensed in Maryland, Pennsylvania and the District, worked for about two years in the 1970s as an occupational health nurse at the National Academy of Sciences. From the 1970s to 1990s, she was a private duty nurse in Washington.

She was a member of Ryland-Epworth Methodist Church in Washington and the National Science Teachers Association.

In her retirement, she designed and supervised construction of an eco-friendly "green" home with 64 windows on her family farm in Penfield.

Survivors include her husband, Mervin K. Strickler Jr. of Penfield, whom she married in 1945; a daughter, Heather Holstine of Frost, W.Va.; and three grandchildren.

-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb

Isabella Dickens FinkOffice Manager

Isabella Dickens Fink, 90, an office manager for a Washington funeral home in the 1960s, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 18 at Boca Raton Community Hospital in Boca Raton, Fla. She lived in Boca Raton.

Mrs. Fink was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and moved to the Washington area in 1938 after her marriage. She worked for several local retailers. In the 1960s, she became office manager for the old Bernard Danzansky and Sons funeral home on 14th Street NW. She worked there 10 years.

In 1972, Mrs. Fink moved from Hyattsville to Florida, where she and her husband were among the first residents of the huge Century Village West condominiums in Boca Raton. Mrs. Fink led the development of the condo association and the condo's Democratic Club. She was past member of the Democratic Executive Committee of Palm Beach County and a member of the Florida Silver-Haired Legislature.

Her husband of 50 years, Irvin J. Fink, died in 1988.

Survivors include two children, Martin Fink of Bethesda and Carol Music of Atlanta; two grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Mary Beth IsaiaViolinist, Medical Transcriber

Mary Beth Isaia, 58, a violist who later worked in medical transcription and insurance, died Dec. 14 of pancreatic cancer at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson. She lived in Silver Spring before moving to Jessup seven years ago.

Ms. Isaia was born in Glens Falls, N.Y., and was a music graduate of Potsdam University. After marrying, she performed in symphonies around the world as she traveled with her first husband, who was in the Army Medical Corps.

The family eventually settled in the District, and she dedicated herself to raising her two children. Her marriage to Barney Yanklowitz ended in divorce.

As her children grew, Ms. Isaia became an administrative assistant at Kaiser Permanente and worked there until 2000. She then worked at Concentra, providing medical transcription and processing insurance claims.

She was a member of the National Association of Executive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants.

Ms. Isaia was skilled in floral arranging, quilting, knitting, tatting, embroidery, cross-stitching and sewing. She had a passion for all things artistic, including paintings and music. She loved Hawaii for its natural beauty, color, warmth, sandy beaches and embedded traditions.

Survivors include her husband, Joseph "Freddie" Isaia of Columbia, from whom she was separated; two children from her first marriage, Navy Petty Officer 1st Class CTT1 Daniel Yanklowitz of San Diego and Rachel McCoy of Silver Spring; a brother; a sister; and a grandson.

-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb