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KLMNO OBITUARIES
A LOCAL LIFE:WILLIAM CALLAHAN, 78
he Rev. William Callahan was a physicist by training, a Jesuit priest by vocation and a nonconformist by tempera- ment. In 1976, he started the nonprof- it Quixote Center, now based in Brentwood, as an independent group promoting such iconoclas- tic ideas as the ordination of women in the Catholic Church and ministry to gay people. As idealistic as his center’s name implied, he devoted years to a succession of progressive causes. He first challenged the church
on gender equality with the for- mation of the Washington-based Priests for Equality in 1975 and became a vocal supporter of wom- en’s ordination. He further rankled church au- thorities in 1979 when he urged male clergy to refrain from dis- tributing Holy Communion at Masses during Pope John Paul II’s United States visit because wom- en were excluded. “Perhaps this is not a human rights issue because women are not human or they do not have rights,” Rev. Callahan was quoted as saying at the time. (He later claimed he was citing another person’s comments.) Yet he con- tinued to challenge the church on women’s issues, including artifi- cial birth control.
Because of his work with the Quixote Center and his propensi- ty of attracting headlines, Rev. Callahan emerged as one of the leading dissenters of the Catholic Church, a description he didn’t entirely agree with. “We are often labeled dissent-
ers,” he once told an interviewer, “but we care profoundly about the church.” In 1979, he was warned by Fa-
ther Pedro Arrupe, then world- wide head of the Jesuits, to sever ties with the Quixote Center and to “refrain from any public ad- vocacy of priestly ordination of women.” Rev. Callahan took a leave of ab-
Rebel priest had progressive mindset T
by Lauren Wiseman COURTESY OF DOLLY POMERLEAU
Rev. Callahan was a Jesuit priest forced from the order in 1991.
sence but returned a year later. He later started a group called Catho- lics Speak Out to defend the right of Catholics to criticize the church.
During the 1980s, he was in- volved with Quest for Peace, a program run by the Quixote Cen- ter that sent aid to Nicaragua and opposed U.S. support to the anti- Marxist rebel group known as the contras. “U.S. citizens are fed up with the illegal policy of our govern- ment toward Nicaragua, which has made the United States an international outlaw,” he said. Rev. Callahan’s relentless work
eventually led to calls for his re- moval from the Jesuits. After a 20- year history of activism in Wash- ington, he was forced out of his re- ligious order, formally known as the Society of Jesus, in 1991. He died July 5 at the Washington Home and Community Hospices of complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 78. “Bill Callahan stood firmly in the Dorothy Day-Berrigan Broth- ers wing of American Catholi- cism,” said Colman McCarthy, a former Washington Post colum- nist and friend of Rev. Callahan’s. “Like them, he exemplified the Sermon on the Mount. It’s la- mentable that his Jesuit superiors didn’t see it that way. They should have exalted, not banished, him.” Despite his expulsion from the
Jesuits, Rev. Callahan’s commit- ment to the Quixote Center and
JACK O’CONNELL, 88
social justice issues remained. “I do believe I am following the
example of Jesus, who was never willing to shut up when preaching the good news to his disciples,” he told The Post in 1989. He contin- ued to work with the center until two years ago.
William Reed Callahan was born Sept. 5, 1931, in Scituate, Mass., a coastal town south of Boston. His mother died when he was an infant. His father sent him to live with his paternal grand- parents, who were Catholic. He joined the New England
Province of Jesuits in 1948 and re- ceived his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boston College. He received a doctorate in physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1962 while he worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Center on weath- er satellites. In the late 1960s, Rev. Callahan taught physics at Fairfield Univer- sity, a Jesuit school in Connecti- cut, before promoting civil rights causes for the Jesuits in Boston. In 1971, he co-found the Center of Concern, a social justice think tank in Washington that was sup- ported by the Catholic Church. According to his longtime part-
ner, Dolly Pomerleau, whom he married days before he died, Rev. Callahan established the Quixote Center as a way to promote social causes independent of the church. “He was perceived as a radical, and the center was seen as being on the cutting edge,” Pomerleau said. “However, that wasn’t the purpose, it was the result.” In addition to Pomerleau, sur- vivors include three brothers and three sisters. As the years went by, Rev. Calla- han turned his attention away from opposing church policies and devoted his energies to rais- ing humanitarian aid for impov- erished people in Haiti and other countries. When asked about losing his standing in the Jesuit order, he told The Post, “That is nothing compared to the daily threats of violence, death and economic ruin faced by so many.”
