Ben Wagshal, 93, a Washington legend whose deli became a meeting ground for the high and mighty of official Washington for more than 50 years, died of heart disease January 9 at Sibley Hospital. A native of Lawrence, Mass., he came to Washington in 1925 when his father opened a deli at 9th & G Sts. NW. He graduated from Central in 1929. His father relocated his deli in 1929 to 49th and Massachusetts Ave. NW, in Spring Valley, and young Ben began his career there as a clerk at $15 a week. After his father's death, Ben took over the business and, with his wife Lillian and their children, turned it into one of the nation's best known delis and a gathering place for Washington celebrities and those who wanted to be. Photos of such customers as Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Barry Goldwater and many others lined the wall. When the White House neededa sandwich maker for parties, Ben Wagshal was the man. Starting with the administration of John F. Kennedy, Ben frequented the White House with his corned beef, smoked salmon, baklava, etc. Indicative of his popularity was the fact that when he closed the deli in 1990, a customer gave them a party rather than the other way around.

Richard Lyon, 93, who practiced law in Washington for more than six decades and was instrumental in helping the city achieve home rule, died Dec. 18 at home. A native Washingtonian, he was valedictorian of the class of 1929 at Central and class president of Georgetown University Law School in 1935. A founder of the law firm of Lyon, Wilner & Bergson, he was president of the D.C. Home Rule Committee in the 1960s and for 26 years as a member of the D.C.Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure. He spent 45 years as general counsel to the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Washington and also vice-chairman of the D.C. Democratic Central Committee and president of the Jewish Community Council of Greater Washington.

James L. Pantos, 74, considered by some to be the finest allaround athlete in Central's historyand the first high school athlete ever to be inducted into the Touchdown Club of Washington,died Dec. 29 at his home in Temple Hills, MD. He starred in football, basketball, track and baseball in his Central days. He was selected to serve on all-star teams in each of the sports and continued to excel at the University of Maryland until a back injury in his sophomore year ended his athletic career. He served in the Army in 1951 and later worked at a number of auto dealerships. He graduated from Central in 1950.

Elizabeth Stein, 101, a retired elementary school teacher in the District and a Central graduate in the class of 1924, died March 3 at a nursing home in Bethesda, MD. After receiving her teaching certificate in 1926, she spent more than 40 years as an elementary school teacher at such schools as Raymond, Hilton, Keene, Peabody, Blow, Pierce and Grant. For the most part, she taught third and fourth grade. She was born in Cape Town, South Africa to parents who had emigrated from Lithuania. As a reward for her father's service in the Boer War, the family wasgiven land to homestead in Saskatchewan. But the land turned out to be tundra and the family then migrated to the United States, where she became a teacher and leader.

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