In Memoriam - The Association of the Oldest Inhabitants of D.C.

Pace Requiescat

Austin Kiplinger

Cindy Janke. Past Director.

Past President Harold Gray

Jack Ihrie obituary.

Joyce (Jo) Waters (Widow of AOI Past-president William S. Waters)

John Jay Daly, Past Director

Josephine Beagle

Past President Philip W. Ogilvie

Emerson Melaven

Sherwood Smith, Past Secretary & Director

Sidney Hais. Past Vice-President and Director.

William S. Waters. Past President

Mildred Vigderhouse

Mary Matson. Mary was the granddaughter of Past President John Claggett Proctor

Retired DCFEMS Fire Chief and AOI Fire Department Liaison John Breen

Vince Scalco (Josie Beagle's brother).

Norrene Vogt c. 2007, Deceased 2010.

Norrene Vogt obituary, 2010.

Robert Vogt, Nov. 14, 2016.

Robert Vogt obituary.

Dr. George Royal

Lt. Col. Marcus Ring with wife Betty.

Nancye Suggs (former archivist at the Sumner School Museum & Archives)

"Washington Star" columnist Sara Booth Conroy and husband/author Richard Conroy.

Donald Larrabee's obituary.

Don Larrabee speaking at the March 2008 AOI luncheon featuring the centennial of the National Press Club.

John Cosgrove's obituary.

Mary E. Brown's obituary from the Washington Post, August 8, 2017.

Mary E. Brown passed away August 4, 2017. She was a WWII "Government Gal" and was featured in Cindy Gueli's book, "The Lipstick Brigade."

Rosemary Reed Miller's obituary from the Washington "Post" on August 18, 2017.

Rosemary Reed Miller at the April 2008 AOI luncheon on African American fashion.

Segrid Washington

Mary Wilson November 13, 1922 ~ October 17, 2017 (age 94)

Council Grove-Mary Shivers Wilson, 94, passed away October 17, 2017, at the Morris County Hospital.
She was born November 13, 1922, to Thomas J. and Reva W. Shivers in Washington, D.C. She married Robert R. Wilson, Jr., on December 18, 1965 in D.C. They have been married 52 wonderful years.
Mary grew up on Capitol Hill in Washington, attended Stewart Junior High School and graduated from Eastern High School, where she enjoyed participating in school activities. She helped organize many of the class of 1941 reunions, and was a member of the Eastern High School 50+ Club, where she was the class representative for the Class of ’41.
Immediately after high school, she was employed by an insurance company, and later by National Association of Security Dealers until her retirement in 1994.
She was an active member and officer of the Takoma Chapter No. 12 Order of The Eastern Star, District of Columbia. She grew up in, and was a lifetime member, of the Mt Vernon Place United Methodist Church in D.C., where she attended and participated regularly.
Mary enjoyed cooking and had a hobby of collecting cookbooks, particularly those from churches and other organizations.
Mary and Bob made many annual trips to Council Grove visiting family over the years. In 2014, they made their home in Council Grove.
She is survived by her loving husband of the home, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation will be Monday, October 23, 6-7 p.m., followed by the funeral on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 at 11 a.m., both being held at the Zeiner Funeral Home in Council Grove.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Mt Vernon Place United Methodist Church, and may be sent in care of Zeiner Funeral Home, PO Box 273, Council Grove, KS 66846.

Mary S. Wilson, October 17, 2017 in Council Grove, Kansas.

Dot Zeis, widow of for Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Zeis, died Dec. 17, 2017.

Earl E. Eisenhart, Jr.

Dana Dalrymple News Obituary, Post April 25, 2018

Bill Pennington, April 9, 2018

Bill Pennington at the June 2002 AOI luncheon at the Pier 7 when the topic was the Sumner School Museum & Archives.

C. Dudley Brown, April 18, 2018

Dudley Brown, d. April 18, 2018

Barbara Plummer, 1930-2018

John Saxton, Military Road School Preservation Trust, 12/29/1943-7/14/2018

John Saxton, Washington Post obituary, July 22, 2018

Mrs. Angelo Puglisi,Sr. 9/1/2018

Wally Rossmiller at AOI's Nov. 16, 2016 luncheon.

