Obituaries

Marilyn Earle Thrall Librarian

Marilyn Earle Thrall, 79, a librarian and homemaker, died of cancer Dec. 22 at Powhatan Nursing Home in Falls Church. She had lived in Arlington County since 1956.

Mrs. Thrall worked for the Arlington library system at its Columbia Pike branch, starting in 1972, and later worked at Marymount University until she retired in 1995.

Marilyn Earle was born in Indianapolis, the daughter of a Methodist minister, and grew up in small towns in north central Indiana. She graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., and moved to Washington in 1952. She joined the staff of the Folger Shakespeare Library, working for three years as a cataloguer of rare books and manuscripts.

She married and became a full-time homemaker until returning to the workplace in 1972.

She was on the vestry of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Arlington in the 1960s and was a member of the Neighbors Club in Arlington. She made more than a dozen trips to England, paying special attention to historic churches and cathedrals.

Survivors include her husband of 56 years, Russell Thrall of Arlington; a daughter, Janice Jannuzzi of Richmond; twin sons, Gordon Thrall of Annandale and David Thrall of Redondo Beach, Calif.; and six grandchildren.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Carlos C. Villarreal Federal Transit Official

Carlos C. Villarreal, 85, one of the first administrators of the Transportation Department's Urban Mass Transportation Administration, died of pneumonia Dec. 14 at Suburban Hospital. The Rockville resident had renal and congestive heart failure.

As the agency's chief from 1969 to 1973, Mr. Villarreal helped significantly expand the federal urban transportation budget. Mr. Villarreal's government career also included service on the Postal Rate Commission in the 1970s.

Carlos Castaneda Villarreal was born in 1924 in Brownsville, Tex. He attended Texas A&M University before receiving an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1948. Mr. Villarreal later received a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

During the Korean War, Mr. Villarreal commanded a fleet of minesweepers off the coast of North Korea. After four years in the Navy, he moved to the private sector, working for General Electric in Cincinnati and Marquardt, an aerospace research firm in Van Nuys, Calif., before President Richard M. Nixon appointed him to the Transportation Department. Later in his career, Mr. Villareal worked with the engineering firm Wilbur Smith Associates on projects including the feasibility study for the tunnel under the English Channel, Singapore's subway system, traffic engineering in Moscow and roadwork in Dubai.

Mr. Villarreal was past president of the Army and Navy Club and the National Society of Professional Engineers. A member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Rockville, he was active in Catholic Charities U.S.A.

His first wife, Doris Akers, died in 1995. His son David Villareal died in a motorcycle accident in 2005.

Survivors include his wife of seven years, June McElroy Villarreal of Rockville; a son from his first marriage, Timothy Villarreal of Sterling; a stepdaughter, Alessandra Gelmi of Washington; a sister; and two granddaughters.

-- Emily Langer

Harold M. Willard Reporter

Harold M. Willard, 82, a former Washington Post reporter and editor, died Dec. 24 of sepsis at Gilchrist Center-Hospice Care in Towson, Md. He also had diabetes. He lived in Monkton, Md.

From 1956 to 1977, Mr. Willard, under the byline Hal Willard, worked as a reporter covering Montgomery County politics. He later became an assistant Sunday editor, running The Post's Panorama section, a weekly supplement on local and community news. He later covered nuclear power issues.

After leaving The Post, Mr. Willard worked part time as a copy editor for the Evening Sun in Baltimore and the Aegis in Harford County. For three years, he taught journalism at Loyola University in Baltimore.

A jazz enthusiast, Mr. Willard wrote a biography of jazz cornetist Wild Bill Davison. A musician himself, Mr. Willard worked his way through college as a bass player.

Harold Meyer Willard was born in Belvidere, Ill. He served briefly in the Army before studying journalism at Michigan State University, from which he graduated in 1952. For three years, he worked for the old United Press in Des Moines and later London.

Survivors include his wife of 55 years, the former Edith Stockton Mays of Monkton; two sons, Scott Willard and Robin Willard, both of Monkton; and three grandchildren.

