Saturday, June 21, 2008
John T. 'Jack' WillisAir Force Major
John T. "Jack" Willis, 87, an Air Force major who retired in 1963 and did engineering work for Mitre Corp., died of lung cancer June 18 at his home in Madison, Wis. He moved to Madison from Bethesda last year.
Maj. Willis was a Tuskegee airman stationed in the United States during World War II and was a meteorologist and radar specialist during his later military career.
He settled in the Washington area after his military retirement and spent a decade at Mitre. In the mid-1970s, he was on the staff of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advisory committee.
He later held a variety of jobs, including heading a computer training school in Montserrat, in the British West Indies.
John Thomas Willis was a native of Riverton, N.J., and a graduate of a teachers college in Trenton, N.J.
While in the Air Force, he received a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a certificate in meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
His marriage to Annie Smith Willis ended in divorce. A daughter from that marriage, Joanne Range, died in 1972.
Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Irma Thexton Willis of Madison; five children from his first marriage, Louise Amissah of Bowie, Edward Willis of Arlington and Eleanor Willis, Roberta Sims and Jacquelyne Willis, all of Washington; four stepchildren, Arthur Thexton of Madison, Liz Morton of Garden Grove, Calif., Matthew Thexton of Arlington and Bridget Iulo of Manhattan, N.Y.; a brother; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein
Edith F. WickertChurch Member, Volunteer
Edith F. Wickert, 82, who was a longtime church member, volunteer and community leader in Northern Virginia, died June 17 of cancer at her home in Alexandria.
Mrs. Wickert was born in Indianapolis and studied at Indiana University before moving to Washington during World War II. She worked as a secretary at The Washington Post, then was an executive assistant to a senior partner of the Covington and Burling law firm for about five years until her marriage in 1951.
She was a Girl Scout leader and started a babysitting service with other mothers in her neighborhood. She also established an early preschool, including a curriculum and teaching assignments.
At St. John's Lutheran Church in Alexandria, she was a member of the choir, a Sunday school and vacation Bible school teacher and participated in inner-city ministries. She also volunteered to help female prison inmates.
Mrs. Wickert later was a member of Burke Community Church, where she taught courses for women.
She enjoyed watercolor painting and taking guests on sightseeing tours of Washington. She also was known for inviting neighborhood children into her kitchen to help bake sugar cookies.
Survivors include her husband of 57 years, Thomas Stewart Wickert of Alexandria; four daughters, Kathleen Snow of Herndon, Anne Hall of Fairfax County and Carol Bashore and Vivian Rothermel, both of Annandale; a sister; and 11 grandchildren.
-- Matt Schudel
Stanley William WarchallComputer Engineer
Stanley William Warchall, 44, a computer engineer, died of complications of liver disease June 14 at his home in Rockville.
Mr. Warchall was born in Richmond. He grew up in Rockville and graduated from Richard Montgomery High School. He attended Montgomery College.
He worked briefly in the family business, Lawson Surgical in Gaithersburg, before he became a certified Microsoft engineer and started work as a computer consultant to various companies.
He was active in the Gaithersburg Jaycees and other community organizations.
Survivors include his parents, Ted and Eileen Warchall of Palm City, Fla.; two brothers, Blair Stanley Warchall of Germantown and Greg William Warchall of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
-- Patricia Sullivan
Patricia Ann WaltonHomemaker, Gift Shop Manager
Patricia Ann Walton, 78, a homemaker and retired manager of the National Institutes of Health gift shop, died June 17 of kidney failure at Garrett County Memorial Hospital in Oakland, Md.
She was born Patricia Ann Hammer in the District, grew up in Edmonston and graduated from Hyattsville High School in 1947. After her marriage that year, she lived in Hyattsville and Berwyn Heights before moving to Boblingen, Germany, in 1964. She and her husband, who worked for a government agency on a U.S. military base, lived in the village with their four sons, immersed themselves in the German language and culture and made lasting friends.
Mrs. Walton also lived in Potomac before moving to Oakland in 1995 after her husband retired from the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
She managed and operated the NIH gift shop from 1975 to 1995.
In retirement, she and her husband enjoyed world travel.
Survivors include her husband of 60 years, William W. Walton Jr. of Oakland; four sons, William W. Walton III of the Woodlands, Tex., P. Robert Walton of Manheim, Pa., Thomas P. Walton of Laurel and D. Eric Walton of Gaithersburg; and a sister.
