Obituaries

-- Adam Bernstein

R. Wayne HowlandMarine Corps Colonel

R. Wayne Howland, 78, a Marine Corps colonel and manpower specialist who retired in 1981 and spent the next 15 years as chief operating officer of several Northern Virginia Realtor associations, died July 22 at his family's vacation home in Duck, N.C. He had coronary artery disease.

Col. Howland served 30 years in the Marine Corps. His final active-duty assignment, based at corps headquarters, was deputy director of manpower, plans and policy.

He was a veteran of the wars in Korea and Vietnam, and his decorations included the Legion of Merit, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Navy Commendation Medal. He also received the Bronze Star for rescuing members of his tank platoon from a burning tank in Korea.

During his military retirement, he was a volunteer at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, taught an AARP driving course and was an election volunteer. He also attended more than 22 Elderhostel programs during trips in the United States and Europe.

Robert Wayne Howland was born in Lowellville, Ohio, and raised in Youngstown, Ohio.

He was a 1951 graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and received master's degrees in management from Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., in 1963 and in international affairs from George Washington University in 1969.

He was a member of Centreville Presbyterian Church, near his home in Gainesville.

His wife of 50 years, Janice Duncan Howland, died in 2001.

Survivors include his wife, Shirley Hinkle Howland, whom he married in 2004, of Gainesville; four children from his first marriage, Debby Wilkinson of West Lebanon, N.H., Duncan Howland of Littleton, Colo., Bruce Howland of Helena, Ala., and Dana Jones of Vienna; three stepdaughters, Cheryl Hinkle of Springfield, Cindy Burkholder of Ladysmith, Va., and Carol Teal of Charlotte; two brothers, Paul Howland of Williamsburg and Don Howland of Doylestown, Pa.; 18 grandchildren; and a great-grandson.