Clashing portraits of anthrax suspect

On Saturday, several hundred people filled St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Frederick for a memorial service celebrating Ivins' life. Friends, colleagues and family remembered the scientist as a generous and talented man with a keen sense of humor. They spoke about his love of music and Gary Larson's "The Far Side" cartoons, about his enthusiasm for helping others and about his mischievous jokes -- including the remote-control device he kept in his office that made flatulence sounds.

The circumstances of Ivins' death went unmentioned inside St. John.

But outside the spare white and gray house of worship, a cordon of police officers and a phalanx of television cameras acted as silent reminders of the accusations the Justice Department has leveled against Ivins.

The closest acknowledgment of the controversy came from Ivins' younger brother Charles, who ended his remarks by addressing his dead brother directly.

"I'll miss you, buddy," he said. "I'm glad your torment is over."

Ivins' wife and two children did not speak during the memorial. His wife, Diane, her hair cropped short since her husband's death, was composed throughout the ceremony and afterward greeted friends with hugs.

Ivins' son, Andy, 24, was subdued in a dark suit and shook hands with friends at the end of the service. Andy's twin sister, Amanda, wiped away tears and hugged friends, her right wrist in a cast.

The priest leading the music-filled service asked God to forgive "Bruce's sins and failings" and led the congregation in two Bible readings that he said were chosen by Diane Ivins.

One, from St. Paul's letters to the Corinthians, emphasized that only God can judge man. The other was from the story of Job.

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Chronicling his decline

Ivins himself provided a ghoulish commentary on his disintegrating inner self. Prescribed a mix of psychotropic medications from 2000 to 2006 for unspecified mental illness, according to FBI documents, Ivins e-mailed an eerie poem to a friend in December 2001: "Hickory dickory Doc! Bruce and this other guy, sitting by some trees, exchanging personalities. It's like having two in one. Actually it's rather fun!"

Last week, one anthrax expert suggested that Ivins' deteriorating mental state after 2000 might have been affected by the annual vaccinations he would have received over his 28-year career to protect against infection by the potent anthrax spores he cultivated. Ironically, much of Ivins' research was aimed at developing a new vaccine.