B6 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, MAY 24 , 2022
obituariesLARRY WOIWODE, 80
LAUREL WOIWODE PFAULarry Woiwode in North Dakota in June 20 11. His second novel, “Beyond the Bedroom Wall,” which follows the German immigrant
Neumiller family after arriving in North Dakota in 1881, was a finalist for the National Book and the National Book Critics Circle awards.
BY MATT SCHUDELLarry Woiwode, whose 1975
novel, “Beyond the Bedroom
Wall,” a multigenerational saga
about a Midwestern family, was
acclaimed as one of the finest
works of fiction of its era, died
April 28 at a hospital in Bis-
marck, N.D. He was 80.
The death was confirmed by
his wife, Carole Woiwode, who
did not cite a specific cause.
Mr. Woiwode (pronounced
Wye-woody) grew up in North
Dakota and Illinois, the two
primary settings of “Beyond the
Bedroom Wall,” and emerged in
the 1960s as a young writer of
enormous promise. He pub-
lished short stories in the New
Yorker, and his debut novel,
“What I’m Going to Do, I Think,”
about the struggles of a newly
married couple, won the William
Faulkner Foundation Award as
the best first novel of 1969.
He spent years revising his
second novel, “Beyond the Bed-
room Wall,” which traced the
sorrows and shifting fortunes of
the German immigrant Neumill-
er family for almost a century
after arriving in North Dakota in
188 1. Critics lauded Mr. Woi-
wode’s evocative prose and the
almost Victorian sweep of the
novel, which was more than 600
pages long.
The opening scenes showed a
son returning to North Dakota
after a long absence to bury his
father — washing and dressing
his body and making the casket
himself. The plot turned on the
family’s tragedies and secrets, its
Catholic faith and the inevitable
forces that pull children and
parents apart. It also contained
passages of quiet lyricism, as
when a Neumiller grandson
muses on his life:
“When he was a child and
couldn’t sleep, he’d lie on his bed
... and think, Beyond the bed-
room wall is Mom and Dad’s
bedroom, and all of the other
rooms around it, and then the
yard around that, and beyond
the yard is the town and the
countryside with its farms and
all the other towns of Stusrud
County and then the rest of the
counties filling in the state, and
beyond North Dakota are the
rest of the states and Canada
(vague, reassuring shape), and
then the oceans beyond North
and South America, the globe,
until he felt close to a vast source
of power, God or the sun, and fell
asleep against it.”
Reviewing the book for the
New York Times, novelist John
Gardner wrote, “It seems to me
that nothing more beautiful and
more moving has been written in
years.”In 1992, Washington Post book
critic Jonathan Yardley named
“Beyond the Bedroom Wall” one
of the 22 greatest American
works of fiction of the 20th
century.
The novel was a finalist for the
National Book Award and the
National Book Critics Circle
Award, and Mr. Woiwode was
discussed in the same conversa-
tions as other major writers of
the time, including Toni Morri-
son, Robert Stone and William
Styron.
After living for more than a
decade in New York, where he
wrote his first two novels, Mr.
Woiwode and his wife moved in
197 8 to a farm in North Dakota,
where they raised their children.
Mr. Woiwode published three
more novels, several poetry and
short story collections, and non-
fiction books, but he never againreceived the praise he had for
“Beyond the Bedroom Wall.”
His 1981 novel, “Poppa John,”
was about a fading soap opera
actor confronting his faith and
mortality. A 1988 sequel to “Bed-
room Wall,” “Born Brothers,”
took up the Neumiller family
saga again and then was fol-
lowed a year later by “The Neu-
miller Stories,” from which much
of the earlier novel was drawn. In
“Indian Affairs” (1992), Mr. Woi-
wode re-examined the charac-
ters from his debut novel.
Critics admired the c lear prose
and heartfelt descriptions of
landscape, but as Yardley wrote
in 1989 , “he has told the same
stories too many times.”
Larry Alfred Woiwode was
born Oct. 30, 1941, in Carrington,
N.D. He was the fifth generation
of his family to live in the state.