wisemanl@washpost.com
CIA station chief was confidant, adviser to Jordan’s King Hussein
by T. Rees Shapiro Jack O’Connell, 88, who as a
CIA station chief in Amman, Jor- dan, became King Hussein’s dip- lomatic adviser and closest Amer- ican confidant, strengthening U.S. ties with the crucial Middle East ally, died of congestive heart fail- ure July 12 at the Virginia Hospi- tal Center in Arlington County. He was a Rosslyn resident. Dr. O’Connell, who was trained
as a lawyer, joined the CIA in the late 1940s and served in Beirut before becoming station chief in Jordan from 1963 to 1971. Bor- dered by Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syr- ia and Iraq, the Hashemite King- dom of Jordan is considered one of America’s most important al- lies in the Middle East, in part be- cause of its savvy intelligence service. Dr. O’Connell, whose time in
Jordan coincided with the Arab- Israeli Six-Day War in June 1967 and the brutal expulsion of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1970, fostered a fraternal bond with the king and was considered an adopted member of the royal family, said Richard Viets, a for- mer U.S. ambassador to Jordan. A burly, blue-eyed Midwestern-
er of Irish descent, Dr. O’Connell had a quiet, self-effacing demean- or but was, nonetheless, among the best-known Americans in Jor- dan. In 1967, he played a key role in
negotiating U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which sought to establish peace in the Middle East after Syria, Egypt and Jordan had combined forces in the six-day conflict with Israel. Although Res- olution 242 was never fully adopt- ed, it remains the blueprint for Middle East peace agreements to- day. Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel in the war, and about 300,000 Palestinians from that region fled to Jordan. Many joined guerrilla groups that align- ed themselves with the PLO. In 1970, Hussein sought to dis- solve the growing power of the PLO, leading to the month-long civil war known as “Black Sep- tember.” Within two years, Dr. O’Connell
had left Jordan, retired from the CIA and joined a Washington law firm that became O’Connell and Glock. He remained Hussein’s personal lawyer and political ad- viser in Washington until the monarch’s death in 1999.
Virginia S. Hiller PIANO TEACHER
Virginia S. Hiller, 89, who gave piano lessons for more than 50 years, died June 28 at her home in Bethesda of congestive heart fail- ure. Mrs. Hiller was born Virginia
Coe Spencer in Columbia, Mo., and grew up in the District. After graduating from the East- man School of Music in Roches- ter, N.Y., in 1943, she returned to the Washington area. She taught piano from 1948 until she retired in 2000. She had lived in Beth- esda since 1966. Mrs. Hiller often performed in nursing homes and was a mem- ber of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, Maryland State Music Teachers Association, Montgom- ery County Music Teachers Asso- ciation and the Friday Morning Music Club. She enjoyed garden- ing and was a member of the for- mer Halpine Baptist Church in Rockville. Her husband of 33 years,
Charles T. Hiller, died in 1978. Survivors include two children,
Patricia Stainke and David Hiller, both of Bethesda; a sister; and three grandchildren. —Lauren Wiseman
Hugh W. Olds Jr. U.S.I.A. RESEARCH ANALYST
Hugh W. Olds Jr., 79, a research analyst for the U.S. Information Agency from 1960 to 1996, died June 13 at his home in Alexandria. He had cancer. During his USIA career, Mr. Olds performed survey research on Africa. After retiring, he con- sulted for the International Foun- dation for Election Systems, a nonprofit organization. Hugh Wilson Olds Jr. was a na- tive of Long Beach, Calif., and a 1953 government graduate of George Washington University. In 1960, he completed a master’s de- gree in the Middle East studies program at Johns Hopkins Uni- versity’s School of Advanced International Studies. He served on active duty in the
Navy in the 1950s and retired from the reserves in 1982 at the rank of captain.
Petrus G. Schouten
“Jack O’Connell had a closer re-
lationship with King Hussein than any other American official before or after, one that was based on mutual respect and absolute trust,” Avi Shlaim wrote in his 2007 book “Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace.” John William O’Connell was born Aug. 18, 1921, in Flandreau, S.D. He played defensive end at the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship but trans- ferred to Georgetown University after a car accident left him un- able to play. His education was interrupted
by Navy service in World War II aboard a minesweeper patrolling the smoldering remains of Naga- saki’s harbor shortly after the Jap- anese surrender. In 1946, he graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown, where he received a law degree in 1948. He joined the CIA the same year and was sent to the University of the Punjab in Pa- kistan on a Fulbright scholarship, receiving a master’s degree in Is- lamic law in 1952. He returned to Georgetown and received a doc- torate in international law in 1958.
