Murdock Head, 70, a professor emeritus at George Washington University who established the Airlie Foundation conference center near Warrenton, and directed its operations for more than 30 years, died July 28 at his home in Airlie. He had cancer.
Dr. Head, who had degrees in dentistry, medicine and law, also produced motion picture and television documentaries through a film unit he founded, Airlie Productions. He moderated a Washington television show, "Your Decision," in which guests discussed a variety of issues; wrote medical and legal textbooks; and advocated preventive medicine through physical fitness.
Dapper, erudite and energetic, Dr. Head was well-connected at high levels of government. Over the years, he obtained millions of dollars in federal grants to finance the Airlie Foundation, which in 1963 won a federal tax exemption as a nonprofit facility.
In July 1981, he was convicted of conspiring to bribe two powerful Democratic members of Congress, Reps. Otto Passman, of Louisiana, and Daniel Flood, of Pennsylvania, in exchange for a steady flow of government grants to Airlie operations. An earlier conviction was reversed on appeal because of improper instructions to the jury.
He served more than 10 months in federal prison at Maxwell Field in Alabama in 1983 and 1984. While in prison, Dr. Head instituted aerobics classes for inmates, helped process community college applications and arranged seminars. On his release, he wrote a health book based in part on his prison experience, "Living Young."
He returned to the Washington area and won reinstatement to the practices of law and medicine, served as a consultant to several universities and resumed his work with the Airlie Foundation.
Dr. Head was born in Trinity, Tex. He served in the Army Air Forces during World War II, attended Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Louisville, where he received a dental degree. As a young man, he took over an uncle's dental practice in Louisville, then attended medical school at the University of Vermont, where he received a medical degree. In the mid-1950s, he was recalled to military duty, this time as an Air Force physician, and he was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base. While serving at Andrews, he received a law degree from George Washington University.
In 1957, Dr. Head joined the faculty at GWU, where he became professor and chairman of the medical center's department of medical and public affairs. He retired in 1983 as holder of the Airlie professorial chair, which he established.
He also practiced plastic surgery as part of a Washington medical partnership.
Early in his career at GWU, Dr. Head acquired a 1,200-acre farm in Airlie, about 50 miles west of Washington. This was leased as a conference center by the Airlie Foundation.
The facility is the site of more than 700 conferences and meetings a year for government and private agencies and international institutions, including the World Bank, NATO and the State Department. Films and television documentaries by Airlie Productions were produced in seven languages and in 60 countries. They covered such topics as health information and drunken driving. Some won critical acclaim, including nine Emmys from the Washington Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and national and international awards.
Dr. Head's marriage to Jane Gardner Head ended in divorce.
Survivors include three children, Kimberly Head of Richmond and Airlie, Karen Schlegel of Bloomington, Ind., and Dr. Mark Murdock Head of Airlie; a sister, Jean Head Sisco of Washington; and three grandchildren.
J. RICHARD CROUSE
Dentist
J. Richard Crouse, 59, a dentist in Frederick, Md., and a past president of the Frederick County Dental Society and the Terrapin Club at the University of Maryland, died of a heart attack July 28 at Garrett County Memorial Hospital in Oakland, Md.
Dr. Crouse was born in Hagerstown, Md. He graduated from Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, W.Va., and received his dental degree from the University of Maryland in 1961.
In 1962, he started a practice of general dentistry in Frederick and continued it until his death.
In addition to the Frederick County Dental Society, Dr. Crouse was a member of the Maryland State Dental Association and the American Dental Association and a fellow of the American College of Dentistry. In 1985, he received the Thomas Eader Award of the Frederick society for his contributions to the profession.
Dr. Crouse was chairman of the board of Frederick Memorial Hospital, a director of the Maryland Dental Plan of Blue Cross-Blue Shield, a president of the Frederick Rotary Club and a director of the Frederick Cancer Society.
At the University of Maryland, he was a past chairman of the Maryland Educational Foundation, a member of the President's Club and a director of the alumni association of the dental school.
He was a member of the parish of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Frederick.
Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Joan Crouse of Frederick; five children, James Richard Crouse Jr., Diane Crouse Wilkinson and Karen E. Crouse, all of Frederick, Donna Crouse Ruppert of Garrett Park, Md., and Kristi Crouse Boehmcke of Silver Spring; and seven grandchildren.
CHARLES E. FIERST
Physician
Charles E. Fierst, 85, a retired chief of anesthesiology at Children's Hospital in Washington, died of a brain hemorrhage July 26 at Winchester Medical Center in Winchester, Va.
Dr. Fierst was born in Pittsburgh, and he was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He moved to Washington in 1930 as a medical student at Georgetown University and received his medical degree in 1934.
He joined the staff of Children's Hospital soon afterward and remained at the hospital until 1974, when he retired. In 1954, he received an Alpha Omega Alpha award for his work in developing hypothermia anesthesia for use in open heart surgery in children.
During World War II, Dr. Fierst served in the Army Medical Corps in Europe. His military decorations included the Bronze Star.
A former resident of Bethesda, he moved to Harpers Ferry, W.Va., when he retired and later to Martinsburg, W.Va.
