Obituaries

Edward G. MilneEngineer

Edward G. Milne, 80, a mechanical engineer who worked on aeronautical projects and later entered the plumbing business, died Feb. 9 at his home in McLean. He had hypertension.

Mr. Milne was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and grew up on a farm in New Jersey. He graduated in 1948 from Cornell University, where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

He worked for the Bendix and Curtiss-Wright corporations in New Jersey, designing aircraft and helping develop solid rocket fuel. In 1967, he moved to McLean after taking an engineering job with Atlantic Research.

Mr. Milne left engineering in the early 1980s to pursue a lifelong fascination with plumbing. One of Mr. Milne's daughters said he enjoyed tinkering, kept the family home's drains in good working order and drove a station wagon crammed with pipes, wrenches and other plumbing equipment.

He worked for more than 10 years as a sales representative with Apex Plumbing Supply before retiring about 15 years ago.

Mr. Milne was a model railroad enthusiast and had an extensive train layout in his basement. He also had an attachment to New England and visited a family home in Deer Isle, Maine, several times a year.

His wife of 54 years, Nancy Milne, died in 2004.

Survivors include three children, Linda Carter of Reston, Deborah Stoken of Sterling and David Milne of Springfield; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

-- Matt Schudel

Maria Teresa ParcellsMusician, Teacher

Maria Teresa Parcells, 88, a musician and piano teacher, died of complications from dementia Feb. 20 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Baltimore. She lived in Columbia.