-- Joe Holley
Edward G.U. 'Bill' BandEngineer, Naval Architect, Sailor
Bill Band, 82, an engineer and naval architect who did research for the government in the field of advanced marine vehicles, died of complications of a stroke June 4 at the Hospice of the Chesapeake in Harwood. He lived in Heritage Harbor in Annapolis.
With David Lavis, Mr. Band founded Band, Lavis & Associates in 1977 and began doing research that included surface effect ships, or twin-hulled watercraft that hover on a cushion of air. He retired as president in 1992.
Earlier, he worked with Booz Allen Applied Research Inc., Wyle Labs, Westinghouse Oceanic and Payne Inc., all in the Washington area.
Edward George Underwood Band was born in Brentford, England, and received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London.
In his youth he played cricket for his boys' school and for the Chilean National test team. He also competed in rugby.
He received a master's of science degree at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., in 1951.
He worked in Toronto before returning to England in 1952. He later worked at Martin Aircraft in Baltimore before moving in 1958 to Chile and teaching mechanical engineering at the Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria in Valparaiso.
Mr. Band returned to the United States in 1964 and was a research professor at the Webb Institute, a college of naval architecture and marine engineering in Glen Cove, N.Y., before moving to the Washington area about a year later.
While living in Severna Park for 28 years until 2000, he skippered a sailboat that won many races, including the Great Ocean Race at least twice. He was one of the founders of the Round Bay Sailing Association, commodore of the Midget Ocean Racing Club and a past president of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association.
He was a member of the Hovercraft Society, the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.
He also belonged to the International Ships Structure Committee, which took him to meetings around the world.
His marriage to Rosa Maria Schmidt ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife, Kerstin "Kitt" Band of Annapolis, whom he married in 1972; five children from his first marriage, Jean Alan Band of Cape St. Claire, Rosalinda Band of Xalapa, Mexico, William Band of Reno, Nev., Christina DeAceves of La Paz, Mexico, and Jennifer Band of New York; a stepson from his second marriage, Ian McNeill of Annapolis; five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
K. Evelyn 'Eve' ThalisD.C. Building Manager
K. Evelyn "Eve" Thalis, 91, a building manager for 20 years at the Winthrop Condominium in Northwest Washington, died May 24 at her home at the Winthrop. She had bone cancer.
Mrs. Thalis retired as building manager last year. She was manager of a Lillie Rubin women's clothing store at Montgomery Mall from 1972 to 1976 and Theodore Nye Jewelers in Northwest Washington from 1978 to 1984.
Katherine Evelyn Burrier was born in Baltimore, moved to Washington in 1934 and worked as a model. She also briefly owned and operated a photography business.
In the 1960s and 1970s, she lived in Potomac and raised many pets, including Great Danes. Her hobbies also included landscape painting.
Her husband, Pasquale J. Thalis, whom she married in 1952, died in 1987.
Survivors include five children, J. Christopher Thalis of Washington, Paula Martinez of Olney, J. Michele Wharton of Morgantown, W.Va., M. Gregory Thalis of Boonsboro, Md., and Lisa van Zalk of Kensington; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein
Olivia Archangel SweeneyHomemaker, Secretary
Olivia Archangel Sweeney, 85, a retired secretary for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and later for St. Mary's Elementary School in Rockville, died June 18 of cancer at Rockville Nursing Center. She was a longtime Rockville resident.
Mrs. Sweeney was born in Beaverdale, Pa., and moved to Washington in 1940 to work as a State Department court reporter. From 1945 to 1947, she served with the Red Cross in Hawaii and Japan.
After marrying in 1953, she was a homemaker for 16 years before returning to the workforce as a secretary with the NRC. She retired in 1987 and then worked for 14 years as the secretary at Saint Mary's Elementary School. She retired again in 2001 but continued to volunteer at the school.
Mrs. Sweeney worked on a number of political campaigns over the years, including Hubert Humphrey's 1960 vice presidential campaign. She also wrote speeches for Humphrey. She also worked on the campaigns of Maryland politicians, including Louis Goldstein, Gilbert Gude and Douglas Duncan.
She was a member of the Order Sons of Italy in America, Montgomery County Lodge No. 2288, and the Belles of St. Mary's Red Hat Society.
Her husband, Francis J. Sweeney, died in 1982.