Dr. Fierst was a Paul Harris Fellow of the Shepherdstown, W.Va., Rotary Club.
His marriage to Loretta Fierst ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara Steidle Fierst of Martinsburg; two children from his first marriage, Loranne "Muffet" McCaleb of Rockville and Charles E. Fierst Jr. of Las Vegas; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
JOHN JOSEPH O'NEILL JR.
Foreign Service Officer
John Joseph O'Neill Jr., 71, who retired in 1978 as director of the State Department's office of international communications policy, died of a brain tumor July 28 at his home in Reston. He had lived in the Washington area off and on since 1955.
Mr. O'Neill was in the Foreign Service for 23 years. His posts included Thailand, where he was a commercial attache and director of the U.S. trade center, and Singapore, where he was chief of the economic section, charge d'affairs and deputy chief of mission. He also was the U.S. representative to the administrative council of the International Telecommunications Union.
After he retired, Mr. O'Neill was associated for 10 years with Horizon House, a Boston telecommunications publishing firm, where he was director of international development and vice president for corporate development.
Mr. Neill was a native of New Haven, Conn., and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He received a master's degree in public law and government from Columbia University. He studied Chinese language and history at Yale University and at the State Department's Chinese Language School in Taiwan.
He served in the Marine Corps as a lieutenant in China after World War II and as a captain in Korea during the Korean War.
He was a member of the Army Navy Country Club and the National Press Club.
Survivors include his wife, Jessie R. O'Neill of Reston; four children, Mary Diamond of Vienna, John J. O'Neill III of Reston, Barbara Douglas of Alexandria and Stephen O'Neill of Hong Kong; two sisters, Marie O'Neill of Columbus, Ohio, and Eileen Bird of Troy, Ohio; and four grandchildren.
JAMES JOSEPH
Police Major
James Joseph, 63, a retired major with the Fairfax County police department, died of a heart attack July 27 at his home in Springfield. He had lived in the Washington area for 33 years.
Maj. Joseph retired in the mid-1980s as the major in charge of criminal investigations. Most of his 23-year career with the force was spent in criminal investigations.
He was born in New Kensington, Pa. He attended Youngstown University. He served in the Air Force in Korea during the Korean War.
After he retired, Maj. Joseph was a disciplinary administrator at Hayfield High School until 1993.
His marriage to Yvonne Joseph ended in divorce.
Survivors include two children, Stacey Cardenas of Pittsburgh and Mark Joseph of Annandale; two brothers, Michael Joseph of New Castle, Pa., and Albert Joseph of Hagerstown, Md.; and five sisters, Martha Toney and Selma Joseph, both of New Castle, Minnie Maravola of Youngstown, Ohio, Bessie Ivan of Flat Rock, Mich., and Mary Whitehead of Alexandria.
VIRGINIA BRAYBROOK OFFIELD
Artist
Virginia Braybrook Offield, 65, an artist who exhibited and sold watercolor paintings, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease July 25 at her home in Reston.
Mrs. Offield was born in Fort Wayne, Ind. She graduated from Syracuse University. As a young woman, she was a journalist in Syracuse, N.Y., and Rochester, N.Y. She also had studied languages in Paris and traveled in Pakistan, Europe and Brazil.
In 1984, she moved to the Washington area from Denver.
Her marriage to Terry Watson Offield ended in divorce.
Survivors include two daughters, Allison B. Hearst of Chicago and Marjorie B. Offield of Somerset, N.J.
SAMUEL STROUSE KAUFMAN
Insurance Executive
Samuel Strouse Kaufman, 84, who retired two years ago as president of Wolf and Cohen Inc., an insurance company in Washington, died of cancer July 29 at his home in Washington.
Mr. Kaufman was a lifelong resident of Washington and a graduate of Central High School. He worked 60 years at Wolf and Cohen.
As a young man, he played baseball, and he was a sportscaster on WOL radio for about 15 years. He also was a tennis player.
He was a former president of Woodmont Country Club and a volunteer for Reading for the Blind.
His marriage to Jane Saal Kaufman ended in divorce.
Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Marjorie H. Kaufman of Washington; two children from his first marriage, Sandy Birnbach of Washington and Stephen Kaufman of Boston; two stepchildren, Donald Sigmund of Washington and Eleanor Blackstone of Rockville; and 11 grandchildren.
MURRAY A. BELLIN
Service Station Owner
Murray A. Bellin, 64, owner of the Four Corners Amoco Service Station for more than 30 years, died of complications after heart surgery July 29 at Washington Adventist Hospital. He lived in Silver Spring.
Mr. Bellin was born in Baltimore and moved to the Washington area when he was 17. He was a graduate of Coolidge High School. He served in the Navy during the Korean War.
As a young man, Mr. Bellin was a salesman in his family's clothing business in Baltimore.
He was a Mason and member of Indian Springs Country Club. Survivors include his wife, Carol Zinnamon Bellin of Silver Spring; three children, Gary Bellin and Jamie Marx, both of Potomac, and Robin Ead of Gaithersburg; a sister, Delores Shulman of Silver Spring; and eight grandchildren.