Sunday, January 20, 2008
Teresa Green RosserNurse
Teresa Green Rosser, 72, a registered nurse who worked at Providence Hospital and at a retirement home, died of complications of a stroke Dec. 24 at Holy Cross Hospital. She lived in Cheverly.
Mrs. Rosser was born in Washington and grew up in the Brookland neighborhood near Catholic University. She graduated from the old St. Paul's Academy in Washington and worked briefly at a children's care center in Lackawanna, N.Y., before returning to Washington. She taught for a short time at the old St. Cecilia's Academy in Washington and at St. Mary's School in Rockville.
Mrs. Rosser lived in Nevada, Mo., from 1970 to 1984. After raising six children as a single parent, she graduated from the nursing program at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kan., in 1984.
When she returned to the Washington area, she worked as a nurse at Providence Hospital and later at the Washington retirement home of the Little Sisters of the Poor. She retired from nursing in 2000.
In 1991, after enlisting the help of U.S. Rep. Constance A. Morella (R-Md.), Mrs. Rosser traveled to Thailand to retrieve her four grandchildren who had been taken there by their father against their mother's wishes. With the help of the U.S. Embassy, Mrs. Rosser and her daughter were able to return the children safely to the United States. Mrs. Rosser later helped raise her grandchildren.
She was a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Cheverly.
Her marriage to John Rosser ended in divorce.
Survivors include six children, Loretta Dhanagom of Cheverly, Mark Rosser of Nevada, Mo., Dennis Rosser of Pittsburg, Kan., Timothy Rosser of Panama City, Fla., Maria Rooney of Leawood, Kan., and Christopher Rosser of Liberty, Ohio; six sisters, Mary Anne Sonnenschein of Silver Spring, Cecilia Pincus of Hampton, Va., Bernadette Rogers of Nevada, Mo., Agnes Cammack of Leesburg, Jane Gilroy of Lakewood, Colo., and Dolores Milmoe of Poolesville; one brother, Michael Green of Bethany Beach, Del.; and 15 grandchildren.
-- Matt Schudel
Benjamin LissReal Estate Salesman
Benjamin Liss, 92, who operated a television rental business in the District in the 1960s and then turned to real estate sales, died of complications of a stroke Jan. 3 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. He lived in Rockville.
Mr. Liss and his brother opened Beacon Television Rental on 7th Street NW in 1956, offering the new technology to individuals, apartment houses and hospitals. The store burned during the 1968 riots, and Mr. Liss moved temporarily to Silver Spring.
In 1971, he obtained a real estate license and became sales manager at the Foxhall Apartments in Washington. He also led sales at a number of well-known local developments, including the Rotonda condominium complex in McLean, Montebello condominium high-rise in Alexandria and Leisure World in Silver Spring. He retired in 1990.
He was born in New Bedford, Mass., and played basketball and soccer in high school. He moved to Washington in 1936 and sold blankets and bedspreads door-to-door. By 1938, he managed a radio store on Seventh Street NW. In 1940, he had a clothing store on the same street.
During World War II, he worked as a riveter in a B-29 aircraft plant in the Washington area.
He was a member and past board member of the Indian Spring Country Club, where he enjoyed playing tennis and writing about the game for the club newsletter. He was a member of the Jewish Community Center.
Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Suetelle Phillips Liss of Rockville; two children, Meryl Liss Goodman of Rockville and Fulton Liss of Chevy Chase; four brothers, Abe Liss of Chevy Chase, Burton Liss of Arlington, George Liss of Boca Raton, Fla., and Phillip Liss of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a sister, Gertrude Liss of Boca Raton; and four grandchildren.
-- Patricia Sullivan
Kay Fife SterrettCold Regions Scientist
Kay Fife Sterrett, 76, a retired engineer who headed the research division of the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in New Hampshire, died Dec. 30 at Heritage House, a skilled nursing facility in Leesburg. He had complications from brain surgery to treat a head injury.
