A Mass of Christian burial for Charles I. Gordon, a retired lieutenant in the Fire Prevention Bureau of Baltimore's Fire Department, will be offered at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church, 4416 Wilkens Ave.
Mr. Gordon, who lived on Gateway Terrace in Arbutus, died Monday at St. Agnes Hospital after a heart attack. He was 73.
He retired in 1975 after 10 years in the Fire Prevention Bureau and 22 years of service with truck and engine companies.
After retiring from the Fire Department, he worked for the state for about five years as a safety and fire inspector of public buildings.
The Baltimore native attended public schools. He served in the Navy during World War II.
He had been president of the Arbutus Community Association and a member of the Glen Burnie Lodge of the Moose and Cadiz Caravan of the Order of Alhambra as well as firemen's union locals and a retired firemen's organization.
He is survived by his wife, the former Catherine Nugent; two daughters, Janice E. Sullivan and Loretta A. Bowers, both of Eldersburg; a sister, Audrey Dugent of Joppatowne; and four grandchildren. Graveside services for Lorraine B. Irwin, a retired customer service employee for Sears, Roebuck & Co. who as a child was part of a touring vaudeville act with her mother, will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Baltimore National Cemetery, 5500 Frederick Ave.
Mrs. Irwin, who was 85, died yesterday of heart failure at the Meridian Nursing Center-Cromwell in Towson.
Born in Washington, the former Lorraine B. Berry was teamed with her mother, Lillian Blanche Berry, as a vaudeville duo that toured the country with numerous circuses, including the Hunt Bros. Circus.
Billed as "Baby Lorraine," the cutest kid in vaudeville, she and her mother toured the country for several years as a song and dance act.
Her father, John W. Berry, was the advance man for the circus.
After settling in Baltimore, she married William E. Irwin, a Bethlehem Steel Co. policeman, who died Thanksgiving Day 1941.
During World War II, Mrs. Irwin worked at the Bendix Radio Corp. in Towson, assembling radios for the Army Air Forces.
Later, she worked for Sears, Roebuck at the Mondawmin Mall for several years before she retired.
During her retirement years, Mrs. Irwin spent time reading to pre-
school children at the former Lida Lee Tall School at Towson State University.
Mrs. Irwin is survived by a daughter, Shirley Fox of Eldersburg; two sons, William E. Irwin Jr. of Clayton, N.C., and John Richard Irwin of Carney, a reporter for The Baltimore Sun; a sister, Doris McMinn of Denver; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Herman James
Korean War veteran
Services for Herman James, a Korean War veteran who worked at industrial plants in Baltimore before his first heart attack 21 years ago, will be held at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Providence Baptist Church, 1401 Pennsylvania Ave.
Mr. James, 63, died Sunday after a heart attack at the church.
The native of Savannah, Ga., and resident of Gilmor Street moved to Baltimore while serving in the Army during and after the Korean War. He was working at a chemical plant when the first heart attack disabled him.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
His wife, the former Rosalie Truitt, died Dec. 12. His survivors include many nieces and nephews.
