Friday, April 18, 2008; B06

Miriam B. WoodTeacher, Author

Miriam B. Wood, 89, a Montgomery County public schools English teacher, a columnist for a Seventh-day Adventist Church newspaper and an author of nearly 20 books, died March 16 at Sunrise Assisted Living of Silver Spring. She had Alzheimer's disease.

Mrs. Wood taught in Montgomery County from 1956 to 1972, last at White Oak Middle School in Silver Spring. She spent the next eight years as assistant to the president of Home Study International, an Adventist school in Silver Spring now called Griggs University and International Academy.

She also was vice director of its Christian leadership seminars during those years.

Mrs. Wood wrote columns from the mid-1950s to mid-1990s for the church's flagship newspaper, which became known as the Adventist Review. Her husband was its editor-in-chief for many years.

The last incarnation of her column was called "Dear Miriam" and featured advice on cultural and church matters.

Miriam Brown Wood was born in Atlanta. She was 7 when her mother died and was raised mostly in Lodi, Calif., by her paternal grandparents.

She was a 1938 English and history graduate of Pacific Union College in California.

She did graduate work in teaching at the University of Maryland in the 1960s.

She was registrar of Takoma Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist high school, from 1952 to 1956. She was a longtime Adelphi resident before moving to Silver Spring in 2000.

Her books included a 1977 biography of Rep. Jerry L. Pettis (R-Calif.), a family friend who died in a plane crash in 1975, and "Those Happy Golden Years: the Laughter, Tears and Adventures That Were Part of the Halcyon Years of Adventist Evangelism" (1980).

Survivors include her husband of 69 years, Kenneth H. Wood of Manor Care in Potomac; two daughters, Janet Stoehr of Silver Spring and Carole Xander of Gainesville, Fla.; a half-brother; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein

Elizabeth Seitz "Betty" White, 85, a teletype operator and satellite technician for the old Weather Bureau from the 1950s to 1970s, died April 14 at a caregiver's home in Clinton. She had Alzheimer's disease.

In 1971, Mrs. White was among the first operators for Prince George's County's 911 emergency service.

She was born in Salina, Kan., and served in the Navy Waves as a radio operator during World War II.

In the 1950s, she did voiceover work for WPGC-FM when it was a country and western station.

She was a longtime Clinton resident before moving to Supply, N.C., in 1976. She returned to the Washington area in 2000.

Her husband, Robert E. White, whom she married in 1945, died in 2001.

Survivors include five children, William White of Winterville, N.C., Roberta White of Brandywine, James White of Supply and Barbara White and Elizabeth Wyatt, both of La Plata; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein

Josephine Garcia Shelver, 89, a member of St. John's Catholic Church in McLean and a volunteer at its thrift shop from the 1960s to 1990s, died March 30 at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington. She had a brain hemorrhage.

Mrs. Shelver was born in Appalachia, Va., and was raised in Cheyenne, Wyo. She settled in the Washington area in 1942 and was a longtime McLean resident before moving to South Carolina in 2003. She spent the last six months in Bardstown, Ky.

Her husband, Kenneth C. Shelver, whom she married in 1942, died in 1964.

Survivors include three sons, Carl J. Shelver and Kenneth W. Shelver, both of Bardstown, and Dr. Lyle N. Shelver of Charleston, S.C.; a sister, Carmen Deshler of Springfield; and four grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein

Walter Ray Tucker, 88, a retired Greyhound Bus driver, died after a heart attack April 4 at his home in Alexandria.

Mr. Tucker drove for Greyhound for 38 years, retiring in 1987, then worked another decade for K-Mart and for the past 10 years as a greeter at Wal-Mart Stores.

He was born in West Jefferson, N.C., and served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific theater. He was a member of Rose Hill Baptist Church in Fairfax County.

His wife, Marie Berry Tucker, died in 1996.

Survivors include two children, Thomas R. Tucker and Martha E. Heckler, both of Alexandria.

--Patricia Sullivan

Leonard I. Lutwack, 90, a professor emeritus of English at the University of Maryland whose specialty was American literature, died April 1 at Keswick Multi-Care Center in Baltimore. He had heart and lung disease.

Dr. Lutwack taught at the university from 1950 to 1982. His books included "Heroic Fiction: The Epic Tradition and American Novels of the Twentieth Century" (1971), "The Role of Place in Literature" (1984) and "Birds in Literature" (1994).

The last title, about the significance and symbolism of birds in books, reflected his own enthusiasm for bird-watching. The Times of London included the book in its "Best Reading of 1994" list, calling it "perfect for a bird-loving bibliophile and book-loving bird watcher."

Leonard Isaac Lutwack was a native of Hartford, Conn. He was a 1939 graduate of Wesleyan University, where he also received a master's degree in English in 1940. He earned a doctorate in English from Ohio State University in 1950.

During World War II, he was a medic in the Army Medical Corps in England and Ireland.

He moved to Towson from University Park about eight years ago.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Ruth Taylor Lutwack of Towson; a daughter, Penelope S. Fallon of Lutherville; and two grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein

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. 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 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" 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