A Mass of Christian burial for Frank J. Smiraglia, a retired State Department employee and free-lance violinist, will be offered at 10 a.m. today at St. John the Evangelist Church, 10103 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring.

A Silver Spring resident for nearly 40 years, Mr. Smiraglia died Wednesday at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring after suffering a heart attack six weeks earlier. He was 72.

Born in Berwick, Pa., Mr. Smiraglia attended the George Washington University in Washington.

He started working for the State Department in 1939 and retired in 1979 as a management analyst with the Bureau of European Affairs. Mr. Smiraglia then began a second career, playing the violin for the Gene Donati Presentations and for groups represented by Strolling Strings Associates.

In his 12 years as a strolling violinist he played at parties and government functions in the Baltimore-Washington area, including gatherings attended by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush.

He was a member of the D.C. Federation of Musicians, the Knights of Columbus in Washington and the St. John the Evangelist Church choir.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, the former Mary Elrod; five daughters, Marilyn Welling of Parkton, Mary Annis Cunningham of Lawrenceville, N.J., Claire Flaherty of Ellicott City and Carmalyn Dorsey and Rosemary Walbert, both of Mayfield; two brothers, John Smiraglia of Burtonsville and C. Frank Smiraglia of Sterling, Va.; a sister, Carmella Scalise of Hazelton, Pa.; and 14 grandchildren.