Obituaries

Elizabeth Schmid BonfilsLawyer

Elizabeth Schmid Bonfils, 83, a longtime lawyer with the Department of Labor, died March 5 of pneumonia at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville. She lived in Darnestown.

Mrs. Bonfils was born in Kansas City, Mo., and came to Washington in 1948 after graduating from law school at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. She worked with the Labor Department for seven years, then took time out to raise her seven children.

She returned to the Labor Department in 1966. Her responsibilities included enforcing child labor laws, maintaining workplace safety and drafting legislation. She retired in 1982.

Mrs. Bonfils lived in Washington before moving to Darnestown in 1967. She was a member of Our Lady of the Visitation Catholic Church in Darnestown. She had previously been a parishioner at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Washington and St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Gaithersburg.

She was a member of the Darnestown Civic Association, Toastmasters and the PTA.

Survivors include her husband of 57 years, Harry Bonfils of Darnestown; seven children, Thomas Bonfils of Detroit, Barbara Wholey of Kansas City, Mo., James Bonfils of Ashburn, Joanne Bonfils of Darnestown, Cecelia Bonfils of Gaithersburg, John Bonfils of Mount Airy and H. Frederick Bonfils, whose address is unknown; four sisters; and 15 grandchildren.

-- Matt Schudel

Jonathan HallBiology Professor

Jonathan Hall, 96, a retired biology and science professor at Gallaudet University, died Feb. 10 of pneumonia at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring. He lived in Wheaton.

Mr. Hall, whose father was the second president of Gallaudet, was born on campus in the president's house. He became proficient in American Sign Language, although he was not hearing-impaired.

He graduated from Eastern High School in 1930 and was interested in photography, science and motorcycles. After briefly attending the University of Maryland, he transferred to Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., where he became captain of the fencing team. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1935. In 1937, he received a master's degree in deaf education from Gallaudet.