Obituaries

Robert L. Doney Sr.Army Master Sergeant

Robert Lamar Doney Sr., 84, an Army master sergeant who retired in 1964 and spent the next 24 years driving and doing office work for moving and storage companies with military contracts, died Dec. 24 at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg. He had septic shock.

Sgt. Doney, a native of Shamokin, Pa., joined the Army in 1940. As an infantryman in World War II, he saw combat in North Africa, Sicily, Belgium and France before being wounded at St. Lo.

He was later in the Military Police and Army Transportation Corps and served as chauffeur for the quartermaster general in the mid-1950s.

His final active-duty assignment was as senior National Guard adviser to the 29th Infantry Division in Lynchburg.

His decorations included the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

Sgt. Doney had a home in the Washington area since the 1950s and was a longtime Springfield resident. Most recently, he lived with a son in Locust Grove, Va.

He was a member of Springfield United Methodist Church, where he oversaw the coffee fund.

His wife, Louise Owens Doney, whom he married in 1948, died in 2001.

Survivors include five children, Robert L. Doney Jr. of Locust Grove, Rita Bettis of Lawrenceville, Ga., Ronda Doney of Fairfax City, Ruane Langton of Tracys Landing and Lisa Doney of Dallas; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein