Obituaries

Geoffrey B. TempletonNASA Quality-Control Official

Geoffrey B. Templeton, 68, an Army major and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War who became a quality-control official at NASA, died of an embolism June 8 at his home in Emmett, Idaho.

Maj. Templeton served 24 years in the Army and volunteered for four tours of duty in Vietnam. He received the Silver Star for leading a company of soldiers through a reconnaissance mission under enemy fire in October 1968.

He refused evacuation despite severe wounds, helped in the evacuation of other casualties and directed the efforts of his soldiers "until a successful assault was launched and victory was assured," according to the award citation.

His other decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.

After the war, Maj. Templeton was an officer in the Army's armored branch and settled in the Washington area. He retired from the military in the mid-1980s.

He spent 17 years at NASA and oversaw a program that monitored the quality of contractors. He retired in 2003.

He was a former member of St. Anthony of Padua's Catholic Church in Falls Church. After his NASA retirement, he moved to Idaho from Arlington County.

Geoffrey Becton Templeton was born in Los Angeles, where his family was involved in moviemaking for generations. His father was a film and television producer and director.

Mr. Templeton was a 1962 graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and served as junior-year class president.

Survivors include his wife of 27 years, Susan Arellano Templeton of Emmett; a son, Army Sgt. G. Becton Templeton of San Antonio; a nephew he was raising, Jack Sigman of Emmett; and two brothers, Patrick A. Templeton of Bethesda and Mark Templeton of Manchester, Vt.

-- Adam Bernstein

Irving J. AlbertCIA Translator

Irving J. Albert, 83, a multilingual translator for the Central Intelligence Agency for more than 30 years, died of brain cancer June 11 at his home in Potomac.

Mr. Albert worked for the CIA from 1950 to 1984, using his proficiency in almost a dozen languages during postings in Europe, Scandinavia and Southeast Asia. When he retired, he received the CIA's Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.

He spoke Russian, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, French and Italian and was a student of Turkish, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese.

He was born in Philadelphia and served in Europe during World War II with the Army's 9th Armored Division, Headquarters Company, as a radio operator to Gen. George S. Patton. After the war, Mr. Albert graduated from Temple University. He was a graduate student in the Old Church Slavonic language at the University of Pennsylvania when he quit school to join the CIA.

After his retirement, he served as a consultant to the agency until 1993. He tutored Russian emigres in English, volunteered at Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic of Metropolitan Washington and traveled. As a younger man, he ran 10K and 10-mile races; later in life he was an avid jitterbug dancer.

He also continued to study languages, most recently working on modern Greek.

His wife of 37 years, Marisa Albert, died in 1994.

Survivors include three children, James Albert of Elkton, Md., Sheila Boyle of Potomac and Jack Albert of Bethesda; and four grandchildren.

-- Patricia Sullivan