Barbara Lewellyn Cavas - Obituary

arbara Sue Lewellyn Cavas died Sunday, July 18 aged 80 after a determined battle against cancer. She remained strong in the face of adversity and was remarkably active until shortly before her final struggle. Born Sept. 15, 1929 in Winston-Salem, N.C., she and her mother, Minnie Davis Kimel McMullen, moved to Washington, D.C. in the war years. Bobbie was married to Peter M. Cavas in 1952 and they enjoyed a strong relationship for 55 years until his death in January 2008. She and their children accompanied Peter to Pakistan in 1963-1965 and lived in Karachi, where Peter was assigned to the Agency for International Development and Barbara worked as secretary to the superintendent of the Karachi American School. In the 1950s and early 1960s Barbara worked in Congress for Rep. Joe Kilgore, D-Texas. After a stint in 1967-1973 as school nurse for Crossland High School in Camp Springs, Md., she returned to the Hill to work for Rep. Walter Jones, D-N.C. She retired in 1991 after 30 years working for Congress, serving for the last 11 years as chief clerk of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee. A resident of southeast Washington, D.C., when she married, Barbara and Peter moved to Camp Springs in 1957. They lived in Crofton, Md., from 1979 to 1997, when the couple moved to Heritage Harbour in Annapolis, Md. Barbara and Peter were active in the Heritage Harbour community and took part in many stage plays. Barbara remained a member of the chorus throughout the last decade, served on a number of committees and was honored in April 2009 for her community service. Barbara remained decidedly active throughout her retirement and decade-long struggle against cancer, playing tennis until only a few months ago. The couple traveled extensively in retirement including ventures to Greece, the Baltic region and Thailand. Barbara is survived by her children Christopher (Lisa Rasmussen) of Bethesda, Md., and Cathy Strobel (Bill) of Sugar Land, Texas, and granddaughters Sarah Cavas, Nicole Strobel and Christina Strobel. She leaves behind a wealth of friends -- all of whom she greatly treasured -- and her special friend Ken Contardi. Viewing will be Wednesday, July 21, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, Md. Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 22 at 11 a.m. at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 2747 Riva Road, Annapolis, Md., followed by burial at Crownsville Veterans Cemetery in Crownsville, Md. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Barbara's name to the Hospice of the Chesapeake at hospicechesapeake.org.