obituary

Alexandria Republican City Council candidate and community leader Townsend Van Fleet died in his Old Town home on Sunday, October 16. He was 87 years old, and his cause of death has not been released.

Van Fleet unsuccessfully ran for Mayor as an Independent in 2003, and for City Council in 2006 and 2015. He was the former president of Old Town Civic Association. He was also a member of the city’s Waterfront Commission for eight years and was a board member with the Federation of Civic Associations for 15 years.

Chet Avery, a longtime community leader and educator who volunteered in Alexandria for decades, died at home on Thursday, September 8.

Avery, 85, was a lifelong advocate for disability justice and welfare. He lived in Alexandria with his wife, Sabra, for more than 50 years, and served on the Alexandria commission on Persons with Disabilities for 36 years and the city’s Human Rights Commission for more than 30 years.

Judy Guse-Noritake was a presence in Alexandria civic activism for decades; a lung cancer diagnosis in 2018 did little to slow that down until her death at 68 on Wednesday.

Guse-Noritake was a regular at many city commissions and hearings, where she advocated for better park space in Alexandria and better amenities for mixed-income communities. Judy Guse-Noritake was particularly impactful in shaping civic discourse in the Braddock and Old Town North neighborhoods, helping to found the Braddock Metro Citizens’ Coalition.