England, Laurie L Collection

Laurie L. England is the daughter of Jonathan S. England (1914-2006), a former Washington D.C. civic leader, businessman, and philanthropist.

Jonathan England was was born in Pittsfield, Mass., and graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1935. He was an all-American in lacrosse and played professional soccer. During World War II, he served as a Navy lieutenant in the South Pacific. He was captain of a PT boat that aided in the rescue of John F. Kennedy after the sinking of Kennedy's PT-109 in 1943. He received the Bronze Star for operations against Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands from June 1943 to March 1944.

He was one of the partners of Devlin Lumber & Supply Corp. in Rockville, where he worked for more than 40 years. In 1984, he was elected president and chief executive, filling a vacancy created by the death of company founder Andrew L. Devlin. After the company was sold about 1995, Mr. England continued his work in real estate development. He and his partner developed commercial and residential properties throughout the area. As a D.C. businessman, he actively supported numerous charities and organizations. He was a two-term president of the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, which had been founded by his wife's grandmother, Aunt Minnie Goldsmith. He also served at the Hebrew Home in several other leadership capacities. Mr. England was president of the Washington, D.C., Home Builders Association and belonged to other local business organizations.

[Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/02/AR2006010201690.html]