Obituaries

Mr. Sypkens was born in San Francisco and was a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. He was an Army officer in the Korean War.

He came to the Washington region in 1959 to work as a programmer with the National Security Agency. He later worked at the National Institutes of Health before spending more than 20 years as a systems analyst with the Department of Health and Human Services. He retired in 1992.

Mr. Sypkens received a diagnosis of terminal cancer in 1990 but, through various treatments, he survived for 18 years, traveling with his wife throughout the United States and spending time with his grandsons.

He lived in Bowie before moving to Davidsonville 30 years ago.

Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Joanna Sypkens of Davidsonville; two daughters, Cathi Sypkens and Cari Frazier, both of Davidsonville; and four grandsons.

-- Matt Schudel

Ruth L. SteermanPediatrician

Ruth L. Steerman, 65, a pediatrician who had a private practice in College Park from 1989 to 2000, died of coronary and pulmonary failure May 2 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. She had lived in Ashburn since 2002.

Dr. Steerman, who also had an office in her University Park home, readily responded to the needs of her patients no matter the time of day, her daughter said.

"She really was the most caring person," said Sarah Breen of Alexandria. "They called her in the middle of the night, and she would see them."