Phillip C. Keck
Dunbrin Road resident Phillip Chris Keck, 44, died of AIDS Oct. 2, 2000 at the Loch Raven Center in Towson. He was 44 and had earlier lived on McShane Way for five years.
He graduated from high school in Wellsboro, Pa., then moved to Baltimore about 15 years ago when McCrory’s transferred him to manage its Dundalk Village Shopping Center store. He later worked as manager of a Horn and Horn restaurant in Lanham, Md.
He loved woodworking, refinishing furniture and making lawn decorations.
He was a member of Crossroads Community Church. He volunteered at a food stand at Baltimore Ravens games to benefit Dundalk United Methodist Church.
For the past nine years, he had discussed his illness with high school groups throughout Baltimore County.
Survivors are his mother, Theda Keck, and brothers Bruce Keck of Wellsboro, Pa., and James Keck of California. He also will be missed by dear friends Stan and Jan Akers and their children, Chris Akers and Mitch Sklar. He was predeceased by his father, Bruce Keck, and five brothers and sisters.
The Rev. Gene Gunter of Crossroads Community Church conducted services Oct. 3 at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home. Interment was private.
Joseph A. Lingerman Sr.
Joseph Arthur Lingerman Sr., 71, a Dundalk resident for 40 years, died Oct. 6, 2000 at Eastpoint Nursing Home.
Mr. Lingerman, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, belonged to Dundalk American Legion Post 38 and held lifetime membership in Disabled Veterans of America. He also belonged to Dundalk Moose Lodge 1228.
He worked in the tin mill at Bethlehem Steel for 30 years until he retired in 1986.
Born in East Baltimore and raised in a family of 10 children, he played on a number of softball teams until he was in his 40s. He later coached girls and ladies softball for Patapsco Neck-Norwood Rec Council.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Joan (nee Merritt), son Joseph A. Lingerman Jr. of Edgewood, sisters Hilda Powder of Dundalk, Grace Haines of Essex and Dorothy Ford of Baltimore, one grandchild and two step-grandchildren.
American Legion Post 38 conducted ritual services at Duda-Ruck Funeral Home on Oct. 8. The Rev. Paul Witthauer of Our Lady of Hope Church conducted services the next day at the funeral home and graveside at Sacred Heart of Jesus Cemetery.
Charles R. Lowe
Charles R. Lowe, 66, who played St. Nick for Dundalk’s popular Santa in the Park celebration, died Oct. 10, 2000 at Franklin Square Hospital after a long battle with cancer. He also played Santa for Patapsco Masonic Lodge 183.
A native of Woodbourne, N.Y., Mr. Lowe was 8 years old when his family moved to Baltimore. As a youngster, he played the bugle for the Hamilton Drum and Bugle Corps.
After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He married the former Pauline Bartels in 1957 and moved to Inverness in 1962. Mr. Lowe worked as an electrician for Bethlehem Steel for more than 34 years before heart problems prompted a medical retirement in 1986. He was a member of United Steelworkers of American Local 2609 and Steelworkers Organization for Active Retirees (SOAR).
He was a longtime member of Gray Manor Lutheran Church and Dundalk-Eastfield Rec Council.
He enjoyed feeding hummingbirds at his summer home in Goldsboro, Md., and fishing for bass and blue gills.
In addition to his wife of 43 years, he is survived by sons Charles David Lowe and Bryan S. Lowe, four grandchildren and aunt Lorraine Lowe of Nevada.
On Oct. 11, the Bayside Promenaders Square Dance Club, of which he was a longtime member and past president, conducted ritual services, using the text he wrote in the 1980s for a fellow square dancer’s funeral.
The Rev. William Wallace conducted services Oct. 13 at First Lutheran Church of Gray Manor. Interment with military honors followed at Holly Hill Memorial Gardens.
Contributions may be made in his name to First Lutheran Church of Gray Manor, 212 Oakwood Road, Dundalk, MD 21222.
