The church was full Wednesday morning this week when we gathered to say goodbye to a friend, mentor, teacher, and actor. Talented Elizabeth “Beth” Dowling Whaley, an icon of the local arts scene, died July 30 at Washington Hospital Center, a few days after being striken with a cardiac condition.
St. John Neumann Catholic Church, with its lofty ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows, looks to seat about 1,000 people, and I would guess about 800 people were there to support her family and to share fond memories. I told my companion in the pew that the ...