2008
Frank M. Sommerkamp III, 84, who retired about 1980 from the U.S. Postal Service as a senior assistant postmaster general for
research and technology, died April 29 at Beaufort County Hospital in Washington, N.C., after a heart attack.
Mr. Sommerkamp's father was a senior Post Office Department official in Washington. The younger Sommerkamp also spent
his career with the department, becoming regional postmaster general in Memphis and New York.
Frank Marcrum Sommerkamp III was a native Washingtonian and a 1942 graduate of McKinley Technical High School.
He graduated from the University of Maryland after serving in the Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II. His decorations
included the Distinguished Flying Cross for a photo reconnaissance mission over enemy-occupied territory. A former McLean
resident, he moved to North Carolina in retirement, most recently living in Chocowinity.
His marriage to Rose Gallagher Sommerkamp ended in divorce. A son from that marriage, Mark Sommerkamp, died in 1998.
Survivors include his wife of 35 years, Helen Williamson Sommerkamp of Chocowinity; two daughters from his first marriage,
Kathy Sommerkamp and Ella Whitley, both of Waco, Tex.; three stepchildren, Marie Smith of Aurora, N.C., James Phillips of
Hurdle Mills, N.C., and Joseph Phillips of Wilson, N.C.; three sisters, Mary Nencioni of Fairfax County, Kathryn Beij of
Holderness, N.H., and Patricia Fitzpatrick of Rockville; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
-- Adam Bernstein