His father was a high school
English teacher and principal.
His mother was a homemaker.
The family moved in 1950 to a
small town in Illinois, and Larry
was 9 when his mother died — a
loss that would resound in his
writing for decades.
Mr. Woiwode attended the
University of Illinois, where he
studied literature and theater
and worked in radio. He was
particularly drawn to Shake-
speare and moved first to Florida
to pursue an acting career and
later to New York. One of his
friends was another aspiring ac-
tor, Robert De Niro.
As a college student, Mr. Woi-
wode had been introduced to
William Maxwell, a writer and
longtime fiction editor at the
New Yorker, who had helped
shape the careers of John
C heever, J.D. Salinger and John
Updike. Like Mr. Woiwode, Max-
well had grown up in Illinois and
lost his mother at an impression-
able age.
At their meetings in Central
Park, Maxwell brought Mr. Woi-
wode sandwiches — sometimes
his only meal of the day —
encouraged his writing and pub-
lished more than a dozen of his
stories in the New Yorker.
After settling near Mott, N.D.,Mr. Woiwode took up organic
farming.
He and his wife home-
schooled their four children.
Raised as a Catholic, Mr. Woi-
wode abandoned religion in his
20s. He later became a member
of the Orthodox Presbyterian
Church, a small, conservative
denomination that broke away
from mainstream Presbyterian-
ism and emphasizes a funda-
mentalist reading of the Bible. In
199 8, Mr. Woiwode made an
unsuccessful run for the North
Dakota state legislature as a
Republican.
He published essay collections
about literature and religious
matters, two volumes o f memoirs
and several biographies of nota-
ble North Dakotans. He had been
the state’s poet laureate since
199 5.
Mr. Woiwode taught literature
and fiction writing throughout
his career, including at Wheaton
College in Illinois and the Uni-
versity of North Dakota. In the
mid- 1980 s, he headed the writ-
ing program at Binghamton Uni-
versity in New York. In recent
years, he lived in Jamestown,
N.D., where was a writer-in-resi-
dence at the University of James-
town. His honors included two
Guggenheim fellowships and an
award from the American Acad-
emy of Arts and Letters for
“distinction in the art of the
short story.”
Survivors include his wife
since 1965, the former Carole
Peterson; four children; two sis-
ters; a brother; 10 grandchil-
dren; and two great-grandsons.
“Imagination is, indeed, mem-
ory,” Mr. Woiwode wrote in “Born
Brothers,” his 1988 novel about
descendants of the Neumiller
family of “Beyond the Bedroom
Wall.”
“Our memories and words and
acts are linked like cells to oth-
ers,” he continued, “so that no
single version is right and our
earliest memories gather in a
pattern that informs another
pattern that arrives, adding fur-
ther density to the original, and
that is about all we know.”Author’s acclaimed 1970s novelconsidered among the best of its timeCritics laudedMr. Woiwode’sevocative prose and thealmost Victorian sweepof “ Beyond the BedroomWall,” which was morethan 600 pages long.OF NOTEObituaries of residents from the
District, Maryland and Northern
Virginia.
Arnold Nachmanoff,
federal employee
Arnold Nachmanoff, 85, who
retired from the Treasury Depart-
ment in 1981 as deputy assistant
secretary for developing nations,
died April 19 at his home in
Arlington, Va. The cause was
complications from a stroke, said
his son Michael Nachmanoff.
Mr. Nachmanoff was born in
the Bronx and settled in the
Washington area in 1962. He
joined the Foreign Service in the
early 1960 s and then served as a
budget examiner with what is
now the Office of Management
and Budget and on the staff of the
National Security Council. After
his government career, he worked
for the British investment bank
S.G. Warburg.William Cox,
magazine co-founder
William Cox, 79, co-founder
and chief executive of the maga-
zine Diverse: Issues in Higher
Education and its companion
website d ied March 21 at his
home in Clifton, Va. The cause
was corticobasal degeneration, a
neurological disorder, said his
son, Will Cox.
Dr. Cox was born in Pensacola,
Fla., and raised in Bay Minette,
Ala. Before co-founding the mag-
azine in 1984 — then known asBlack Issues in Higher Education
— he was a supervisor of continu-
ing education, counseling and
training programs for the Air
Force Department. The publica-
tion was renamed in 2005 as
coverage came to include other
minority groups. Dr. Cox received
many professional honors.Edwin McCaffrey,
NOAA officer
Edwin McCaffrey, 92, a mem-
ber of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s
Commissioned Officer Corps
from 195 2 to 1982 who held the
rank of captain, died April 19 at
the home of a daughter in Gales
Ferry, Conn. The cause was com-
plications from Parkinson’s dis-ease, said a son, Robert McCaf-
frey.
Capt. McCaffrey was born in
Leominster, Mass. At NOAA, he
commanded ships and was i n-
volved in helping map the Pacific
Ocean floor. His final job was with
the National Ocean Survey as
special assistant for engineering
responsible for analysis of engi-
neering support requirements for
NOAA’s fleet.
After his NOAA retirement, he
was a systems engineer for gov-
ernment contractor OAO Corp.,
working on the lens of the Hubble
Space Telescope, his family said.
A few years ago, he moved to
Wolfeboro, N.H., from Wheaton,
Md.
— From staff reportsANNOUNCEMENTPAID DEATH
NOTICESMEMORIALDAY
HOLIDAYHOURSMay30, 2022
11 a.m. ~3p.m.PhotoDeadline:
12 noonNOEXCEPTIONSTo placeanotice,
call:
202-334-4122
800-627-1150
Ext. 4-4122[email protected]DEATH NOTICEALBURY
LOTTIEB. ALBURY(Age99)
On Tuesday,May 17, 2022,LottieAlbury
ascendedintothe handsof God.She is
survivedbyherchildren,BrendaFeather-
stone,SandraAlbury,BenitaAlbury-Dale,
Leo Albury,and DeniseAlbury;one sibling,
RosemaryFields;andnumerousotherrel-
ativesand friends.VisitationTuesday,May
24, 10 a.m.untilMassat 11 a.m.at Holy
NameCatholicChurch,929 11thStreet,
NE,WashingtonDC20002.IntermentMt.
OlivetCemetery,1300 BladensburgRoad
NE. Arrangementsby PopeFuneral Home.BELL
BONNIELOUBELL(Age70)
BonnieLou Bell, 70 ofDerwood, MD passed
awayMay17thsurroundedby her family.
She was bornApril27, 1952,in Manassas,
VA and graduatedfromRichardMontgom-
ery HighSchool.AftergraduationBonnie
startedher 47-yearcareerat the District
Courtof Rockvillebeforeretiringin 2017.
BonnieMarriedher husbandGaryin 1972
and welcomedtheirson Patrickin 1979.
Bonniesfavoriteactivitieswerebowling,
goingto the beach,pickingcrabs with
her friendsand family,watchingher son
playbaseballand spendingtimewithher
grandson Jackson.Bonnie is preceded
in deathby her parentsMartinand Ruby
Ritenourof Rockville,MD.Bonnieis sur-
vivedby her belovedhusbandGaryof 50
years,son Patrick,GrandsonJackson,two
sistersMaryWard and JoanLewisand nu-
merousniecesand nephews.Bonniewas a
devotedwife,mother,Gammy,sisterand
friendto all. AGravesideServiceand In-
termentwill be heldat ParklawnMemorial
Park, 12800Veirs Mill Road,Rockville,MD
20853 on Thursday,May 26, 2022at 11:30
a.m.BRITTON
MILDREDTHOMPSONBRITTON
Enteredinto eternalrest on May 12, 2022.
Precededin deathby husbandAlex Britton,
parentsElla and OssieThompson.Survived
by stepsonDavidBritton,great-nephew
OrlandaBurks,niecesand long-timecare-
giversBelindaWinfree,Tracey Cleveland,
Terry Ellison,lifelong friendDorisHarris
and ahost of family,neighbors,and friends.
Memorialwill be heldon WednesdayMay
25, at StewartFuneral Home,4001 Ben-
ning Rd., NE,Washington,DC at 11 a.m.In-
termentat HarmonyMemorialPark, 7101
SheriffRoad,Hyattsville,MD. Online con-
dolencesmay be madeat
http://www.stewartfuneralhome.comBROWN
ARTHURR. BROWN
ArthurR. Brownpassedawaypeacefullyat
homeon May 6, 2022.Beloved husband of
SharmanBrown,fatherof Arthur,Jr. (Les-
lie) and MarcusA. Brown,grandfatherof
Rashad,Kristopherand DeMarcoBrown,
greatgrandfatherof RyleeBrown.Gradu-
ate of ArchbishopCarrollHighSchool(‘63),
NorfolkStateUniversity(‘67)and founder
of Art BrownMinistries.
Viewingwill takeplaceMay26 at 10 a.m.
followedby funeral serviceat 11 a.m.at
Walker Mill BaptistChurch,6801 Walker
Mill Road,CapitolHeights,MD20743.Face-
bookstreaming:WmbcWalkermill.POSTYOURCONDOLENCESNowdeath noticeson
washingtonpost.com/obituariesallowyou
toexpressyoursympathywith greaterease.
Visittoday.GHIDEATH NOTICECARTWRIGHT
KATHERINEPALICCARTWRIGHT
KatherinePalic Cartwright,83, of Washing-
ton,DC,diedpeacefully on May20, sur-
roundedbyherfamily.Sheissurvivedby
her daughterKatherineCartwrightKnodel
and her childrenAlysonand Charles;son
WilliamAllenCartwright,andhiswife,Don-
na, theirchildrenWilliamand Joseph;son
VladimirMartinCartwrightand his wife,Ev-
elyn,theirchildrenGeorgiaand Gretchen;
abrother,V.JanPalic.Shewasprecededin
deathby her husband,WilliamT. Cartwright
and by her parents,Vladimirand Georgine
Palic.
Aservicewill be performedat 10 a.m.on
Thursday,May 26 at St. Paul’sLutheran
Church, 4900 ConnecticutAvenue,NW,
Washington,DC.Intermentisprivate.CHAMBERS
LILAB. CHAMBERS
Lila B. Chambers enjoyedlife,family,and
friendsuntil April4, 2022.Adevotedmoth-
er,grandmother,and great-grandmother
oftwochildren,onegrandchild,andtwo
great-grands.Survivedby manyotherrel-
ativesand friends.Familyreceivedfriends
on April18, 2022at 10 a.m.untilfuneral
serviceat 11 a.m.at StewartFuneral
Home,4001 BenningRoadNE,Washington,
DC 20019.COURIE
KATHLEENHAGENBUCHCOURIE
KathleenHagenbuchCourie,86, formerly
of Potomac,MD, passedawayon May19,
2022 inWhitePlains,NY.
Belovedwifeof the late Wadie A. Courie,
DDS;devotedmotherof LeeAnnCourieJa-
cobs(husband,PeterJacobs)andKarenAl-
exandraCourie(husband,JuanMiguelRo-
driguez);cherishedgrandmotherof Noah
and HaileyJacobs,and Sofiaand Catalina
Rodriguez.
Family will receivefriendsat PUMPHREY’S
COLONIALFUNERALHOME,300 W. Mont-
gomeryAve.,Rockville,MDbeginningat
12 p.m. on ThursdayMay26 withservice
following.Entombmentwill be at Gateof
HeavenCemetery,Silver Spring,MD.Inlieu
of flowers,contributionsmaybe madeto
the PennsylvaniaGermanCultural Heri-
tageCenterin Kutztown,PA (www.kuf.org/
heritage-center/landing)or the American
StrokeAssociation(www.stroke.org).