One of the events that catalyzed his friendship with Hussein oc- curred that same year. For his first foreign CIA assignment, Dr. O’Connell was sent to Jordan to help foil a coup attempt on the 22- year-old king’s throne by restive Jordanian military officers. In the course of several months, Dr. O’Connell helped unravel the plot
He was a member of Plymouth
Haven Baptist Church in Alexan- dria, where he also did volunteer work. His wife of 46 years, Beverly Smith Olds, died in 2004. Survivors include four chil- dren, Alice Beiro and Thomas Olds, both of Alexandria, Carolyn Elliott of Lewes, Del., and Amy Olds of London; a sister; and sev- en grandchildren.
—Alison Lake
Petrus G. Schouten DUTCH EMBASSY OFFICIAL
Petrus G. Schouten, 83, assis- tant comptroller at the Dutch Em- bassy in Washington from 1976 until he retired in 1992, died June 21 at his home in Poto- mac. He had Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Schou-
ten first came to Washington in the 1950s, when he was stationed at the embassy as a member of the Royal
Netherlands Air Force. He moved permanently to the Washington region in 1963 and worked for several years for companies that supplied airplane parts to the military. Petrus Gerald Schouten was born in Aalkmaar, the Nether- lands, and went into hiding in his teens during World War II to avoid being conscripted into the German army. He served as a non- commissioned officer in the Royal Netherlands Air Force before moving to Washington. His marriages to Annalies Prins Schouten and Lillian Salins Schouten ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 16 years, Elisabeth Posner Schouten of Potomac; two children from his first marriage, Nora Whitbeck of Show Low, Ariz., and Peter Schou- ten of Denver; a stepdaughter from his second marriage, Jenni- fer Beaudet of Kensington; two stepdaughters from his third marriage, Rachel Smith of Suwa- nee, Ga., and Suzanne Cohen of
In the 1970s, Jack O’Connell retired from the CIA and joined a Washington law firm. He
remained King Hussein’s personal lawyer and political adviser in Washington until the Jordanian monarch’s death in 1999.
MARK VOHWINKEL PHOTO BY
SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010
and assist in the arrest of the rogue officers.
During his time in Jordan, Dr. O’Connell was responsible for helping to expand the powers and capabilities of the Jordanian in- telligence service with CIA fund- ing and training. In 1977, news re- ports revealed that Hussein had been a paid informant for the CIA. In the early 1990s, Dr. O’Con- nell helped facilitate, through the Jordanian king, negotiations with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in the run-up to the Persian Gulf War. Dr. O’Connell’s memoir, cur- rently under CIA review, is sched- uled to be published by W.W. Nor- ton in 2011. His first wife, Katherine Mac- Donald O’Connell, died in 1972. He later married Syble McKenzie O’Connell, who died in 1990. An infant child from his first mar- riage, Mary Frances O’Connell, died in 1949. Survivors include two children from his first marriage, Kelly Ann O’Connell of Annandale and Sean O’Connell of Fairfax County; and a grandson. One day in the 1990s, Dr. O’Connell and Viets were walking out of the Jordanian Foreign Min- istry when the former defensive end tripped and fell down a steep flight of steps and broke his leg. On the suggestion that he seek medical attention, Dr. O’Connell replied: “Irishmen don’t wear casts.” Instead, he used a cane and
walked on the broken leg until it healed.
shapirot@washpost.com
Seattle; two brothers; and six grandchildren.
—Matt Schudel
George J. Nesline MUSIC ALBUM SALESMAN
George J. Nesline, 91, a long- time wholesale record sales repre- sentative, died July 3 at his home in Silver Spring. He had Alzhei- mer’s disease. For 35 years, Mr. Nesline dis- tributed RCA albums to Washing- ton area record stores. He retired in 1980. George Joseph Nesline was born in Washington and graduat- ed from St. John’s College High School in 1939. He served in the Army during World War II. He was a member of Holy Re- deemer Catholic Church in Ken- sington. Survivors include his wife of 64 years, Barbara Fricker Nesline of Silver Spring; four children, Mar- garet Howell of Silver Spring, John Nesline of Vienna, MaryAnn Viverette of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Teri Troxell of North Po- tomac; and four grandchildren. —Timothy R. Smith
John R. Duvall BELTSVILLE TEACHER
John R. Duvall, 81, a French and English teacher who retired in 1995 from High Point High School in Beltsville, died of cardiac arrest June 17 at his daughter’s home in Owings, Md. Mr. Duvall taught French and English at the private Mercers- burg Academy in Pennsylvania until the mid-1960s. He spent 28 years at High Point, where he also taught social studies. John Richard Duvall, a long- time Beltsville resident, was born in Marietta, Ohio. After four years in the Navy, he received a bach- elor’s degree in English from Ohio University and a master’s degree in French from Middlebury Col- lege in Vermont in 1964. Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Maitland Cadden Duvall of Rockville; two children, Claire Mahar of Owings and Mark Du- vall of Ellicott City; a sister; a brother; and three grandchildren. —Alison Lake
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