Roman Jan Halla

Roman J. Halla was born on June 18, 1926, in Prague-then Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic. During World War II, he lived with his parents in Paris and London. He later studied at Prague's Charles University, where he earned his BS and MS degrees and was later awarded an honorary MD.

Unwilling to live under communism, Roman escaped from Czechoslovakia and came to the United States in 1949. He joined the U.S. Army during the Korean War and remained active in the Army Reserves for twenty-five years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1955, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as a staff officer until 1986 and continued as a contractor until 2012.

In January 1956, he married Metta (Mitzi) Streit. Their sons, Kenneth Paul and Brian Louis, were born in Brussels during one of Roman's four overseas tours. A lifelong athlete, Roman played ice hockey and reached the Olympic Trials for Czechoslovakia. He was also an avid skier, nationally ranked tennis player, and a member of the US Army team. He especially enjoyed travel, opera, theater, and reading.

Above all, Roman was happiest when he and Mitzi rented vacation homes and were joined by both sons, their wives, and his eight grandchildren.

Roman is survived by his wife of nearly seventy years, Mitzi; his sons Kenneth (Deborah) and Brian (Colleen); and his grandchildren Madison, Alexandra, Grant, Peter, Roman, Kevin, Jennifer, and Juliet. He died peacefully after a brief illness on January 12.

The funeral will be on Saturday February 7th at 11 am in the ballroom at Vinson Hall, 6251 Old Dominion Drive, in McLean, VA.