Mary B. Hetzell
Mary Blanche Hetzell, 87, of Hagerstown, and formerly of 9485 Lee Highway, Fairfax, Va., died Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1997, at Washington County Hospital, Hagerstown.
Born Dec. 19, 1909, in Downsville, she was the daughter of the late Benjamin Frank and Alice Daugherty.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Leon Hetzell, in 1988.
She was a member of the Williamsport High School class of 1929.
She was self-employed as a home care nurse.
She is survived by one son, Kenneth L. Bowman of Hagerstown; two granddaughters, Kendra Braithwaite and Andrea Kinzer, both of Hagerstown; and five great-grandchildren.
Graveside services will be held in Greenlawn Memorial Park, Williamsport, at the convenience of the family.
The family requests the omission of flowers and suggests memorial donations be made to Hagerstown Church of the Brethren, 15 S. Mulberry St., Hagerstown, Md. 21740.
Arrangements are by Osborne Funeral Home, Williamsport.
H. Lehman Toms
BOONSBORO - H. Lehman Toms, 70, of 19929 Lemuel Lane, died Monday, Feb. 24, 1997, at Washington County Hospital.
Born Feb. 26, 1926, in Hagerstown, he was the son of the late Hubert Wachtel and Edith Lehman Toms.
He was a dairy farmer before retiring recently.
He was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, where he was a past member of the church council.
He was appointed by former Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan to the Agricultural Stabilization Bureau in Washington, D.C. He was a member and past president of the Washington County Farm Bureau; past director of Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Association; was on the board of directors of Southern States Petroleum, Hagerstown; and was a past director of SIRE Power Inc. He was a member of Elks Lodge 378, Hagerstown; charter member, vice president and past president of Washington County Sportsmen's Club; past president of Boonsboro Elementary School PTA and was a former cornet player with the YMCA Band and Hagerstown Municipal Band.
He is survived by his wife, Jean E. Baish Toms, whom he married July 8, 1951; two daughters, Sally A. Hellane of Smithsburg and Susan J. Toms of Hagerstown; two sons, Richard B. Toms of Hagerstown and Gregory L. Toms of Boonsboro; one stepsister, Audrey Albright of Hagerstown; one stepbrother, J. Thomas Reynold of Dubary, Fla; and seven grandchildren.
Services will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, Hagerstown. The Rev. David M. Buchenroth and the Rev. Christopher J. Chantelau will officiate. Burial will be in Rest Haven Cemetery, Hagerstown.
The family will receive friends today from 6 to 9 p.m. at Bast Funeral Home, 7606 Old National Pike, Boonsboro.
Memorial donations may be made to Boonsboro Ambulance and Rescue Squad 69, P.O. Box 7, Boonsboro, Md. 21713; or Trinity Lutheran Church, Generations to Generations Capital Fund Appeal, 15 Randolph Ave., Hagerstown, Md. 21740.
Robert K. Firey Sr.
CLEAR SPRING - Robert Keller Firey Sr., 93, of Fairview Road, died Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1997, at Washington County Hospital.
Born March 3, 1903, near Cearfoss, he was the son of the late Joseph Preston and Emma Amelia Ruch Firey.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Elizabeth Shupp Firey, in 1988.
He was a 1921 graduate of Clear Spring High School.
He was a dairy farmer in the Clear Spring area.
He was a lifelong member of Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church, where he served on the church council.
He was a lifetime member of Holstein Friesian Association.
He is survived by two sons, Thomas E. Firey and Robert K. Firey, both of Clear Spring; one sister, Louise Firey Ernst of Hagerstown; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; one niece and one nephew.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Joseph P. Firey Jr.
Services will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church, Fairview. The Rev. Steve Amundson and the Rev. Thomas Perry will officiate. Burial will be in the adjoining church cemetery.
The family will receive friends Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Donald E. Thompson Funeral Home, 13607 National Pike, Clear Spring. For the convenience of friends, the funeral home will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church, c/o the Rev. Steve Amundson, 14531 National Pike, Clear Spring, Md. 21722.
George B. Cash Jr.
WILLIAMSPORT - George Byrd Cash Jr., 83, of Route 2, Falling Waters, W.Va., died Sunday, Feb. 23, 1997, at Williamsport Nursing Home in Williamsport.
Born July 1, 1913, in Philadelphia, he was the son of the late George Byrd and Jennie White Cash.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Jane Cash, in 1995.
Before his retirement, he was employed as a salesman with Western Maryland Supply.
He was a member of Zion Reformed Church.
He was a member of the Ruritan Club in Marlowe, W.Va.; the Civil War Round Table, the Hagerstown Model Railroad Club, the Alsatia Club, and the Pennsylvania National Guard.
He is survived by one brother, Raymond H. Cash of Houston, Texas; five nieces; and six nephews.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Horace A. S. Cash.
Memorial services will be held Tuesday, March 4, 1997, at 11 a.m., at Zion Reformed Church, 201 N. Potomac St., in Hagerstown. The Rev. Jack Dale Cook will officiate. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.
There will be no viewing.
The family requests the omission of flowers. Memorial donations may be made to the Zion Reformed Church.
Arrangements by Minnich Funeral Home, 415 E. Wilson Blvd. Hagerstown.