Angelo A. Pugllisi, Sr., Oct. 24, 2018.

Patrick Sheehy, Jan. 8, 2019.

Patrick Sheehy on AOI's Civil War Forts/Memorial Field Trip in 2002.

John W. Gill. Washington Post obituary, Jan. 25,2019.

John Gill, Nelson Rimensnyder and Carl Cole, April 18, 2008 at the Pier 7.

John W. Gill's news obituary from the Washington Post, Feb. 4, 2019.

John Gill at AOI's 90th anniversary observance of the dedication of the WWI 16th Street Tree Memorial, May 30, 2010.

Dr. Mark Ozer's obituary from the Washington Post, April 21, 2019.

Mark Ozer and AOI President Bill Brown after Mark's Nov 2011 talk at the Pier 7.

Dr. Mark Ozer's news obituary from the "Post" of 4/22/2019.

R. Barbara (Ruth, "BJ") Johnson, passed away on Mon., May 6, 2019 after a brief illness. She was 91 years old. This photo was taken on Dec. 15, 2015 at AOI's sesquicentennial gala when the Military Road School Preservation Trust was presented with one of the AOI's 6 $25,000 awards.

Ruth Johnson... since the AOI doesn't meet in December, we believe this photo of Barbara was taken at one of our New Year's Day receptions.

Joseph A. Smith, past Treasurer and Membership Chair of the AOI, passed away on July 7, 2019 at the age of 106. Joe, together with Harold Gray, Joe Zeis and others worked to salvage the AOI of DC from near extinction in the early 1990's.

Joseph A. Smith's obituary from the Washington Post on July 9, 2019.

Dr. Albert A. Zanner, Jr. Washington Post obituary July 13, 2019.

Kay Eckles at AOI's Sesquicentennial Gala, Dec. 5, 2015.

Kay Eckles and her seven year old brother's grave in Ocoee, FL.

Victor Hickman at the Feb. 2017 AOI luncheon.

James Goode died Dec. 12, 2019.

Dr. Coralie Farlee died January 12, 2020.

Sr. Anne Cecelia Coxen.

Lenore was a member from 2006 until 2011.

Willard Entwisle obituary from the Washington Post, June 28, 2020.

Dorothy Brault's obituary from the Post Nov. 29, 2020.

The plaque at Wisc. Ave./Reservoir Rd. at "Book Hill Park" site of the old Georgetown High Reservoir that Dorothy Brault was responsible to having installed (see her obituary).

Long-time member Elinor Martin accessioned (organized) AOI's archives into Manuscript Collection MS422 at the Historical Society's Kiplinger Research Library.

Monsignor McMann was the lead pastor of St. Anne's Catholic Church in Tenleytown for many years.

AOI member Bill Gray. Bill and his late wife, Barbara, were neighbors and friends of late member Lee Rogers and provided liaison between Lee and the AOI during his final days.

Barbara and Bill Gray together with Carl Cole and Patricia Tyson at the 2012 AOI New Year's Day reception.

Gene Benedict joined the AOI in 2011 as a guest of long time member and Past-President Jan Evans.

Gene enjoys a luncheon talk by the Washington Post's John Kelly on restaurants in Washington. November 2018.

Richard Drechsler passed away on Tuesday evening, February 16, at the age of 86 and 7 months.

Washington Post obituary of 2/28/2021 for Richard Drechsler.

Washington Post obituary 2/28/2021 for Herb Mintz.

While there has been no official obituary, we have learned from our friends in the Palisades that Larry Beaver passed away in late February.

John Hurley, lower right, a long-time AOI member and enthusiastic advocate of DC history died May 17, 2021.

Clinton Chapman was Past President of the Industrial Bank of Washington and former Trustee and Treasurer of the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

Joan Beasley Gibala - No obituary, instead a tribute by Bill Brown: Joan and I had only met 11 years ago when Ancestry. com, DNA and intrepid genealogical research brought us together. She was a grand-daughter of John Bernard Cady... a son of my Great-grandmother Josephine Coxen by marriage. Along with John Cady, Paul Browne, Sr. Anne Cecelia Coxen (now deceased), Misty Dawn Coxen, Michael Coxen, Laurea Johnson DiJoseph we all found our common ancestral connections over the years and enjoyed the times we had together including many joining the AOI of DC. Joan died July 31, 2021 after a brief illness. It has been my pleasure and honor to have known this fine woman, albeit for only 11 of our 70+ years. Bill Brown, Past-President and Distinguished Life Member.