Mr. Sterrett, a former Bethesda resident, was born in McKeesport, Pa., and grew up in Monessen, Pa. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh in 1953 and received a doctorate in physical chemistry from the same university in 1957. He also received a master's degree in electrical engineering from Dartmouth College in 1985.
He began his government career in 1957 with the National Bureau of Standards. In 1961, he accepted a position managing research projects with Northrop in Los Angeles.
Mr. Sterrett returned to government service in 1967 as a civilian employee of the Army. He was chief of the research division of the old regions laboratory in Hanover, N.H., for 22 years and worked on a number of research projects, including a study of the military feasibility of air-cushion vehicles. He was involved with a study of the environmental impact of the Alaska oil pipeline and was part of the research team for the Viking mission to Mars.
He attended the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville.
In 1990, he moved to the Pentagon, where he was a technical staff officer to the chief of research and development for the armed forces. In 1994, he retired to his family farm near Purcellville.
Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Margaret Baker Sterrett of Purcellville; three children, David Karl Sterrett of Nashua, N.H., Emily Elkadi of Tucson, Ariz., and Rebecca Sterrett of Bozeman, Mont.; and two grandchildren.
-- Joe Holley
Richard J. Scanlan IIIPatent Examiner
Richard J. Scanlan III, 84, a retired patent examiner and patent agent, died Dec. 31 of heart disease at his home in Lake Ridge.
Mr. Scanlan worked for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 1960 until he retired in 1987. His assignments included details to the State Department, where he assisted in negotiations for the Patent Cooperation Treaty. He also served as president of the Patent Office Professional Association and was a liaison between the employees and management.
He was born in Detroit and enlisted in the Army Air Forces at the start of World War II. He trained as a pilot in Texas and flew B-25s and B-29s. He also drew illustrations and cartoons for the Army Air Forces yearbook.
Mr. Scanlan graduated from the Detroit Institute of Technology and Michigan College of Mining and Technology. He attended two years of law school at George Washington University.
He was a technical service representative and engineering instructor at Hudson Motor Car Co. in New York at the end of the 1940s and at American Motors in Alexandria through much of the 1950s.
The job enabled him to work as a troubleshooter for the limousines used during the inauguration ceremonies for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he and his wife attended a presidential ball.
Mr. Scanlan was a resident instructor at General Motors' Pontiac division in Chevy Chase in 1959 before joining the federal government.
Mr. Scanlan was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He also was a life member of the Delta Theta Phi law fraternity.
His first wife, Jo Ann Reitman Scanlan, died in 1964. A son from that marriage, Jonathan Scanlan, died in 1970.
Survivors include his wife, Teresa M. Scanlan of Woodbridge; two children from his second marriage, Richard J. Scanlan III of Woodbridge and Kevin M. Scanlan of Jacksonville, Ala.; and a brother.
-- Patricia Sullivan
Emilie Helen EmshwillerHomemaker
Emilie Helen Williams Emshwiller, 82, a homemaker who worked as a Pentagon secretary during World War II, died of pulmonary fibrosis Jan. 14 at her home in Silver Spring.
Mrs. Emshwiller was born in Columbia, S.C., and moved to Washington at age 17 in response to the government's call for secretaries to help in the war effort. She took a job at the Pentagon while it was still under construction. She resigned after her marriage in 1946 and devoted herself to raising six children.
In 1992, at age 67, Mrs. Emshwiller received a bachelor's degree in American Studies from the University of Maryland. She had few books as a child but grew up to enjoy libraries and reading. She passed along her reading passion to her children.
She also enjoyed the cultural benefits of Washington, particularly the art and history offerings of the Smithsonian museums. Other hobbies included needlework, quilting, rug hooking, rug braiding and dressmaking. She also liked antiques, hand-blown glass and ceramic pieces.
Her husband, William M. "Bill" Emshwiller, died in 1994.
