3 Georgetown Lives: Catherine Bowman, Joseph Khashab, Marston Luce
By • January 27, 2022 One Comment 2438
We bear sad news about three well-known Georgetowners — one nonagenarian who contributed to “Black Georgetown Remembered,” another who greeted everyone at a private dining club for more than two decades and an antique collector and seller in business for 40 years. All were beloved.
Catherine Bowman passed away Jan. 23. The 97-year-old Washington native lived on the 2700 block of P Street NW and would tell stories of her Black neighborhood where she grew up, next to Rose Park. A few Black families remain in the Herring Hill section on the eastern side of Georgetown. Their stories are recounted in “Black Georgetown Remembered,” now a 30-year-old classic of Black history in Washington’s oldest neighborhood.
Family friend and neighbor Monica Roache told The Georgetowner: “She will be missed greatly over here in Georgetown. She truly was the Mayor of our village. She lived a great life. There will be a memorial service in the spring.”
Bowman conversed with the oral history project of the Citizens Association of Georgetown in 2010.
The George Town Club’s Fulop Kosz, Joseph Khashab and Jim Marinucci. Georgetowner photo.
Joseph (Youssef) Khashab, long-time Maitre D’ of the George Town Club, died last week.
Club President Jim Marinucci wrote to members and noted, “It is with a heavy heart that I share with you the passing of our Joseph (Youssef) Khashab. During Joseph’s 21 years with The Club, he was always the first person to greet anyone that walked through the door. Consistently dressed in a tuxedo, Joseph was a true gentleman who was committed to making sure dining always ran smoothly and everyone had the best experience possible. He will be deeply missed.”
A memorial service was held midday on Jan. 27 at Sterling Cemetery in Virginia.
The George Town Club added: “Over the coming weeks and months, we will share ways that we will be honoring Joseph’s legacy.”
Gregory Marston Luce (1949-2022). Courtesy Marston Luce.
Gregory Marston Luce, after a period of hospitalization, died Jan. 26. His eponymous antique store at Book Hill was a delight to behold and held objects of elegant delight and simple beauty. Luce, a native of Mobile, Alabama, was born Sept. 30, 1949.
Luce said of his store at 1651 Wisconsin Ave. NW: “Marston Luce was opened with my late wife, Julie, in 1981 based on our enthusiasm for 18th and 19th American painted furniture, pottery, folk art, and all things pertaining to the garden. Little has changed over the years except for the origin of our inventory which is now primarily from France and Sweden. I spend more than half the year in France seeking out furniture and decorative pieces of exceptional character and style – not only in Paris, but also in the Dordogne where I live and wherever the pursuit for beauty may take me.”
A fellow antique business colleague from Palm Beach wrote of the 72-year-old’s passing: “An unerring eye, a refined manner and very little interest in building up his own profile … a true Gentleman in every sense of the word.”
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, at Christ Church, Georgetown. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Asheville School For Boys (Art Dept.), Georgetown Ministry Center, Bishop Walker School, the Washington School For Girls or the Washington Jesuit Academy.
Luce was the subject of a Georgetowner article in November 2021.
These stories will be be updated.
Dear Deborah and family
What an utterly charming(southern gentleman) Marston was. His grace and taste will remain with us forever and in many of our homes., he was a true inspiration and lovely human. RIP.