Obituaries

She was a member for 78 years of Washington's New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, where she had been president of the women's association and a choir singer.

Margaret Nolan was born in Sherman, Tex., and raised in Albuquerque. She settled in the Washington area in the late 1920s and did statistical research work at the U.S. Maritime Administration.

She spent much of her retirement in Southern California and moved in with her son in Reston about four years ago.

Her husband of 54 years, Arch Whitney, died in 1990.

Survivors include a son, Lee Whitney of Reston; a sister; and two grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein

Martin Ralph Styer Jr.Charter Boat Captain

Martin Ralph Styer Jr., 87, a charter fishing boat operator and former builder, died of an aneurysm April 25 at his home in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Mr. Styer, a native of Kensington, operated his fishing business out of Florida and Ocean City, Md., where he regularly participated in the annual marlin tournament. He attended Randolph Macon Academy in Front Royal, Va., until leaving to enlist in the Army Air Force during World War II.

Serving as a waist gunner on a B-24, he was twice shot down. The first time, over Zagreb, Croatia, he evaded capture with the help of local resistance fighters. The second time, in July 1944, he was captured and held in a German prisoner of war camp near the Baltic Sea. He was among prisoners marched more than 500 miles west the next year to avoid liberation by the Russians. When he was released, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.

Mr. Styer returned to Kensington and opened a cement business and later became a builder of custom homes. He attended the University of Maryland and taught seamanship courses there before moving in the late 1960s to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he started his fishing business. He also managed a seafood distribution company there.