Obituary of Marcia Briggs Wahl

Marcia Briggs Wahl of Fairfax Station Virginia passed away on December 28, 2019 at Arden Courts of Fair Oaks with her loving husband at her side following a long struggle with dementia and Alzheimer’s. She was born on November 5, 1947 in South Portland Maine, a daughter of John and Stella (Szmyt) Briggs. She graduated from South Portland High School in 1966. Following graduation Marcia attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley Massachusetts on a full scholarship. She graduated in May of 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. In November of 1970 she began her career with the Central Intelligence Agency and was assigned to the National Photograph Interpretation Center as an Analytical Photogrammetrist. From the beginning she thoroughly enjoyed what she was doing knowing that she was making an impact. Over the years she continued to take on challenging assignments with her final assignment being with the National Reconnaissance Office. As a senior systems engineer she made a significant impact leading numerous critical projects and working closely with senior government officials, the user community and contractor staff designing future overhead collection systems. After a distinguished 32 year career, she retired from the Central Intelligence Agency on January 3, 2003. A few weeks later she was presented the Central Intelligence Career Achievement Medal at the Headquarters building. This medal is only awarded to select officers who have demonstrated a cumulative record of service which reflect exceptional achievement that substantially contributed to the mission of the Agency. In addition to her professional career, Marcia also had a "career" as a quilt-maker. Her love of sewing and beautiful fabrics--- in particular, the elegant batiks she collected---led to the creation of lovely quilts for her family and friends. For nearly 20 years, she belonged to the "Loose Ends Quilting Bee" a small group of women who became close friends as they spent time together sewing, shopping and traveling. Marcia will be sorely missed by her Bee friends. Marcia made the most of her retirement by enjoying 16 summers at her favorite place in the world, Higgins Beach, where she enjoyed working on her flower garden, taking strolls along the water’s edge, stopping to visit with friends and entertaining her grandkids when they came to visit. In the Spring and Fall, she especially enjoyed watching Jackson and Aubrey play baseball, soccer and basketball. She was also an avid fan of the University of Virginia men’s basketball team. The family would like to thank Arden Courts of Fair Oaks for the loving care Marcia received for the past eleven months. The staff and caregivers treated her like one of the family doing everything possible to keep her smiling and without pain. She was truly blessed to have such excellent care. The family would also like to thank Heartland Hospice Care for the additional loving care they provided during her final five months. A special thank you to Mary Paradise, Marcia's Hospice nurse for being there for her and communicating with and supporting the family. Survivors include her husband of 46 years Tom, her son Jeffrey and two beautiful grandchildren, Jackson and Aubrey Wahl of South Riding Virginia. She is also survived by a sister, Joan O'Connell of Tewksbury Massachusetts and many nieces and nephews. Visiting hours will be from 6-8 P.M. on Wednesday January 8th at the ADAMS-GREEN Funeral Home located at 721 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Thursday January 9th at 10:00 AM at Church of the Nativity 6400 Nativity Ln. in Burke, Virginia. Burial will follow at Quantico National Cemetery in Triangle, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marcia's memory to The Alzheimer's Association. www.alz.org