Bruce 'David' Haines Radio N ... -

Bruce 'David' Haines

Radio News Anchor

Bruce "David" Haines, 64, the news director of WPGC-FM in Lanham and the news anchor for the station's morning show hosted by Donnie Simpson, died July 10 at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He had complications from lung cancer.

Mr. Haines, a Crofton resident, worked at WPGC for the past 14 years. As news director, he researched, wrote and broadcast the news in a style resembling that of his radio idol, Paul Harvey.

He spoke of the "burnt toast and coffee time" when noting the hour; "handy-dandy wrist warmers" for handcuffs; "barbed-wire hotel" for jail; and the "symphony of windshield wipers" that could be heard on a rainy day.

Bruce Haines III -- he invented "David" for his on-air name -- was born in St. Louis and raised in Hollywood, Fla.

Initially veering toward the law, his interest in broadcasting began one day at a McDonald's restaurant while he was with friends. A deejay overheard them and told Mr. Haines he had a compelling radio voice.

He was an English graduate of Florida Southern College and an Air Force veteran.

He was a disc jockey in Florida, Nebraska and Wisconsin before coming to the Washington area in 1984. He then worked for WAVA-FM as a morning newscaster on the "Don and Mike" program until 1989, when he left for a two-year stint as news director at WPLJ-FM in New York.

He was a member of Grace Baptist Church in Bowie and volunteered at its nursery.

He was a former association president of Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School, which has campuses in Bowie and Glenn Dale.

His marriage to Carol Haines ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 19 years, Joji Concepcion Haines of Crofton; two children from the first marriage, Lynn Smith of Overland Park, Kan., and David Haines of East Troy, Wis.; two children from the second marriage, Christopher Haines and Sarah Haines, both of Crofton; his mother, Margaret Haines of St. Louis; three brothers; and five grandchildren.

Arthur S. 'Buddy' Rocker

Navy Financial Official

Arthur S. "Buddy" Rocker, 81, director of financial systems and analysis in the Navy's comptroller office, died July 8 at Arden Courts in Kensington. He had Alzheimer's disease.

Mr. Rocker was a federal employee almost continuously since World War II, when he served in the Army. He studied Turkish in an intensive immersion course at Princeton, in Officer Candidate School, and that experience sparked a lifelong desire to learn about other cultures.

After the war, he worked in Ankara, Turkey, on a contract with the International Cooperation Administration, an agency of the U.S. government, and for Ankara University from 1955 to 1957. He was an assistant budget and accounting auditor with the U.S. Agency for International Development in New Delhi from 1959 to 1961.

He held several positions with the federal government and in 1970, as a civilian, joined the Department of the Navy's Military Sealift Command in Washington. He retired in 1985.

In retirement, he spent a year as an assistant professor of accounting at Virginia Tech, where he served as team leader at the Gambian Management Development Institute in West Africa. He developed and taught courses and administered the project. He also taught business subjects part time at Mount Vernon College, Strayer College and Montgomery College, Rockville campus.

Mr. Rocker graduated from the City College of New York. He received a master's degree in business education from Teachers College at Columbia University in 1948. He became a certified public accountant in 1951.

He had enrolled in the Golden ID program for a doctorate at the University of Maryland's University College and was studying the effects of exercise on the elderly when his illness forced him to quit.

He was certified as a swimming and boating instructor by the American Red Cross in 1941. In retirement, he taught swimming to physically challenged people at the Jewish Community Center in Rockville.

His hobbies included photography, gardening and writing poems and letters. He was a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the Association of Government Accountants and the American Vocational Association. A longtime member of Temple Emanuel in Kensington, he served on the funeral practices and education committees.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Adele Rocker of Silver Spring; three daughters, Gail Beram of Voorhees, N.J., Janice Rocker of Pasadena, Calif., and Barbara Fox of Clearwater, Fla.; and four grandchildren.

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