Obituaries

-- Adam Bernstein

Shelly Ellen HorenbergBookkeeper, Knitter

Shelly Ellen Horenberg, 72, who worked as a bookkeeper for 40 years in her husband's insurance business and who knitted hundreds of baby caps, died March 30 of complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at Anne Arundel Medical Center.

Over the years, she sent hundreds of newly knitted baby caps and blankets for cancer patients to the Anne Arundel Medical Center, her family said.

She was born Baby Girl Posner in Baltimore and grew up in Washington, where she attended Coolidge High School and a business school. She married Ted Horenberg at the Willard Hotel in 1954, and at the same time she changed her name to Rochelle Shelley Ellen Posner.

Mrs. Horenberg and her husband lived in Silver Spring before moving to Annapolis 25 years ago. She retired as a bookkeeper in 2001.

Along with knitting, she enjoyed traveling, going on cruises and crocheting.

Besides her husband, survivors include three sons, Robert Horenberg of North Potomac, Hal Horenberg of Potomac and Glenn Horenberg of Silver Spring; and four grandchildren.

-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb

Nona J. NeubauerAdministrative Assistant

Nona J. Neubauer, 72, a former administrative assistant at the National Education Association and a singer in several local chorales, died of cancer April 5 at Georgetown University Hospital. She lived in Washington.

Mrs. Neubauer sang in the Oratorio Society of Washington, the Cathedral Choral Society, the Georgetown Chorale and several other groups.

She was born in Philadelphia. She moved to the Washington area in 1964 and spent 17 years at the NEA. She later worked part-time at Dumbarton United Methodist Church and the Church of the Covenant in Arlington.

Mrs. Neubauer also volunteered for a telephone hotline. She mentored at the Foundry United Methodist Church and also volunteered in its homeless ministry and as a communion steward.

Survivors include her husband of 27 years, Tom Neubauer of Washington; two sons, Austin Neubauer and David Neubauer, both of Washington; her mother, Josephine Lindsay of Philadelphia; a brother; and a sister.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Richard Bradley OwenTechnical Illustrator

Richard Bradley Owen, 84, a retired technical illustrator and a D-Day veteran, died March 18 of complications of heart surgery at Washington Hospital Center. He lived in Silver Spring.

Mr. Owen was born in Independence, Mo., and served in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in World War II. He parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the head June 9.

He was unconscious for eight days and spent 18 months recovering at a veterans hospital in Missouri. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

He graduated from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1950. He became a technical illustrator with the Ford Motor Co. in Kansas City in 1952, then joined the Cabot Corp. in Kokomo, Ind., in 1957.

Mr. Owen moved to the Washington area in 1972 to be an illustrator with the Environmental Protection Agency. From 1983 to 1985, he was on leave to work for the Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He returned to the EPA before his retirement in 1986.

Mr. Owen lived in Rockville for many years before moving to Silver Spring. He was a deacon and elder at Rockville Christian Church and later was a member of Aspen Hill Christian Church.

He was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division Association, the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the Disabled American Veterans and other veterans groups.

Mr. Owen enjoyed painting throughout his life, and one of his murals of a sky scene adorns the baptismal pool at Rockville Christian Church. He collected some of his abstract paintings and poems in a booklet, "Aerobics for the Mind."

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, LaRue Owen of Silver Spring; three sons, Brad Owen of Kensington, Joel Owen of Gaithersburg and Todd Owen of Silver Spring; a stepbrother and stepsister; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

-- Matt Schudel

Harold 'Hal' HurwitzComputer Programmer

Harold "Hal" Hurwitz, 79, a staff sergeant and computer programmer for the Air Force, was found dead March 24 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Herndon.

Sgt. Hurwitz, a Boston native, served in the Air Force for 23 years, much of the time in West Germany. He moved to the Washington area in the early 1970s and retired from the military in 1971.

He then worked for Computer Sciences Corp. and later the National Wildlife Federation, retiring a second time in 1994.

Over the next decade, he was a volunteer citizen liaison for the Herndon Police Department and with the Fairfax County court system.

Survivors include two sisters.

-- Patricia Sullivan