Born In Baltimore

Gwendolyn Townes, a retired office manager and former barmaid, died of cancer Friday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The West Baltimore resident was 85. The former Gwendolyn Brown was born in Baltimore and raised on Division Street. She graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in 1954. Mrs. Townes was a Hecht Co. sales associate before becoming a security clerk at Fort Holabird in 1967. Three years later, she became a barmaid at the Sphinx Club on Pennsylvania Avenue, where she became a favorite of the private club's members.

On Friday, July 7, 2006, under Hospice care, PETER M. BARBERNITZ, 77, of Denver, PA. Born in Baltimore, MD, he was a son of the late Peter M. and Anna C. (Schuch) Barbernitz, and was the husband of Frida (Holzapfel) Barbernitz for 55 years. A 1950 graduate of Loyola College, Baltimore, he retired in 1992 as assistant regional director of the East Central Region, Boy Scouts of America, after 43 years of service. He is survived by his wife, three sons, a daughter, and 10 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Anne Hughes, his brother, Father John P. Barbernitz, and his sister Catherine Kashen.

John Henry Will, former owner of a Baltimore dairy, died June 30 of heart disease at his daughter's Kingsville home. He was 90. Born in Baltimore and raised on Eastern Avenue in what was then Baltimore County, he attended city schools and earned a General Educational Development certificate. He began working at his family's Will's Dairy in the 2000 block of Fleet St. about 1930. Mr. Will went on to became president of the business, which he sold in the mid-1960s. He then worked for the old Koontz Creamery, High's Dairy and at the Maryland Cooperative Milk Producers in Woodlawn.

Robert William Culp, the retired owner of a jewelry business, died of a hemorrhage Thursday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Cedarcroft resident was 82. Born in Baltimore, he attended public schools and was an Army combat engineer during World War II. He landed at Normandy and fought in France. He joined his father's business, the James R. Arminger Co., a jewelry and china firm located for many years in the 300 block of N. Charles St. He became a certified gemologist and relocated the shop to York Road near Towson and later to Ruxton.

Dr. E. Andrew Whittington, a veterinarian and triathlete who had been a longtime Sykesville resident, died of cardiac arrest Monday at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 58. Tomorrow was to have been Dr. Whittington's last day practicing veterinary medicine at University Animal Clinic in Sarasota, where he had worked since moving from Sykesville in 1999. Dr. Whittington changed careers to become a personal trainer and had recently established FIT Inc. - Focused Individual Training - and planned to work with people older than 50. An accomplished and nationally ranked amateur athlete, Dr. Whittington was a veteran of more than 20 marathons, including Boston's and New York City's, and competed in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon.

Glascoe Austin Baker Sr., a retired Baltimore public school principal, died of lung cancer May 22 at St. Agnes Hospital. He was 83 and a resident of Charlestown Retirement Community. Born in Baltimore and raised on Etting Street, he was a 1939 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. His studies at what is now Coppin State University were interrupted by Army service in Scotland, France and Germany during World War II. After the war, he graduated from Coppin with a bachelor's degree in education.

CECELIA NAOMI MERRICK, 78, died Sunday, May 14, 2006. She was born in Baltimore City, MD, July 26, 1927 to George and Mary Fanning Chiles. Cecelia is survived by two daughters, Donna Lee Merrick and husband, Jeff Cohen of Shady Side, MD, Lynn O'Brien and husband James of Cary, NC; three sisters, Mary Lee Taylor of Baltimore, MD, Virginia Musch of Ocean City, MD, Charlotte O'Brien of Toms River, NJ; sister-in-law, Margaret Chiles of Baltimore, MD; three...

William J. Little, a retired airline pilot and former Baltimore Orioles batboy, died of cancer Saturday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Lutherville resident was 62. Born in Baltimore and raised in Rodgers Forge, he attended Cathedral School, then located in downtown Baltimore. At that time he became acquainted with a neighbor, Orioles shortstop Willy Miranda, and soon became a team batboy. He also befriended players Milt Pappas, Brooks Robinson and Mike Fornieles. "The umpires and players thought highly of my brother and his thoughtfulness to everyone," said his sister, Mary Kathleen Little.

On Saturday, April 29, 2006, of Edgewater, formerly of Chesapeake Beach. The son of the late William E. and Mary E. Cummings, Mr. Cummings was born in Baltimore on August 1, 1943 where he graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Cummings served in the Coast Guard during the Vietnam War. He was the owner of Cruise Holidays of Annapolis and retired in 2001 from Northrop Grumman, where he was an engineer. Surviving are his wife, Dolores, his son, Eric O. Cummings of Lexington, SC, his daughter, Jaime L. Cummings, his sister, Patricia Bart, both of Baltimore and two granddaughters.

DeAngelo D. Hunter, a hotel worker and Baltimore resident, died Tuesday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after being stabbed. He was 24. Mr. Hunter was stabbed late Monday night in the 3300 block of Old Frederick Road. Police said yesterday that they had made no arrests in the case. Mr. Hunter was born in Baltimore and raised in Edmondson Village. He attended Walbrook High School, where he was shortstop on the school's varsity baseball team. He earned his General Educational Development diploma and was a former employee at the Baltimore RESCO waste-to-energy plant in Westport.