Darwina Neal's tribute from the Cultural Landscape Foundation.

Darwina Neal's Washington Post news obituary from Nov. 17, 2021.

James K. (Jimmy) Embrey, DCFEMS Lt., Retired, served on the AOI Board for 10 years as Fire Department Liaison. This position helped maintain the connection between the AOI, the Friendship Fire Association Museum and the Veteran Volunteer Firemen's Assocation.

Charles Sherfy Jones, 1931-2022

Father Joseph Doyle who only joined the AOI in 2018 died Nov. 2, 2021.

Farley Fisher was an AOI member since 2013.

Farley Fisher was a member of the AOI since 2013.

Dolores Burton joined the AOI in 2006 having discovered us on our web site.

While never in Washington to attend an AOI luncheon, Dolores was a faithful distant member since 2006.

Anne Robertson Kennedy joined the AOI in 2009 and found the AOI by way of member Sally MacDonald.

Anne Robertson Kennedy, AOI member since 2009. Photo from the Scottish American Foundation web site.

Delores Mounsey was the granddaughter of William Nixon, one of the last Presidents of the Oldest Inhabitants, Incorporated... aka the AOI of DC (Colored). Working with Delores, William Nixon's papers were donated to the Moorland-Spingarn Library of Howard Univeristy.

George Herron was a long-time AOI member together with her daughter Carolivia Herron. Georgia attended the Myrtilla Miner Normal School which is now the University of the District of Columbia.

Dr. Alfred Montgomery. Feb. 22, 2023

Arsene Boucher was an AOI member from 2010 until his death on Feb. 14, 2023. He resided in France during that time but never lost his love for Washington, D.C. He was 25 at the time this photo was taken.

Mary Frances Moriarty and son Tim (orange shirt) enjoy one of AOI's talks on the centennial of WWI in 2018.

Long-time AOI member Haydn Wetzel volunteered at the Sumner School Museum-Archives, cataloged collections at the DC Archives, advocated for historic designation and spoke to the AOI in Feb 2015 on the history of animal control in the District.

From Hayden's memorial program.

From Hayden's memorial program.

Richard Lyons (R) pictured with Gary Scott (2005) with the sign he discovered that led to the uncovering of Clara Barton's Office of Missing Soldiers. Richard died Nov. 1, 2023.

AOI Past-President Thomas H. Neale May 2023 at the monthly AOI luncheon meeting held at the Woman's National Democratic Club.

Brother David William Richardson (born Alfred Richardson) has been an AOI member since 2008. He resided at the Josephite retiree residence on Varnum Street. Today, many Josephites are living in retirement at the Josephite Senior Residence. We are reaching out to try to learn more about William's life and mission.

An AOI member since 2010, Ann Panning died Nov. 28, 2023. She was introduced to the AOI by Barbara & Richard Drechsler.

Mary Irene Pett was introduced to the AOI by member Marion Buelken.

Betsy Deane Sherman, 1946 - 2023

Seymour Max (Sig) Selig, age 94, of Patchogue, New York, passed away peacefully on April 20, 2024, in McLean, Virginia. Seymour moved to the Washington, DC region in 1958. A consummate public servant, Seymour dedicated more than 30 years of his professional life to the Office of Naval Research. Seymour served in the United States Army during the Korean War from 1953-1955 and served as AOI's Secretary from 1996 until 2013.

Richard Best, Jr. 1944-2004

Richard A. Best, Jr. Obituary, Washington Post, Aug. 18, 2024

Barbara Drechsler along with her husband Richard and friend Jean Lockard served for many years as the AOI's Nominating Committee for AOI's annual elections.

Helen Tsintolas has been an AOI member since 2011. She was 101 years old when she died in Sept. 2024. A true "Oldest Inhabitant"!

Robert Kreinheder 1913-2024, long-time AOI member together with his wife Hazel and son John.

William George Siebert, 81, died on August 9, 2024.