Wally Urman, a retired mechanical engineer with the Naval Research Laboratory, passed away on July 7th due to a heart attack at Largo Medical Center in Largo, Florida. Prior to his passing, he had been living in Clearwater Beach, Florida since 1975 and was a resident of Temple Hills. This unfortunate event occurred after Wally underwent surgery for a ruptured aneurysm.
After the conflict, Mr. Urman obtained his degree from McKinley High School and served with the Army in Alaska during the Second World War. In 1940, he took on a position as a federal government clerk in Washington and worked in eateries in New York during the economic downturn, attending classes at night. He resided in New York City during the 1930s, arriving at Ellis Island and immigrating to the United States in 1930. Mr. Urman was born to parents from Poland and Lithuania in Punia, Lithuania.
He later enrolled in engineering courses at the University of Maryland, George Washington University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School, and at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) itself. Additionally, he started working as a draftsman at the NRL and eventually rose to the position of technical engineer.
Before his retirement in 1974, he was involved in approximately 63 satellite projects. His contribution was significant in the development of Vanguard, the first satellite of the nation. Additionally, he played a key role in designing various innovative satellite structures. His unit was responsible for the redesigning of V-2 nose cones and equipping them with advanced instrumentation for United States’ space explorations. During the late 1940s, he worked as a mechanical engineer for the NRL’s space research program, focusing on the examination and utilization of captured German V-2 rockets.
Mr. Urman moved to Florida after his retirement. He was involved with several American Polish organizations, both in Florida and in the District of Columbia, as well as with Patrick Air Base located in Florida. Incidentally, he also pioneered the Range and Space Missile in Florida.
After the collapse of communism in Europe, Mr. Urman visited Lithuania in the early 1990s to take on the formidable task of regaining the title to his original family farmstead. However, he soon found himself dealing with an obstinate post-communist bureaucracy, as well as contradictory and confusing government regulations. It was alleged that records had been misplaced, making the ordeal of reconstructing his family’s property even more difficult, but after 11 years, Mr. Urman managed to repatriate and manage the property.
His spouse, Anne Filipczyk Urman, passed away in 1991.
Included are four children, namely Judy Doyle from Brandon, Fla., John Urman from Arlington, Tom Urman from Vienna, and Teresa Buckoski from Glenn Dale, along with five grandchildren.
She lived in Annandale. Eileen Sisaye Stommes, a 59-year-old high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, passed away on July 10 at Georgetown University Hospital after battling cancer.
Dr. Stommes lived in the Washington area since 1987 and initially worked in the Agriculture department’s transportation office. She then joined the USDA’s Economic Research Service as a senior sociologist at the time of her death. From 1995 to 2000, she served as the deputy administrator of the Agriculture Marketing Service.
She was a member of the Rural Sociological Society and participated in the society’s annual meetings and workshops. Additionally, she presented numerous papers at both international and national conferences, covering a wide range of topics. She also contributed to the field through her publications, including articles, book chapters, and papers on subjects such as organic food, grain transportation, food assistance, and nutrition.
She received her doctoral and master’s degrees in developmental sociology from Cornell University in 1974. She served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador for three years. Dr. Stommes was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota and graduated from St. Benedict St. Joseph College.
She worked as a rural development specialist with the Department of Agriculture in the State of New York and as a legislative specialist with the State Assembly of New York before coming to Washington.
She collected funds and engaged in additional charitable activities for the local schools. In Annandale, she actively participated as a member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church.
Seleshi Sisaye of Annandale, along with her spouse of 28 years, her two daughters, Sarah Sisaye of Charlottesville and Anne Sisaye of Annandale, her parents, William and Laura Stommes of St. Joseph, a sibling, and four siblings, are among the individuals who have survived.
Margaret Thompson Keesee, an 81-year-old former trade association official, died in July from complications at Inova Fairfax Hospital. She had previously worked as a bookkeeper and later lived in Alexandria.
Mrs. Thompson, who was born in Bristol, Virginia, grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina, and New York. She attended Sullins College in Bristol.
She worked until March. Her husband formerly owned an engraving and stationery company in Brentwood, Co., And she became a bookkeeper with Webb. She retired from that job in the mid-1970s. She held the position of secretary in the National Consumer Finance Association office and came to the Washington area in 1953.
Mrs. Thompson previously held the position of president at the American Legion auxiliary post in Springfield. She took delight in tending to her garden and solving crossword puzzles.
Her spouse of 43 years, Wilbur V. Thompson, passed away in 1996.
Survivors consist of a son, Robert Thompson from Annandale.
She was a resident of Fairfax County’s Alexandria section. She died in July at Mount Vernon Hospital’s Inova Heart Attack Center in Alexandria after suffering a heart attack. Vicki Dietrich, a former nurse who had been working in administrative roles at the South County Health Center in recent years, was 50 years old.
Mrs. Sprint was born in Washington and grew up in Fairfax, where she completed her education at Thomas A. Edison High School.
After graduating from Fairfax Hospital nursing school, she spent about a decade working as a nurse at Arlington’s Home Nursing Care Manor and CVS, among other stores.
Her spouse of 18 years, George B. Sprint Sr., Passed away in 1994.
In addition to her mother, Betty Lou Dietrich of Hollidaysburg, Pa., Survivors include three children, George B. Sprint Jr., Crystal Sprint, and Brandon Sprint, all residing in Alexandria, Fairfax.
Craig Bruce, a 54-year-old retired computer expert who worked for the Food and Drug Administration and its Center for Veterinary Medicine, passed away on July 22 due to bladder cancer at the Johns Hopkins Cancer Center in Baltimore. He had been residing in Ocean City in the past few years, after previously living in Gaithersburg.
Mr. Craig was born in Washington and brought up in Bethesda. He completed his education at Walter Johnson High School in 1971.
He served for nine months at the Air Force Base in Maine, and briefly worked as a messenger at the National Institutes of Health, driving cross country back and forth.
He participated in a plumbing apprenticeship program in the late 1970s through the NIH. After briefly staying with his uncle in Florida, he came back to Bethesda and started working as a mechanic in the NIH garage.
Due to health issues, he retired in 2004. Prior to joining the Food and Drug Administration, he embarked on a career at the National Institute of Aging and eventually immersed himself in the field of computing.
After selling their house in Gaithersburg, Mr. Craig moved with his wife to Ocean City, where they waited for their dream house to be built in Beverly Hills, California.
Among the survivors are Murline Craig of Silver Spring, who is a sister and his mother; Steven Craig of Windemere, Fla., Who is a son; and Cheryl Craig of Ocean City, who is his wife of 26 years.
James E. Olsson, a forensic psychologist who had a private practice in Lutherville, Md., And served as the chief psychologist for the medical office of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City for almost three decades, passed away at his residence in Baltimore on July 24. He succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 70.
He started his private practice in 1970 with Dr. Jay Levinson, a partner, and worked at the Circuit Court from 1996 to 1969. From 1972 to 2001, he was the director of the special offenders clinic at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore.
Bremer, who shot and paralyzed George Wallace, the governor of Alabama running for the U.S. Presidency in 1972, was sentenced to 53 years in prison. Despite testifying in court as a frequent expert witness, it was not determined that Bremer was psychotic, as his high IQ was highlighted.
Dr. Olsson was a prosecution witness at the trial of John W. Hinckley Jr., Who shot President Ronald Reagan at the Hospital Elizabeths St. But was not found guilty by reason of insanity.
Eric James Olsson, a native Washingtonian, was a graduate of St. Anthony’s High School and received both a master’s degree in psychology in 1962 and a doctorate in clinical psychology in 1967 from Catholic University. He also attended the University of Maryland in 1959.
In the early stages of his career, he was a research psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health, studying the therapeutic effects of drug treatment programs for alcoholics.
He held many teaching positions and worked extensively as a consultant. He served as the president of the Maryland Psychological Association and was formerly the chairman of the Maryland Board of Examiners for Psychologists.
His union with June Olsson concluded in separation.
Olsson from Bethesda; and two grandsons, Van Dyke from Bethesda; and two grandsons, Mary Louise Van Dyke from Bethesda; and two grandsons, Margaret Ann Ganey from Silver Spring and Mary Louise Van Dyke from Bethesda; and two grandsons, John Olsson from Silver Spring; two sisters, Margaret Ann Ganey from Silver Spring and Mary Louise Van Dyke from Bethesda; brother, John Olsson from Silver Spring; Michael Schweitzer from Ruxton, Md.; A stepson, Leslie Olsson from San Francisco; a stepson, Michael Schweitzer from Ruxton, Md.; David Olsson from Manhattan, N.Y., And Leslie Olsson from San Francisco; two children from the second marriage, David Olsson from Manhattan, N.Y., And Leslie Olsson from San Francisco; Diane Settler Olsson from Baltimore; his wife of 32 years, Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Diane Settler Olsson from Baltimore.
Eugene George Jackman, an accountant, who had been working for 29 years at the old Home Federal Bank Loan Board before retiring, died on July 24, 1976 at his home in Church Falls.
The committee, in charge of supervising housing borrowing by the local Federal Home Loan Banks, is currently referred to as the Federal Housing Finance Board.
During the Second World War, Mr. Jackman enlisted in the Army in Europe and hailed from Galena, Kan. Following the war, he obtained a degree in business administration from Southeastern University in Washington.
He was Mason. He served as a teacher at Columbia Baptist Church Sunday school, as well as a deacon and a leader of the Boy Scout troop at Falls Church.
His spouse of 62 years, Dorothy Shelton Jackman, passed away in May.
Three children, namely Edward Jackman from Falls Church, Douglas Jackman from Springfield, and Jackie Jackman from Richmond, along with a brother, are the survivors.
In 1985, William E. Arsers relocated to Tamarac, Florida. Prior to that, he resided in Washington. He passed away on July 18 at Kindred Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The reason for his death was complications following cardiac surgery. He was 85 years of age. He had retired as a French horn musician from both the Navy Band and the National Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Arsers received his initial musical education from his father, who was a skilled musician. He was raised in Chatfield, Minnesota and was born in McAllen, Texas.
He collaborated with the St. Paul Civic Opera and the Duluth Symphony Orchestra. Following his high school graduation in Chatfield, where he achieved a national championship as a horn player in 1939, he relocated to Minneapolis. During this time, he received private instruction from William Muelb and Herbert Hendricks, both esteemed members of the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Arsers, who had been a highlighted performer and a band member for two decades, was suggested for the Navy Band by renowned pianist Earl Wild. Mr. Wild had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Arsers play while he himself was serving in the Navy. Consequently, Mr. Arsers was assigned to the Navy School of Music and enlisted in the Navy in 1942.
Before his retirement in 1985, he played under three conductors – Mstislav Rostropovich, Antal Dorati, and Howard Mitchell. After retiring as the first hornist in 1962, he became a member of the French National Symphony Orchestra’s French horn section.
In addition to his regular performances with the National Symphony, he participated in numerous broadcasts, festivals, and other musical occasions.
Additionally, he served as a part-time instructor at American University, George Washington University, and Prince George’s Community College.
Irene Arsers from Tamarac, his spouse of 62 years, is still alive with two sons, William Arsers Jr. From Seattle and Michael Arsers from Chicago, five siblings, and six grandchildren.
Walker W. Whitney, a retired analyst from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), passed away on July 15 at his residence due to cardiovascular disease.