Grace C. Traynor
Homemaker and Eastbourne Avenue resident Grace C. Traynor died Sept. 26, 2000 at Franklin Square Hospital. She was 81 and a longtime member of Harbor Heights Baptist Church.
A deeply religious person, Mrs. Traynor was a member of her church's board of trustees. She played the piano for Sunday services whenever she was needed and made home visits to fellow parishioners.
The former Grace Christine Simmons was born and raised in Rich Patch, Va. She and her husband, Oscar L. Traynor, moved to Eastbourne Avenue 44 years ago.
A fun-filled, lighthearted person, Mrs. Traynor was known for her kindness and willingness to help others. She loved spending time with her grandchildren.
Survivors are sons Leonard M., James C. and Larry W. Traynor and Oscar L. Traynor Jr., daughters Linda C. Hessie and Teresa Ernest, sister Reva Sites, 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1981.
Services were held Sept. 30 at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home. Interment followed at Gardens of Faith Cemetery.
Charles H. Wills
Purple Heart recipient Charles Henry Wills died Sept. 22, 2000 at Franklin Square Hospital. He was 79 years old.
Born in Fort Howard and raised in Edgemere, Mr. Wills attended Sparrows Point High School and played soccer for Dundalk Athletic Club.
A U.S. Army veteran of World War II and a member of the Army's 961st Field Artillery, he received the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained during the Battle of the Bulge. He was a lifetime member of Wells-McComas VFW Post 2678.
He belonged to Edgemere Senior Center and liked fishing and gardening.
He retired from Bethlehem Steel with 39 years of service.
Survivors are his wife of 54 years, Catherine E. (nee Westfield), brothers James B. Wills of Edgemere, the Rev. George A. Wills of Dundalk and Harold R. Wills of Edgemere, sister Rose Marie Patrick of North Point Village and many nieces and nephews.
The Rev. Wills conducted services Sept. 26 at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home. Interment followed at Gardens of Faith Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to North Point Church of God, 7501 Old Battle Grove Road, Dundalk, MD 21222.
Grace P. Allen
German Hill Road resident Grace Phipps Allen, 87, died Sept. 22, 2000 at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She lived with her granddaughter Jackie Orzechowski for the past 15 years.
Born and raised in Towson, she lived in Fells Point for many years and sometimes worked as a bartender at a number of neighborhood taverns.
Other survivors are sons Thomas and William Allen and four other grandchildren she helped raise, Michael Snow, Patty Sikorski, Susan Harris and Kelly Snow. She also leaves behind many other grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other family members.
She was predeceased by her daughter, Dorothy Snow, and two sons, Robert and Talmadge Allen.
Services were held Sept. 26 at Bradley-Ashton-Matthews Funeral Home.
Dolores Cashmyer
Former Dundalk resident Dolores Cashmyer (nee Borkowicz), 75, died Oct. 7, 2000 at Fallston General Hospital.
A resident of Walnut Avenue for at least 50 years, Mrs. Cashmyer moved to Abingdon seven years ago to live with with her son and daughter-in-law, Dennis and Susan Cashmyer.
She worked on the wait staff at Martin’s North Point Gardens for about 10 years. During that time she earned at least one award for outstanding service and had received many letters of commendation from customers. She also worked for a time at Watersedge Baptist Church’s day care center.
She belonged to Women of the Moose and was a longtime member of Sacred Heart of Mary Church.
She also will be missed by another son, Phillip E. Cashmyer, also of Abingdon, sister Marlene De-Roose of Dundalk, brother Leo Borkowicz of Chicago, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She also leaves behind her dear friend, Rose Petusky. Her husband, Elmer P. Cashmyer, died in 1969.
Her brother, a Catholic deacon, conducted a Cath-olic wake service at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home on Oct. 9 and assisted Msgr. Richard Parks with a Mass of Christian Burial the next day at Sacred Heart of Mary Church. Interment followed at Oak Lawn Cemetery.
Lester J. Fischer
Former Danville Avenue resident Lester Joseph Fischer, 72, died Oct. 15, 2000 at Mercy Hospital. He lived in Highlandtown at the time of his death.
Mr. Fischer, who retired from the lumber industry, was a member of the Eagle and UN social clubs in Highlandtown.
His hobbies included sports, dancing and assembling models of cars, trucks and planes.
