Obituaries

Mary Joyce WilliamsHomeland Security Employee

Mary Joyce Hemenway Williams, 47, an analyst in the office of the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, died July 21 at her Arlington County home.

The cause of death is pending a determination by the Virginia medical examiner. Her family said she had an apparent prescription drug interaction, after foot surgery. She also had multiple sclerosis and had been treated for breast cancer.

Mrs. Williams was born in Munich, where her father was based with the U.S. Foreign Service, and grew up in Washington. She graduated from Holton-Arms School in Bethesda and the University of Redlands in California.

She was a Heritage Foundation media specialist and press secretary to Sen. Steve Symms (R-Idaho) before joining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1986.

As a special-projects coordinator, she played a key role in developing the Take Pride in America program, which promotes the appreciation of public lands. She drafted speeches for the service's directors and helped design an environmental awareness program for deaf children.

After several years in California, where her husband was stationed in the Marine Corps, Mrs. Williams settled in Arlington in 2000 and established the Federal Hill Foundation. The nonprofit organization was created to raise awareness of Federal Hill, a historic house in Fredericksburg.

Mrs. Williams joined Homeland Security's Office of Legislative Affairs in 2004 and later transferred to the executive secretariat in the secretary's office. She prepared and edited materials for top officials, including the secretary.

She was a member of Cherrydale Baptist Church, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Public Relations Society of America and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Survivors include her husband of 20 years, retired Marine Maj. Fielding L. Williams, and their son, Fielding L. Williams II, both of Arlington; her parents, John D. and Betty Hemenway of Washington; two brothers, John M. Hemenway of Bedford, Va., and David Hemenway of Alexandria; and two sisters, Catherine H. Siewick of Arlington and Jane H. Sullivan of New York.

-- Matt Schudel

Edmond M. ReevesAstrophysicist

Edmond M. Reeves, 74, an astrophysicist and retired chief scientist with NASA, died Aug. 8 of cancer at Virginia Hospital Center. He lived in Arlington County.

Dr. Reeves joined NASA in 1982 and was chief of the astrophysics payloads branch on space shuttle efforts and also chief scientist for NASA's space station unit. From 1993 until his retirement in 1998, he was deputy director and later director of the Flight Systems Office, where he was responsible for planning and coordinating science operations for missions including Spacelab, commercial space programs and U.S. experiments performed on the Russian Mir space station.

He also was a scientific leader for NASA's International Space Station research facility and was executive secretary of the Space Station Utilization Board.

Dr. Reeves was born in London, Ontario, and received bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Western Ontario. His PhD, which he received in 1959, was in atomic and molecular physics.

He was a senior research associate at the Harvard College Observatory for 17 years before moving to the National Center for Atmospheric Research's High Altitude Observatory in Boulder, Colo. At both places, Dr. Reeves often worked on scientific projects for NASA. In 1974, he received NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal.

He was a fellow of the Optical Society of America and the American Physical Society and was a member of many professional organizations, including the International Academy of Astronautics, International Astronomical Union and American Astronomical Society.

He enjoyed outdoor activities and travel.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Vivian L. Reeves of Arlington; two children, Geoff Reeves of Los Alamos, N.M., and Laurie Webster of Falls Church; and three grandchildren.

-- Matt Schudel