Survivors include two children, Mary Sweeney and Edward Sweeney, both of Rockville; and three sisters, Philimene Edgley and Rita Bowen, both of Rockville, and Mary Lawrence of Potomac.
-- Joe Holley
Lois M. MorrisLay Chaplain
Lois M. Morris, 81, a lay chaplain at the University of Maryland's chapel, died of septic shock June 18 at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park.
Mrs. Morris worked at the chapel from 1962 to 1976. She initially was office manager and chaplain's secretary. Her involvement deepened as a counselor, and in 1971 she was elevated to staff team member. In 1974, she became lay chaplain.
Lois Michael was born in Oxford, W.Va., and attended what is now Salem International University in West Virginia.
During her University of Maryland career, she also took professional-development courses in counseling, interpersonal-growth group leadership, human sexuality and adult education.
She was a longtime Beltsville resident and founding member of the former Beltsville United Presbyterian Church. She also was active in parent-teacher and scouting groups.
Her husband of 41 years, Lindsay F. Morris Jr., died in 1986.
Survivors include two sons, Kelly J. Morris of Beltsville and Patrick L. Morris of Arnold; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein
Olivia Ferguson CopeMiddle School Student
Olivia Ferguson Cope, 13, the editor in chief of the yearbook at Swanson Middle School in Arlington County and a member of the National Junior Honor Society, died June 15 at Arlington Medical Center of complications from asthma.
Miss Cope was born in Arlington and until age 8 lived in the District, where she attended Tuckahoe Elementary School. At Swanson, she was an honor roll student and co-president of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America.
She loved listening to music, dancing, being with friends and riding horses and was an avid Washington Capitals hockey fan. She volunteered at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington and the Cleveland Park Camp for Kids and looked forward to volunteering this summer in the Arlington Summer Camp Tot Program.
Survivors include her parents, Faye Lenoir Ferguson and Charles Lanis Cope; and her sister, Emily Ferguson Cope, all of Arlington.
-- Joe Holley
John G. BonnerPortrait Artist
John G. Bonner, 83, a portrait artist who earlier had spent 20 years with the Central Intelligence Agency, died of cancer May 25 at The Fairfax retirement community in Fort Belvoir.
Mr. Bonner taught portrait and painting classes in Fairfax County for more than a decade. He painted Cabinet members, ambassadors, leaders of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, and many noted politicians and businessmen, his wife said.
Some of his portraits hang in private homes in the Washington area, and some are in the permanent collection of the U.S. Air Force. Slides of his paintings are on file with the National Portrait Gallery.
His goal as an artist, he said, was "to paint portraits that will stand as works of lasting quality."
He was born in Gainesville, Tex., and attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas before serving in the Navy from 1943 to 1947. He graduated from SMU in 1948 and attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., until 1951.
Mr. Bonner then worked at the CIA. He retired in 1971.
His commercial work was exhibited in the Art Director's Show in Washington. His memberships included the Torpedo Factory Art Group.
He lived in Alexandria from 1954 until moving to The Fairfax in December.
Survivors include his wife, Eleanor Ladd Bonner of Fort Belvoir and a son, Walter G. Bonner of Gulf Shores, Ala.
-- Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb
Isabel BartlettChurch Member
Isabel Bartlett, 93, a Navy wife and member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Herndon, died June 14 at her home in Herndon. She had cardiovascular disease.
Isabel Wells was born in Ellensburg, Wash., and raised in Seattle. She married in 1937 and accompanied her husband on his military assignments before settling in the Washington area in 1959.
She was living near Pearl Harbor in December 1941 when a Japanese bomb landed in an alley near the bedroom window where her baby son, Randy, was sleeping.
"Shrapnel sprayed through our apartment," she told Naval History magazine last year. "Rooms were full of choking dust and plaster, and there was a strong burning smell everywhere. Inside, I could hear [the baby] screaming. . . . There was a hole about eight inches wide just above the crib, which was untouched."
The baby was unhurt, she said, and they later drove to safety at a friend's home.
She spent nearly 20 years in Arlington County before moving to Herndon. She enjoyed painting and gardening.
Her husband, retired Navy Capt. Wilson R. Bartlett, died in 1982.
Survivors include three children, Randy Bartlett of Wellfleet, Mass., Curtis Bartlett of Falls Church and Melissa Bartlett of Los Alamos, N.M.; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein