Ross Netherton, who alone and with his late wife Nan, authored many
books on Northern Virginia and Virginia subjects passed away peacefully
on April 30. James Munson, Alexandria historian, died on April 14.
Washington Post Thursday, May 6, 2010

Ross D. Netherton Federal Highway Official 



Ross D. Netherton, 91, who retired in the 1980s from the Federal Highway
Administration's office of research, died April 30 at his home in
Arlington County. He had atheroscleotic cardiovascular disease. 

Dr. Netherton's main fields of expertise had been in transportation and
land-use planning law, environmental law and historic preservation. He
spent the 1950s as legislative counsel for AAA and the 1960s as counsel
for legal research with the highway research board, an affiliate of the
National Academy of Sciences. 

He then worked for the Interior Department and the federal Highway
Beautification Commission before joining the Federal Highway
Administration in 1974. 

In retirement, he focused on a second career as a Northern Virginia
historian and preservationist. In these efforts, he often worked with
his wife, a longtime staff member in the Fairfax County office of
comprehensive planning. 

Ross DeWitt Netherton Jr. was a Chicago native and a 1939 graduate of
the University of Chicago, where he also received a master's degree in
social science in 1940. He was a 1943 graduate of the University of
Chicago law school. In addition, he earned a master's degree in law from
the University of Michigan in 1950 and a doctorate in law from the
University of Wisconsin in 1962. 

He served in the Army in China, Burma and India during World War II and
retired from the Army Reserve in 1973 at the rank of colonel. He was a
member of the Burma Star Association, a group of veterans who had served
in the Far East, and helped start one of the first American branches.
His other memberships included the Cosmos Club. 

His wife, Ann Rohrke "Nan" Netherton, whom he married in 1947, died in
2003. 

Survivors include three children, David Netherton of Concord, Mass.,
Richard Netherton of Falls Church and Nancy Netherton Stelling of
Richmond; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. 

-- Adam Bernstein 

 

or see:
http://www.fcnp.com/news/6413-longtime-fc-resident-ross-netherton-dies.h
tml
<http://www.fcnp.com/news/6413-longtime-fc-resident-ross-netherton-dies.
html> 

 

James Munson

MUNSON 
Dr. JAMES D. MUNSON LtCol. USMC (Ret.) 
Died April 14, 2010 in Parrish, FL at age 80. Born in New York, N.Y. to
James E. and M. Margaret Munson. He is survived by his brother Robert
Munson and wife Jean of New Jersey, and his three children, Robert
Munson (Leslie), Ann Munson (Cal), and Katherine Munson (Flip). Dr. Jim
Munson was an historian, and author of Col. John Carlyle, Gent.; A True
and Just Account of the Man and His House, 1720-1780 and many other
historical books. Following a 20 year career in the U.S. Marines that
saw service in Korea, Viet Nam, and the Middle East, he undertook
graduate work in American Studies at the University of Maryland, College
Park. He received his doctoral degree there is 1984, with a dissertation
on Colonial Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Munson continued to conduct
research and to publish extensively about the City of Alexandria
throughout his productive life. He was one of the most knowledgeable
students of Alexandria's history. A memorial reception will be held at
the Carlyle House at 7 p.m. on May 24, 2010. Interment in Arlington
National Cemetery will be private.

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