| Elsie Topalian Oppenheim |
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Elsie Topalian Oppenheim, 83, a retired educational and cultural
exchange official with the State Department, died Nov. 19 at the
Washington Home hospice. She had Alzheimer's disease.
Mrs. Oppenheim joined the State Department in 1948 and spent her
career in Washington, assisting the U.S. delegation to the United Nations
and helping with international conferences.
After working for an office on refugees, she became an educational and
cultural exchange officer in 1962 and helped manage the international
Fulbright exchange program. She retired from the State Department in
1980.
Mrs. Oppenheim then held administrative positions with the American
Enterprise Institute and American Political Science Association until 1987.
Elsie Rose Topalian was born in Boston and graduated from Eastern
High School in Washington in 1944. She graduated from American
University in 1948 with a dual major in French and Spanish.
She lived in the District and volunteered at the Kennedy Center during
her retirement.
Survivors include her husband of 38 years, Daniel P. Oppenheim of
Washington; a stepdaughter, Vicki Oppenheim of Denton, Tex.; and three
sisters, Nora Topalian and Joan Topalian, both of Washington, and Lillian
Dalton of Cumming, Ga.
-- Matt Schudel 08-08-10