Karl R. Liewer

Col. (ret.) Karl Raymond Liewer (age 93) Of Arlington, Va., died Jan. 11, 2018, and will be buried Sept. 4 at Arlington National Cemetery. Born July 2, 1924, to Matthew and Clara (Bogenhagen) Liewer in Osmond, Nebr., where his father was postmaster and published the local newspaper. Appointed to the U.S. Military Academy soon after Pearl Harbor, graduated in 1945. Spent 29 years as an Army officer, mostly in military intelligence. Posted to many overseas locations including South Korea, Germany, USSR, South Vietnam, and Italy. In October 1964, while serving as a military attache in Moscow, he and three other officers were detained at gunpoint by KGB agents while on a journey aboard the Trans-Siberian Railroad. They were declared persona non grata, prompting headline-making tit-for-tat expulsions of Soviet diplomats. Retired as a colonel in 1974 after a final tour at NATO in Naples, where he met Marine Corps Lt. Col. Ellen Moroney. They were married soon after he left the Army and moved to Arlington. They loved travel, entertaining, opera and theater. Longtime member of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington, and a generous donor and volunteer to many causes. Active in the Arlington Sister Cities Program, traveled to sister cities in Germany, France and Ukraine, and hosted many visitors. Closely involved with sister city San Miguel, El Salvador, to the end of his life. Donated to San Miguel charities and was honored guest at city’s annual festival. Preceded in death by his wife, Ellen, in 2000, and four brothers, Paul, Eugene, Ralph and Francis. Survived by 14 nieces and nephews, and friend/caretaker Jose Pineda (Anette) of Manassas, Va. Funeral Mass at Fort Myer Old Post Chapel at 10:45 a.m. Sept. 4, followed by burial at Arlington. Memorials recommended to Catholic Relief Services, www.crs.org. Services by Murphy Funeral Home in Arlington, VA.