Forfull obituaryandto viewthe family
guestbook,pleasevisit:
http://www.PumphreyFuneralHome.comCUSTIS
CHRISTINEE. CUSTIS
OCTOBER8, 1957-MAY21, 2022
Sheis survivedby her hus-
band, James Bayard Gregg
CustisIV,sisterand brother-in-
law,Dianeand RJ; alongwith
manyrelatives.She bravely
foughtcancerfor sevenyears.
Shewasraisedin CockeysvilleMD,at-
tendedDulaneyHighSchooland Towson
StateUniversity,eventuallyearningher
CPA. She workedin IT for over30 years
and heldpositionsat T. RowePrice,DP
Associates,PH&H,and ultimatelyretiring
fromthe SocialSecurityAdministration.
Shelovedto travel,swim,cook,solve
puzzles,and servedon the NationalSki
Patrol at SevenSpringsMountainResort
for 15 years.She wasextremelysmart,
reliable,thoroughandmostof all kind.
Shelovedlife andpeople.Her memo-
ry will be withus for avery longtime.A
privategravesideservicewill be heldat
RockCreekCemetery.Contributionsin her
namecan be madeto the MarylandFood
Bankandthe AmericanCancerSociety.
http://www.DeVolFuneralHome.comGOLDSTEIN
ROSEGOLDSTEIN
Rose Goldstein, of Silver
Spring, MD,passed away
peacefullyat homeon May 21,
2022,at age 98. Bornin Brook-
lyn, NY,she wasthe daughter
of Charlesand SophieMandel.
She will be rememberedfor her abiding
loveand devotionfor her family.Rose is
survivedby her husband,Lawrence,her
twochildren,Richard(Deborah Koss) of
Rockville,MD, and Andrew(HilarySigmon)
of ChevyChase,MD, fourgrandchildren,
and one great-grandchild.
Gravesideservicewill be heldWednesday,
May25, 12 p.m. at Gardenof Remem-
branceMemorialPark, 14321ComusRoad,
Clarksburg,MD.Inlieu of flowers,memori-
al contributionsmaybe madeto St. Jude
Children’sResearchHospital(stjude.org/
give).Servicesentrustedto SagelBloom-
field DanzanskyGoldbergFuneral Care.
http://www.sagelbloomfield.comHEDGPETH
MONTARIEP. HEDGPETH“Monte”
(Age95)
Montarie“Monte”P. Hedgpeth(Age95) of
Brookeville,MDpassedawaypeacefullyon
Friday,May 13, 2022.She was bornon De-
cember17, 1926in Rome,GAtoVelma and
JosephPorterand was precededin death
by her belovedhusbandof 54 years,Wil-
liam“Bill”L. Hedgpeth,Jr.and dearsister,
Patsy Ingram. She is survivedby her loving
daughterPamelaBurgess,son-in-lawJohn
Burgessand grandchildrenHalle,Marley,
and WilliamBurgessas wellas her neph-
ewsJohnand JosephIngram, and mem-
bersof the BurgessFamily.
AftermarryingBill in Juneof 1947,they
eventuallymovedto the Washington,DC
areawhereMonteworkedas aMarketing
and SalesDirectorfor UnitedAirlinesfor 32
years.This allowedher to fulfillher dreams
to travel the world.Uponretirement,Mon-
te enjoyedgardening,music,and the arts
whilestill consultingin the marketingin-
dustry.She wasfortunateto be blessed
withthreegrandchildrenthat she enjoyed
babysittingand beinginvolvedin all of their
activities.
On Wednesday,May 25, 2022,relativesand
friendsmay join Monte’sfamilyat Oakdale
Church, 3425 EmoryChurchRoadin Olney,
MD for Visitationat 10:30a.m.followedby
aFuneral Serviceat 11 a.m.Intermentwill
followat Gateof HeavenCemetery,13801
GeorgiaAvenue,SilverSpring,MD.Inlieu
of flowers,memorialcontributionsmay be
madeto MarianAssistedLivingof Brookev-
ille,MDinMonte’sname.
http://www.COLLINSFUNERALHOME.com