correction
The obituary published Friday of Mary Forbes King Colket, 79, a Warrenton sportswoman, gave her name incorrectly. (Published 3/14/88)
work on a comeback album. A spokeswoman for Island Records, his new
record company, said he was stricken with stomach pains Monday and
hospitalized for observation. A police spokesman said there would be an
autopsy, but that no information about the circumstances would be
released until today.
Mr. Gibb had two No. 1 hits, "I Just Want to be Your Everything" in
1977 and "Shadow Dancing." He also was known for "Love is Thicker Than
Water," "Everlasting Love" and "Our Love (Don't Throw It All Away)."
After 1981-82, when he hosted the syndicated television program
"Solid Gold," Mr. Gibb's life and career succumbed to bankruptcy and
drug abuse, which reportedly caused the end of a love affair with
actress Victoria Principal, former star of the "Dallas" television
series.
Looking for a fresh start he signed a deal with Island Records two
months ago and had moved to Britain to work on a new album.
Mr. Gibb, who was born in Australia, dropped out of school at 13 and
later joined his brothers in Miami. He married Kim Reeder, a former
receptionist, in 1976 but they were divorced two years later. They had
one daughter, Peta, who is now 12.
Mr. Gibb appeared on Broadway in 1982 in "Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat" but missed so many performances that he was
replaced.
While his older brothers, Barry, Maurice and Robin, were becoming
international stars in the mid-1960s with their group, the Bee Gees, he
was in Australia playing in amateur bands.
The Bee Gees reached their peak in 1977 with their songs for the
score of the movie "Saturday Night Fever."
That year also marked Andy Gibb's first international success under
his brothers' wing. He recorded his first album, "Flowing Rivers," on
RSO Records Inc., under brother Barry's supervision.
The next year, brother Maurice produced Andy's "Shadow Dancing"
album.
Title tracks from both albums topped the U.S. pop charts. The
brown-eyed, blond singer was a big hit with teenyboppers and the disco
set, but he never achieved equal standing with the Bee Gees.
Last year, Mr. Gibb filed a personal bankruptcy petition in Miami
claiming he had less than $50,000 and more than $1 million in debts.
His 1985 income was listed as $24,727 and for 1986, $7,755. The court
papers said his brothers owned the furniture and musical and electronic
equipment in his apartment and that he was living rent-free.
In 1985, Mr. Gibb attempted to solve his drug problem with a
rehabilitation program at the Betty Ford Clinic in California.
RACHEL A. SMITH
Language Teacher
Rachel A. Smith, 81, a former foreign language and history teacher in
the D.C. public schools, died of congestive heart failure March 8 at her
home in Washington.
Mrs. Smith was born in Cairo and educated at the Sorbonne and at the
Alliance Francais in Paris. Later she returned to Cairo, where she
founded the Ecole Jabes and served as its principal for 15 years.
Her marriage to Victor Jabes ended in divorce, and she married U.S.
Army Maj. Bailey Smith. He died about five years ago.
In 1947, Mrs. Smith came to the United States. She moved to
Washington in 1951 after attending the University of Alabama.
She worked at the Defense Department, in the comptroller's office at
American University and as a translator at several foreign embassies.
She taught at the French International School, and from 1962 to 1974
was a French, Spanish, Latin and American history teacher at Dunbar High
School and at adult education classes at Roosevelt High School. She also
taught Americanization classes at Georgetown University.
She was a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation, Hadassah and the
B'nai B'rith Sisterhood.
Survivors include two daughters from her first marriage, Mimi Jabes
and Tina Jabes Winston, both of Washington; four grandchildren, and
three great-grandchildren.
MERRILL KEITH RIDDICK
Airmail Pilot
Merrill Keith Riddick, 93, a retired Army major and a former airmail
pilot with the U.S. Post Office Department, died of cancer March 9 at
the Annapolis Convalescence Center. He lived in Annapolis.
Mr. Riddick was born in Madison, Wis. During World War I, he was a
pilot in the Army Air Service and flew reconnaissance missions against
the Germans.
He moved to the Washington area in the early 1920s and became an
airmail pilot with the U.S. Post Office Department. During the 1930s, he
was a flight instructor in Rochester, N.Y.
Mr. Riddick returned to active duty in the Army Air Forces during
World War II. He retired in 1945 and moved to Philipsburg, Mont. He
moved back to the Washington area in February 1987.
His wife, Helen M. Riddick, died in 1949. Survivors include three
children, Barbara Ornbaum of Suisan, Calif., Mary R. Kittrell of Shawnee
Mission, Kan., and Keith Riddick of Denver; three sisters, Monona
Cropper of San Diego, Alice B. Greenwood of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and
Ruth McLaine of Annapolis; 10 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
JOHN W. DYER JR.