Helen L. Widmyer
WILLIAMSPORT - Helen L. Widmyer, a resident of Homewood Retirement Center, and formerly of Baltimore, died Monday, Feb. 24, 1997, at the nursing home.
Born in Hagerstown, she was the daughter of the late J. Walter and Ruth Johnston Widmyer.
She earned her professional degrees at Columbia University in New York City. She had been a teacher in Washington County prior to working at the Maryland State Department of Education in Baltimore. Following her retirement, she continued to volunteer at centers providing care and education for young children in Baltimore.
She had been a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore and was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Hagerstown.
She was a member of the Association of American University Women, the Maryland Historical Association, Clyburn Wildlife Preservation and Delta Kappa Gamma Society-Pi Chapter.
She also was a member of Association of Early Childhood Education International and the World Organization Preschool Education International.
She is survived by one niece, Barbara Halbach McKinney of Philadelphia, Pa.; and one nephew, Christopher T. Halbach of Ridley Park, Pa.
She was preceded in death by one sister, Nancy Widmyer Halbach.
There will be no viewing. Burial will be at the convenience of the family.
The family requests the omission of flowers. Memorial donations may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 S. Prospect St., Hagerstown, Md. 21740; or Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Md. 21201.
Arrangements by Minnich Funeral Home, 415 E. Wilson Blvd., Hagerstown.
Ethel Kriner
GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Ethel Kriner, 86, of 21 N. Carl Ave., died Tuesday, Feb. 25, 1997, at her home.
Born June 22, 1910, in Big Cove Tannery, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Charles and Georgia Lauver Crouse.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin C. Kriner, in 1978.
She was a homemaker. She had been employed by Letterkenny Army Depot, Chambersburg, Pa.
She was a member of Waynesboro Church of God and the Adult Sunday School Class of the church.
She is survived by one son, Garvin J. Younker of Greencastle; one stepdaughter, Helen McCulloh of Cumberland, Md.; three sisters, Anna Mellott of Orbisonia, Pa., Ruth Bain of Big Cove Tannery, Pa., and Olive Clever of Newburg, Pa.; two brothers, Frank Crouse and Walter Crouse, both of Big Cove Tannery, Pa.; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by five sisters and two brothers.
Services will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at Harold M. Zimmerman and Son Funeral Home, 45 S. Carlisle St., Greencastle. The Rev. Roger D. Cales will officiate. Burial will be in Union Cemetery near McConnellsburg, Pa.
The family will receive friends Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of the Good Shepherd, 2700 Luther Drive, Chambersburg, Pa. 17201.
William J. Johnston
WAYNESBORO, Pa. - William J. "Bill" Johnston, 77, of Waynesboro, died Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997, at his home.
Born on Jan. 21, 1920, in San Francisco, he was the son of the late William M. and Katherine Dempsey Johnston.
He was a 1938 graduate of Christian Brothers School of Sacramento, Calif. He received his bachelor's degree in English in 1963 from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He received his master's degree in education in 1964. In 1978, he received his second master's degree in reading from Madison University.
He taught at Massanutten Academy, Virginia, from 1964 until his retirement in 1981. He headed the English department, coached, taught swimming and managed the academy's swimming pool. After his retirement, he moved to Waynesboro, where he was a substitute teacher.
A veteran of the U.S. Army, he served during World War II as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge.
He enjoyed the theater, and participated in readings at Unitarian Church, Hagerstown. He began acting as a teenager and worked with Little Theater associations while in the army. After his retirement, he toured the country with "Passion Play" and "Damascus Road." More recently, he was active in the Blue Ridge Theater Guild and Conococheague Players.
He volunteered for Meals on Wheels; was "the voice" in the announcements for the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club; gave dramatic presentations to nursing home residents; and was secretary of the Blue Ridge Theater Guild.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Johnston, whom he married in 1957; one daughter, Kathy Heffernan of Missoula, Mont.; one son, Bill Johnston of Pittsburgh; and four grandsons.
Memorial services will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at the Church of the Apostles, 336 Barnett Ave., Waynesboro.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to Blue Ridge Theater Guild or to a charity of the donor's choice.
Arrangements are by Cumberland Valley Crematorium, Waynesboro.
Sarah J. Blakey
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - Sarah Jane Blakey, 98, of ManorCare Health Services in Chambersburg and formerly of 9 W. Burkhart Ave., Chambersburg, died Monday, Feb. 24, 1997, at the nursing home.
Born April 7, 1898, in Chambersburg, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Jennie Stephen Jones.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Delno Blakey, in 1974.
She was a homemaker.
She had attended John Wesley AME Zion Church in Chambersburg.
She is survived by one daughter, Thelma Gray of Chambersburg; one son, Delno Blakey Jr. of Long Beach, Calif.; 11 grandchildren; 23 great-great-grandchildren; and one great-great-great-grandson.
She was preceded in death by four daughters.
Services will be held Friday at 1 p.m. at the chapel of Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home, 333 Falling Spring Road, Chambersburg. The Rev. Felix Ofuso will officiate. Burial will be in Lebanon Cemetery in Chambersburg.
The family will receive friends Friday from noon to 1 p.m. at the funeral home.