Patricia A. Neeper
Dundalk homemaker Patricia A. Neeper (nee Duckworth) died unexpectedly Sept. 25, 2000 at age 38.
A Patapsco High School graduate, she liked gardening and watching movies with her children.
She is survived by her husband, Edward F. Neeper, daughters Theresa, Lisa and Tricia Neeper, parents Rosalie and Harry Duckworth, brothers Keith and Harry Duckworth, sister Rosalie Christensen and many other family members.
Services were held Sept. 29 at Duda-Ruck Fuenral Home. Interment followed at Holly Hill Memorial Gardens.
William E. Smoot
Former Dundalk resident William E. “Bill” Smoot, 64, died Oct. 19, 2000 at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.
Mr. Smoot lived on Langport Avenue for many years before moving to Salisbury last year.
A retired inspector at Armco Steel, he owned and operated the Monument Show Palace, which he later renamed the Key Lounge, on Old North Point Road.
He was an avid gun collector and a member of the National Rifle Association.
Survivors are daughters Debbie Smith and Deena Lane of Newark, Ohio, six grandchildren and one niece, Karyn Rosario of Salisbury. He was predeceased by brother Steven Smooth.
A funeral service was held Oct. 24 in Salisbury.
Ernest J. Stricklin Jr.
Ernest John Stricklin Jr., 75, a former Berkshire and Northshire resident, died Oct. 22, 2000 at his home in Edgewood.
Mr. Stricklin retired after a 30-year career with General Motors.
A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, he participated in the Normandy invasion and was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He belonged to Mountain Christian Church in Edgewood.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, the former Mary Rode, sons Michael C., Stephen C. and Ernest J. Stricklin III, daughters Barbara A. Baum and Judy L. Stricklin, nine grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and many other family members.
The Rev. Bob Green conducted services Oct. 25 at Connelly Funeral Home. Interment followed at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.
Contributions in his name may be made to the the American Lung Association, 1840 York Road, Timonium, MD 21093 or the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 17025, Baltimore, MD 21203.
Franklin Adams
Longtime Dundalk resident Franklin "Ted" Adams, 79, died of cancer May 26, 2000 at Fort Howard VA Medical Center.
Mr. Adams lived on Mornington Road for more than 25 years before moving to the Parkview Apartments on Center Place last year.
He worked in the shipyard at Bethlehem Steel for many years, before health problems forced an early retirement.
During World War II, Mr. Adams served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Predeceased by his wife, Miriam (nee O’Neill), he leaves behind many family members and friends.
Mr. Adams donated his body to the Maryland State Anatomy Board.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Inez M. Brittain
Services will be held Thursday, June 1, for lifelong Jones Creek resident Inez Marie Brittain (nee Bundy), 64, who died at home May 29, 2000.
The service begins 8 p.m. at Dundalk Church of the Nazarene, 1626 Lynch Road. Friends may visit at the church Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
She received an associate of arts degree from Dundalk Community College, graduating with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. She was a dean’s list student and was named to Who’s Who in American Junior Colleges.
Mrs. Brittain went on to teach a course, Managing Independence, for disabled students in the school’s Single Step Program. After the program was discontinued, she organized three reunions for former Single Step students and staff.
For about 15 years, she and her husband owned a bakery and pool hall on Sparrows Point Road in Edgemere. In the late 1970s, they sold both businesses.
She belonged to the Dundalk Optimist Club and wrote a grant proposal for and later managed the club’s drug awareness program.
She was an active member of Dundalk Church of the Nazarene.
Predeceased in 1984 by her husband, Fern L. Brittain Sr., she is survived by daughter Janet Ambrosino, sons Ernest, James, John and Joseph Forbes and Fern L. Jr. , Raymond and Robert Brittain. She also leaves behind brothers Harry, Robert and Ronald "Joe" Bundy, sisters Darlene Whitelaw and Patricia Plumley, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Another son, Blair Brittain, died in 1979.
Burial will be private.
