Monday, January 14, 2008
Martin John RiordanWhite House Police Officer
Martin John Riordan, 82, a retired officer with the White House Police, died Jan. 6 of colitis at the Spa Creek Center rehabilitation facility in Annapolis. He had lived in Annapolis for the past 17 years.
Mr. Riordan was a D.C. police officer for five years before joining the White House Police, now called the Uniformed Division of the U.S. Secret Service, in 1956. He became the agency's deputy chief of operations and worked primarily at the White House but was also instrumental in arranging the department's protection of embassies. He served under presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford before his retirement in 1976.
Mr. Riordan was born in Kingsbury, N.J., and grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. He played basketball at Manhattan College and served with the Marines in the Pacific theater during World War II. After the war, he worked for a New York utility company before coming to Washington.
He attended American University and the FBI Academy.
After three years of retirement, Mr. Riordan joined NASA as a security specialist and driver and worked until 1989.
He lived in District Heights for many years and was member of Mount Calvary Catholic Church in Forestville. After moving to Annapolis, he was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church there.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Knights of Columbus and Ancient Order of Hibernians. He enjoyed golf and sports and volunteered with Meals on Wheels.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Catherine T. "Kay" Riordan of Annapolis; four sons, Michael Riordan, Matthew Riordan and Martin Riordan, all of Churchton, and Patrick Riordan of Bishopville, Md.; two daughters, Kathleen White of Crofton and Eileen Riordan, known as Sister Martin Joseph Riordan, a nun with the Catholic order of St. Francis, of Newport News, Va.; and five grandchildren.
-- Matt Schudel
Arnold W. Laidig Jr.Army Public Affairs Officer
Arnold W. Laidig Jr., 63, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a public affairs officer during his 28-year military career, died of cancer Jan. 1 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He was an Alexandria resident.
Col. Laidig was born in Estherville, Iowa, and was drafted into the Army in 1966 while a student at the University of Iowa and served two tours in Vietnam. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1972 and received a master's degree from Texas A&M University in 1976.
He was a field artilleryman early in his military career before becoming a public affairs officer. He served at Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; and Fort Bliss, Tex.; as well as in Pirmasens, Germany; San Antonio; Frankfurt, Germany; and at the Pentagon.
His most recent assignments were as chief of the professional development branch for Army Public Affairs and as director of media operations for the U.S. Central Command in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, during Operation Desert Storm. He also served as a public affairs officer for the Army Criminal Investigation Command in Arlington and the Army Military District of Washington at Fort McNair.
After retiring from the Army in 1995, he joined the staff of MPRI, a defense and security contracting company based in Alexandria, where he served for 10 years as the deputy to the senior vice president of human resources. He was an MPRI recruiter for former military employees.
Col. Laidig was a runner who competed in a number of marathons in the United States and Germany. He also loved gardening and backyard barbecuing.
Survivors include his wife of 35 years, Judy Laidig of Alexandria, and a brother.
-- Joe Holley
Rose Kaplan Sacks MerronApparel Shop Owner
Rose Kaplan Sacks Merron, 95, who owned apparel shops in Maryland and the District, died Dec. 31 of respiratory failure at her home in Riderwood Village in Silver Spring.
Mrs. Merron was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., and moved to the Washington area at 18 to work in the millinery department at Hecht's department store. During World War II, she worked in ordnance production at the Washington Navy Yard.
After the war, she owned and operated Little Folks children's shops in Arlington, and in later years, she and her husband were the proprietors of Sacks Men's Wear stores in Maryland and the District.
In 1980, she received her general equivalency diploma at the same time her daughter received hers and her granddaughter graduated from Bowie High School.
She was a charter member and past president of the Bladensburg Lionettes, a charter member of the Riderwood Over 90 Club and a member of the Riderwood Lions Club and Breast Cancer Survivors. She also was a member of Kneseth Israel in Annapolis and Nevey Shalom in Bowie.
Her first husband, Samuel Mark Sacks, died in 1970; her second husband, Herman Sacks, died in 1979; and her third husband, Morton Merron, died in 1991. A daughter, Bernice Friedman Findley, died in 1984.
Survivors include a son, Allen Joel Sacks of Sarasota, Fla.; five grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
-- Joe Holley