Survivors are his wife, the former Mary Margaret Ausmus, with whom he celebrated 49 years of marriage Aug. 25, brother Norman Fischer, sisters Darlene Stiegmann, Doris Ptaszynski and Iris Kairis, great-niece Valerie Mae Martin-Crocker, his godchild, and many other nieces and nephews.
Services were held Oct. 17 at Zannino Funeral Home.
Sue C. Gilbert
Services will be held Friday, Oct. 27, for Sue C. James Gilbert, a lifelong resident of Jones Creek who died of congestive heart failure Oct. 23, 2000 at age 57.
The service begins 10 a.m. at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home, 7922 Wise Ave. Interment will follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery.
She was a graduate of Sparrows Point High School, and worked for 27 years at Fort Howard VA Medical Center.
At one time, she was a member of Edgemere Women of the Moose.
Ms. Gilbert will be remembered for her honesty, strength, generosity and love of life’s simple pleasures.
She had a great love for her family, especially her nieces and nephews.
She is survived by brothers and sisters Gary James, Joan Lowery, Brenda Wells, Dixie Economides, Linda Schulte and Wayne James and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation at the funeral home was scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 25 and 26.
Dr. Samuel Hoover
Dr. Samuel H. Hoover, who maintained a Dundalk dental practice for more than 50 years, died Oct. 18, 2000 at Broadmead Retirement Community in Cockeysville. Dr. Hoover was 97.
He and his wife, Elsie Isabel Wright Hoover, gave gifts totaling $2.2 million to Western Maryland College, making them the most generous living donors in the school’s history. In 1975, WMC named its library for the Hoovers. In 1991, the Hoover Library was dedicated in their honor after a $10 million expansion.
The Samuel and Elsie Hoover Scholarship Fund at WMC was established in 1994 to assist “students demonstrating a commitment to higher education, scholastic aptitude in their chosen field of study, and genuine need.” The scholarship is awarded to 12 students each year. The Hoovers had no children.
Born in Phoenix, Md., Dr. Hoover was a graduate of Sparrows Point High School. He earned a doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in 1925. In 1979, Western Maryland College presented him with an honorary doctor of science degree.
During World War II, he served as a draft board chief dental examiner. He was later honored by President Truman for his distinguished service to medicine.
He retired from his Dunleer Road dental practice in the mid-1970s.
Dr. Hoover belonged to the Rotary Club of Dundalk, Patapsco Masonic Lodge 183 and Sparrows Point Country Club. He was a charter member and former commodore of the Sparrows Point Yacht Club.
He also was a member of the Boumi Temple Shrine, Baltimore Country Club, the National Hereford Cattle Association and the Baltimore County Zoning Appeal Board.
His many professional memberships included the Baltimore County Dental Association, of which he was a charter member and first president, the Maryland State Dental Association and the Maryland Board of Dental Examiners. He was made a fellow of the American College of Dentistry in 1973.
Predeceased in 1995 by his wife, he is survived by one brother, Walter F. Hoover.
A graveside service was held Oct. 25 at Parkwood Cemetery. A memorial service will be held in the near future at Western Maryland College’s Baker Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Hoover Library, Western Maryland College, 2 College Hill, Westminster, MD 21157 or to Broadmead Residents Assistance Fund, 13801 York Road, Cockeysville, MD 21030.
Elsie H. Jaworski
Longtime Eastwood resident Elsie H. Jaworski (nee Wojtowicz) died Oct. 19, 2000 at her daughter’s home in Eldersburg, Md. She was 94.
A longtime member of Our Lady of Fatima Church, she also belonged to the Polish Women’s Alliance and the Polish Falcons.
She loved baking and decorating cakes for her family. She also enjoyed tending her garden and sewing.
Mrs. Jaworski worked in the cosmetics and boys departments of Hochschild-Kohn’s department store in Eastpoint Mall for 17 years. During the holidays, she worked as Santa’s helper in the mall.
She is survived by daughters Alfreda Fontz of Howard County, Marcella Ilioff of Eldersburg, Patricia Otradovec of Dundalk, brother James Wojtowicz of Inverness, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by four sisters and two brothers.
A Christian wake service was held at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home on Oct. 22. A Mass of Christian Burial on Oct. 23 at Our Lady of Fatima Church was followed by interment at St. Stanislaus Cemetery.