Survivors include children Arlene Fenlon of Charlotte, William J. "Bill" Emshwiller of Ellicott City, Coby L. Emshwiller of Park City, Utah, Barbara Emshwiller of Alexandria, Carol Dudley of Grasonville, Md., and Nancy Adcock of Olney; two brothers; 15 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
-- Joe Holley
Frankie B. Ball Jr.Bethesda School Music Teacher
Frankie Baten Ball Jr., 62, who spent more than 26 years as instrumental music director at Thomas W. Pyle Middle School in Bethesda before retiring last year, died Dec. 21 at his home in Laytonsville. He had metastatic colon cancer.
Mr. Ball spent some of his Pyle career as music department chairman. He was credited with shaping the school's jazz ensemble, concert bands and string orchestra into top-flight groups that regularly won competitions throughout the mid-Atlantic region.
Two hundred former students performed in a tribute concert to Mr. Ball in January 2007. At the time, a Washington Post article about Mr. Ball noted his skill at commanding attention among the rambunctious youngsters under his tutelage with the shout: "Warm up, tune up, sit up and shut up!"
In addition, he founded the Montgomery County school system's junior honors jazz ensemble and directed the orchestra at the People's Community Baptist Church in Silver Spring, where he was a member.
He was a native of Seguin, Tex., where he played trumpet in rhythm and blues groups as well as the high school marching and performing bands.
He was a 1967 graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, where he also received a master's degree in music education in 1974.
He was instrumental music director at schools in Texas and Ohio before joining the faculty at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville in 1977.
In the D.C. area, he formerly ran two summer sports programs for low-income youths.
His marriage to Bettye Jo Ball ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of six years, Marilyn Massey-Ball of Laytonsville.
-- Adam Bernstein
John E. BaconDEA Official
John E. Bacon, 79, who retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1985 and later ran an antiques business, died Jan. 6 of a stroke at Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, Pa. He lived in Elizabethtown, Pa.
Mr. Bacon was born in Baltimore and graduated from Loyola College. He received a master's degree in history from Georgetown University and began working for the State Department in the 1950s. He later worked for the CIA in South America and was an analyst, writer and editor.
While with the DEA, he established its intelligence unit. He organized a similar unit at the Maryland State Police, while working there from 1993 to 1997. In retirement, he worked as an editor for the NASA space station program.
He ran an antiques and fine arts business in Baltimore in the late 1980s. He also wrote three books, including a novel about his time in Ecuador in the late 1950s to late 1960s.
Mr. Bacon was a member of the Order of the Cincinnati. He lived in Washington before moving to Pennsylvania in 1990.
His marriage to Jean Bacon ended in divorce. He was preceded in death by a son from that marriage, Francis Bacon, in 1994.
Survivors include his wife, Myra Jelliman Bacon of Baltimore; three sons from his first marriage, John Bacon of Martinsburg, W.Va., Ben Bacon of London and Hayward Bacon of Harpers Ferry, W.Va.; five stepchildren, David Steeves, Pamela Wilson, Stephen Steeves and Shelley Marston, all of Baltimore, and Meghan Freeman of Shawnee, Kan.; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Theresa R. WurmlingerCIA Security Officer
Theresa Romo Wurmlinger, 50, who had been a Central Intelligence Agency security officer since 1980 and co-owned an antiques business, died Jan. 8 at her home in Vienna. She had breast cancer.
Mrs. Wurmlinger, a member of the Senior Intelligence Service, was assigned to various parts of the CIA, including the Office of the Director of Central Intelligence.
She was born in Pueblo, Colo., and raised in Penrose, Colo. She was a 1979 political science and Spanish graduate of Colorado State University.
She was a longtime antiques collector and aficionado of antique glass. She and a partner owned and operated an antiques business at the Black Shutter Antique Center in Leesburg.
She was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Vienna. She was a former volunteer at Alexandria's Hartwood group house, a cooperative established by families of mentally handicapped persons.
Survivors include her husband of 19 years, Dale P. Wurmlinger of Vienna; her mother, Bertha Romo of Penrose; a sister; and three brothers.
-- Adam Bernstein