-- Timothy R. Smith

Edward C. Wratten Postal employee

Edward C. Wratten, 80, a retired assistant postmaster at the Rockville post office, died Dec. 12 of a stroke at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.

Mr. Wratten, a Rockville resident since 1945, joined the old Post Office Department in 1952 as a letter carrier, eventually working his way to supervisor before becoming assistant postmaster. He retired in 1985.

During the Korean War, Mr. Wratten served as a Navy radio operator.

Edward Cannon Wratten was born in Mount Vernon, Ala. When he was a boy, his family moved to Washington and later Rockville. A 1947 graduate of Richard Montgomery High School, he was a quarterback on the football squad.

Mr. Wratten enjoyed golf and was a member of the Montgomery Country Club. He was the club's liaison to the Maryland Interclub Senior Golf Association, which organizes tournaments in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. He was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Rockville.

Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Rachel Beaulieu Wratten of Rockville; five children, Annette Weller of Gaithersburg, John Wratten of Stockton, Calif., Mark Wratten of Walkersville, Marie Myers of Damascus and Paul Wratten of Edgewater; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

-- Timothy R. Smith

Marjorie Brooks Domestic Worker

Marjorie Brooks, 95, a domestic worker in Southern Maryland's Calvert County who also did fundraising work for the county's black churches, died Dec. 22 at her home in Prince Frederick. She had complications from a stroke.

Mrs. Brooks, the daughter of tenant farmers, started as a domestic worker after leaving school in seventh grade. She worked for families in Southern Maryland for many decades. She and her late husband helped raise many of their relatives and dozens of other children as foster parents. She received several state awards for her children's advocacy.

Marjorie Cornelia Harrod was born in Plum Point, a community in Calvert. She was a member of Plum Point United Methodist Church in Huntingtown. She and her husband raised tobacco and harvested fruits and vegetables on their Prince Frederick property.

Her husband of 60 years, Albert D. Brooks, died in 1992. Two of her children died, Chancy Brooks, in 1996, and June Gross, in 2004.

Survivors include four sons, Albert Brooks, Langston Brooks, Sidney Brooks and Kermit "Chuck" Brooks, all of Prince Frederick; a brother, George "Broome" Harrod of Huntingtown; a sister, Weltha "Birdie" Pegues of Chesapeake Beach; 19 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; and eight-great-great grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein

Joanne I. Collings Freelance Reviewer

Joanne I. Collings, 60, a freelance writer and book reviewer, died of cancer Dec. 28 at George Washington University Hospital. She lived in Washington.

Ms. Collins wrote columns and reviews for the past eight years for The Washington Post, BookPage, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Washingtonian magazine.

"Ever since moving to Washington 22 years ago," she wrote in Washingtonian in 2008, "I've had to defend the place to practically everyone I know outside the Beltway, all of whom seem to hold DC residents responsible for everything that goes on here. But I'm used to sticking up for where I live: That's something you learn when you grow up in New Jersey."

Joanne Iva Collings was born in Camden County, N.J. She graduated from Rutgers University-Camden and did graduate work at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. She moved to Washington in 1986 and worked as an administrator at Research Information Services, at library support system firm OCLC-Capcon and at Gnossos Software, all in Washington.

Survivors include her husband of 12 years, Randall Mawer of Washington; and three brothers.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Mary Ann Estey Teacher

Mary Ann Estey, 79, a teacher for 28 years in Montgomery County public schools, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Dec. 11 at Montgomery General Hospital in Olney. She lived in Silver Spring.

Ms. Estey taught English, political science and social studies at White Oak Junior High, Springbrook High and Magruder High schools until she retired in 1990.

She was born in Seattle and grew up in California and the state of Washington. She graduated from American University, where she also received a master's degree in education in 1968. She taught in Germany and Japan for the Department of Defense education system, then moved back to the Washington area and worked in Montgomery schools.

She volunteered on the political campaigns of former representative Constance A. Morella, a Republican from suburban Maryland. She was also past president of Rossmoor Woman's Club in Silver Spring's Leisure World. And she was a member of the Chevy Chase Republican Club.

