Obituaries

Beth Southern was born in Cleveland. She received a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1974 and a master's degree in health and physical education administration in 1975, both from Howard. She earned her doctorate in therapeutic recreation from the University of Maryland in 1987.

During the 1980s, she was a synchronized swimming judge at the U.S. Olympic trials and national championships. From 1986 to 1992, she helped develop and run Bodywise, a fitness program for seniors in Washington.

From 1992 to 1996, she was a chief program officer for the Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency, and from 1996 to 1999, she was a health-care manager for Maryland.

Her marriages to Chester Eubanks and James Hollingsworth ended in divorce.

Survivors include a son from her first marriage, Marcus A. Eubanks of Washington; two brothers, F. David Coleman of Pittsburgh and Paul B. Southern of Washington; and two sisters, Renira J. Southern of Upper Marlboro and Laura Southern-Jones of Washington.

-- Lauren Wiseman

G. Daniel HessmannPostal Service Engineer

G. Daniel Hessmann, 83, a mechanical engineer who worked for the U.S. Postal Service from 1965 to 1997 and helped in the transition from manual to automated operations in mail sorting, died Oct. 25 at his home in Silver Spring. He had pancreatic cancer.

Mr. Hessmann did mechanical engineering work for the rayon maker American Viscose in Pennsylvania and for the abrasives manufacturer Carborundum in Niagara Falls, N.Y., before joining the old Post Office Department in Washington.

He taught at the Postal Academy in Potomac toward the end of his career, conducting courses in the use of personal computers by postal analysts and engineers.

George Daniel Hessmann was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., and raised in the mid-Atlantic states and West Virginia. He was an Eagle Scout as a youth.