Real Estate Appraiser
John W. Dyer Jr., 88, a retired real estate appraiser with the Curtis
Martin Co., an Alexandria mortgage banking firm, died of cancer March 9
at George Washington University Hospital. He lived in Falls Church.
Mr. Dyer was born in Washington and graduated from McKinley Technical
High School. He received a law degree from the old Washington College of
Law, now a part of American University.
From 1925 to 1935, he worked for a mortgage banking firm in New York
City. He also worked for the Home Owners' Loan Corp. before returning to
the Washington area in 1942 and going to work for the Army Signal Corps.
He retired in 1965.
For the next 10 years, he was employed by Curtis Martin. He retired
for the second time in 1975.
He was a past commodore of the Mount Vernon Yacht Club in Alexandria.
His wife, Rose Manning Dyer, died in 1985. Survivors include one son,
John M. Dyer of Alexandria; one daughter, Diana Ziluck of Falls Church;
one brother, George Dyer of St. Petersburg, Fla., and three
grandchildren.
NELLIE FORBES KING COLKET
Warrenton Sportswoman
Nellie Forbes King Colket, 79, a longtime resident of Warrenton who
was a Red Cross Gray Lady during World War II, died of cardiac arrest
March 8 at Fauquier Hospital.
Mrs. Colket was born in Baltimore and reared in Warrenton, where her
father, the late Edwin B. King, founded the Stuyvesant School. From 1930
to 1968, when she returned to Warrenton, she lived in the Philadelphia
area.
A devotee of fishing and skeet and trap shooting, Mrs. Colket was a
former owner of the Bear's Den Club, a shooting organization in Orlean,
Va. She also was a former member of the Warrenton Hunt and the Blooming
Grove Hunting and Fishing Club in Hawley, Pa. She was an associate
member of the Fauquier Club in Warrenton.
Her marriage to Harrison Caner Colket ended in divorce.
Survivors include one sister, Mrs. Richard H. Hutchison Jr. of
Middleburg, Va.
DOROTHY BRUCE WESKE
Medieval Scholar
Dorothy Bruce Weske, 87, a medieval scholar who had been a college
and secondary school teacher in Ohio, New York and Rhode Island, died of
cardiorespiratory failure March 8 at the Friends Nursing Home in Sandy
Spring.
Dr. Weske, who lived in Sandy Spring, was born in Richmond. She
graduated from Wellesley College and received a doctorate in medieval
English history at Radcliffe.
During the late 1930s and early 1940s, she taught at Western Reserve
University and at the Hathaway Brown School in Cleveland. In the late
1940s, she taught at Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y. She taught at the
Lincoln School in Providence in the early 1950s.
After moving to this area in 1954, Dr. Weske did scholarly research.
She was the author of a book on medieval church history, "Convocation of
the Clergy," and of several articles on the medieval church.
Survivors include her husband, John R. Weske, and one son, John
Seddon Weske, both of Sandy Spring.
DONALD H. CAMPBELL
Navy Systems Analyst
Donald H. Campbell, 64, a retired systems analyst with the Navy
Department's mine warfare unit, died of cancer March 3 at his home in
Mount Rainier.
Mr. Campbell was born in Williamsport, Pa. He grew up in the
Washington area and graduated from the old Central High School. He
attended George Washington University. He went to work for the old Naval
Gun Factory about 1941.
During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Aleutian Islands.
After the war, he returned briefly to the Naval Gun Factory. During the
1950s and the 1960s, he worked for an insurance company and for various
research and development firms.
He went to work for the Navy Department in the early 1970s and
retired in 1983.
Survivors include his wife, Josephine C. Campbell of Mount Rainier;
three daughters, Kathleen Mary Campbell of San Francisco, Carolyn
Margret Campbell of Los Angeles and Deborah Jean Campbell of Dana Point,
Calif.; two sisters, Lois Tanner of Mount Rainier and Doris Dorman of
Glen Burnie, and two granddaughters.
JULIAN B. ALLEN
Railroad Clerk
Julian B. Allen, 66, a retired railroad clerk who had worked at
Alexandria's Potomac Yards for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac
Railroad, died of a heart attack March 8 at his home in Alexandria.
Mr. Allen was born in Alexandria and attended Alexandria High School
and George Washington High School. He served in the Army in the Pacific
during World War II.
He worked at Potomac Yards from his youth until 1969, when he retired
on disability.
Survivors include his wife, Thelma Allen, and one son, Paul B. Allen,
both of Alexandria.