Survivors include a brother.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Ruth Stroupe Fulton Community Volunteer

Ruth Stroupe Fulton, 88, an administrative assistant and community volunteer, died of cancerous heart conditions Dec. 26 at Powhatan Nursing Home in Falls Church. She was a longtime Arlington County resident.

Mrs. Fulton, a native of Concord, N.C., worked as an accountant before moving to Arlington in 1955. She then spent many years as an administrative assistant at M.T. Broyhill and Sons. Her later life was devoted to charitable and community work.

She was a member and past officer of the Woman's Club of Williamsburg and belonged to Washington Golf and Country Club and Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington. She was also an avid gardener.

Survivors include her husband of 56 years, C. Benjamin Fulton of Arlington; a son, C. Benjamin Fulton Jr. of Fredericksburg; and two granddaughters.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Anna M. Hoehn Nurse

Anna Malin Hoehn, 87, a nurse at the old Arlington Hospital, the Alexandria Health Department and the Hermitage in Northern Virginia, died of breast cancer Dec. 17 at her home in Locust Grove, Va.

She worked at the Health Department from 1972 to 1979 and for the Hermitage from 1979 to 1982, then became a consultant for long-term care facilities in the area until retiring in 1990.

For the next 10 years, Mrs. Hoehn operated a quilting and fabric crafts stand at the Alexandria farmers market. In 2000, she moved to Locust Grove.

She was born in Newark, Del., and graduated from high school in Elkton, Md. She received her registered nursing license in 1944 from the Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Wilmington, Del., and served in the Army Nurse Corps, working on a hospital ship in the Pacific during World War II.

She received a bachelor's degree in nursing from Takoma Park's Columbia Union College in 1973, a master's degree in adult learning from Virginia Tech in 1976 and a master's degree in nursing from George Mason University in 1982 and did postgraduate work in gerontological nursing.

Her husband, Dr. Arthur John Hoehn, died in 1998. A son, James Hoehn, died in 1993.

Survivors include three sons, John Hoehn of Pennsville, N.J., Jerrold Hoehn of Locust Grove and Jeffrey Hoehn of Stafford, Va.; a brother; eight grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

-- Patricia Sullivan

Sandra Power Hummel Homemaker

Sandra Power Hummel, 65, a homemaker and dietary aide, died Dec. 23 of progressive supranuclear palsy at the Edina Care and Rehabilitation Center in Edina, Minn.

Mrs. Hummel was born in Washington and graduated from Western High School. She danced at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio when she was a teenager. She married in 1960 and became a full-time homemaker.

In 1978, her family moved to Minnesota, and Mrs. Hummel became a dietary aide in the Alzheimer's wing of the Minnesota Masonic Home in Bloomington. She retired nine years ago.

Survivors include her husband of 49 years, H. Austin Hummel of Bloomington; three children, Chris Hummel of Eagan, Minn., Marye Groothousen of Ramsey, Minn., and Therese Kaun of Prior Lake, Minn.; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

-- Patricia Sullivan

James W. Jacobson NIH Research Administrator

James W. Jacobson, 67, a research administrator who had spent the past 18 years at the National Cancer Institute, most recently as acting associate director of its cancer diagnosis program, died Dec. 23 at Johns Hopkins University's Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore. He had leukemia.

Dr. Jacobson was chief of the diagnostic biomarkers and technology branch for much of his career at the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. In the 1980s and early 1990s, he was principal research scientist for Genex, a biotechnology company in Rockville.

James William Jacobson was a native of Idaho Falls, Idaho, and a 1964 graduate of Dartmouth College, where he captained the ski team.

He received a doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Utah and did postdoctoral work at Yale University. He then worked on the genetics research faculty at the University of Georgia before moving to the Washington area in 1980.

He was a resident of North Potomac and a member of the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, where he served on the board of trustees and as pledge drive chair.

His marriage to Ann Van Guilder Jacobson ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Judith A. Hautala of North Potomac; two children from his first marriage, J. Bryan Jacobson of Nyack, N.Y., and Daneille J. Magazin of Sarajevo; a daughter from his second marriage, Erika H. Moore of Herndon; two sisters; and four grandchildren.

-- Adam Bernstein