Community deaths - The Washington Post

Obituaries of residents from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia.

Walter Loeb,veterinarian

Walter Loeb, 88, a veterinary pathologist who co-founded and co-managed Ani Lytics veterinary pathology in Gaithersburg, Md., from 1988 until he retired in 1997, died Dec. 24 at an assisted-living facility in Silver Spring, Md. The cause was dementia and septicemia, said a son, Robert Loeb.

Dr. Loeb was born in Darmstadt, Germany, and came to the United States in 1937, settling in Philadelphia. He was a professor of veterinary medicine at Ohio State University before moving to the Washington area in 1970. He was a veterinary pathologist at Litton Bionetics in Kensington, Md., before starting his own business. He was a certified massage therapist after retiring from veterinary pathology.

Stanley Maughlin,church missionary

Stanley Maughlin, 86, a lay missionary of the United Methodist Church who served 20 years in what is now Congo in central Africa and later volunteered with Washington-area nonprofits serving the needs of the homeless, died Dec. 8 at a care center in Falls Church, Va. The cause was Alzheimer’s disease, said a son, Curtis Maughlin.

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Mr. Maughlin, a resident of Falls Church, was born in Alva, Okla., and began his missionary work in 1957, serving as a teacher and school principal in what was then the Belgian Congo and later became the independent nation of Zaire. He settled in the Washington area in 1984.

Rachel Oelslager,addictions counselor

Rachel Oelslager, 40, an alcohol and drug addictions counselor who directed recovery clinics in and around Frederick, Md., died Dec. 23 at a hospital in Washington. The cause was complications from a heart transplant, said her father, Steven Schneebaum.

Ms. Oelslager, a Frederick resident, was born Rachel Schneebaum in Washington. At her death, she was clinical director of the Orenda Center of Wellness in Frederick. Since 2016, she had been director of three other recovery centers in the Frederick area.

Steve Bittle,Falls Church sheriff

Steve Bittle, 78, the sheriff of Falls Church, Va., for 27 years before retiring in August 2020, died Dec. 17 at a hospital in Arlington, Va. The cause was a heart attack, said a daughter, Rebecca Roa.

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Mr. Bittle, a Falls Church resident, was born in Covington, Va. He was a Falls Church police officer for 27 years before he became sheriff in 1993.

Frances McHenry,educator

Frances McHenry, 100, a teacher and reading resource specialist who taught in Montgomery County elementary schools for 24 years until her retirement in 1972, died Jan. 4 at a nursing home in Chevy Chase, Md. The cause was congestive heart failure, said her nephew John Noel.

Ms. McHenry was born in Passaic, N.J. During World War II, she volunteered with the American Red Cross in Asia and Europe. She came to the Washington area in 1948 and spent the early years of her career as a teacher at Somerset Elementary School in Chevy Chase.

Naomi 'Spurs' Manders,equestrian

Naomi “Spurs” Manders, 82, a longtime horse enthusiast who led efforts to plan, build and maintain a network of equestrian, hiking and mountain biking trails in Montgomery County, died Jan. 4 at her home in Potomac, Md. The cause was congestive heart failure, said her daughter Michelle Grace.

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Mrs. Manders, who was a regular lead rider and flag bearer in the annual Potomac Day Parade, was born Naomi Blanke in Los Angeles and grew up on a ranch in the San Fernando Valley. She came to the Washington area in 1955 and ran a horseback riding school in Potomac for about 20 years until the late 1980s.

She worked for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission as a natural surface trails coordinator until the late 1990s. She continued over 20 years until last November to work on trail preservation and construction projects, negotiating easement agreements and organizing crews of trail work volunteers while holding leadership positions in the Equestrian Partners in Conservation, the Potomac Bridle and Hiking Trails Association and the Trail Riders of Today club. She also was a former member of the Potomac Hunt Club.

— From staff reports

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