Lawrence T. Washington Jr.
2007
Lawrence Temple Buddy  Washington Jr., 81, a contracting company owner who over 50 years worked on scores of the area's federal buildings, died Feb.18 at Inova Alexandria Hospital of complications of  gall bladder surgery.
Mr. Washington was born in the District and spent his life there and in  Alexandria, his last place of residence. However, he always considered himself a country boy because of his family roots in King and Queen County in Virginia. He was a descendant of Col. John Washington, the first  Washington to settle in the American colonies and a great-grandfather of  George Washington.
He graduated from Calvin Coolidge High School in the District  and the University of Virginia with an engineering degree. After college, he  worked for his father's company, Washington Electric Co., and later took  over the District-based company. In 1972, he founded Prince Construction Co., a general contracting company specializing in federal contracts.
Mr. Washington once estimated that he had done electrical or general contracting work and renovations in more than half of the federal buildings in the D.C. area. His company had numerous contracts with the General Services Administration and did work at the Smithsonian Institution, Justice Department, Agriculture Department, Pentagon, Navy Yard, Coast Guard, NASA,     Veterans Administration and State Department.
He also worked on the installation of the Minuteman missile defense system in the D.C. area and the Wallops Island space facility.
Mr. Washington, who had a deep interest in Virginia history, belonged to  Sons of the Colonial Wars, Washington Family Descendants and the Order of Founders and Patriots. He also was a member of the Rotary Clubs of  Alexandria and Essex County, Va., and Winter Park, Fla.
He was a proud member of Alcoholics Anonymous for 43 years, his daughter said.
Mr. Washington maintained a second home in Tappahannock, Va., for more than 50 years. For the past 14 years, he spent several months a year in  Winter Park, Fla.
An outdoorsman, he loved hunting, fishing, sailing and hiking. He ran and bicycled hundreds of miles annually along the C & O Canal towpath.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Bolling Cox Washington of Alexandria;  three children, Betsy Washington of Falls Church, Lawrence Temple Washington III of Arlington and John Mason Washington of Leesburg; and five grandchildren.