Custodians

Elsie Marie Brendle, a homemaker and former custodian, died of complications from diabetes Sept. 4 at Anne Arundel Medical Center. She was 79 and lived in Glen Burnie. Elsie Marie Sterling grew up in Severn and Glen Burnie, where she attended public schools. In the 1940s, she married Morris Taylor. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1955, she married Clarence David Brendle, who died in 1997. In the early 1970s, she worked as a custodian at schools in Anne Arundel County. She enjoyed playing bingo and shopping with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Pharis McBride, a retired custodian, died of heart failure May 22 at University of Maryland Medical Center. The Baltimore resident was 61. Mr. McBride spent his early years in Baltimore and later moved to Sumter, S.C., where he attended Lincoln High School. In the early 1960s, he returned to Baltimore and began working at Arrow Crown Window Cleaning as a window washer. He remained with the company for about a decade and went on to work for A-1 Janitorial Service and Safeguard Maintenance.

Franklin A. Burchill, a retired Baltimore County public school custodian and school bus attendant who was active in VFW affairs and walked the trail of World War II's infamous Bataan Death March -- which his brother survived -- died of liver cancer May 12 at Sinai Hospital. The Owings Mills resident was 70. Mr. Burchill was born and raised in Frackville, Pa. He served with an Army artillery unit in Germany from 1953 to 1959, then was a construction worker until becoming a custodian in 1979.

At Severna Park Middle School, Dawn Howard was known as the lady who took care of the ducks. A few years ago, the chief custodian began feeding some ducklings that had hatched on the school property. Before long, she had provided a child-sized pool for the fuzzy creatures to splash in. The next year, more ducks arrived, and the year after that, even more. Last spring, about 45 ducklings were raising a racket in the school courtyard, said Sharon Morrell, the school's principal. They typically arrive in the spring and stay until mid-summer, when they're old enough to fly on their own. And they still swim in the pool that Howard provided.

James V. Hardison, a retired junior high school custodian and longtime Turners Station resident, died in his sleep Tuesday at Cherrywood HealthCare and Rehabilitation Centre in Reisterstown. He was 90. Mr. Hardison was born and raised in Castalia, N.C., and moved to Baltimore in the early 1930s. For 42 years until retiring in 1977, he worked as a custodian at Rock Glen Junior High School, now West Baltimore Middle. He was an avid Orioles and Ravens fan, and enjoyed shooting pool. Mr. Hardison, a tenor, was a member of Greater St. John Baptist Church where he sang with the choir for many years.

John H. Moeser Sr., a retired church sexton, died Dec. 21 of complications after surgery at St. Agnes Medical Center. He was 88 and had resided at the Charlestown Retirement Community for the past eight years. Born in South Baltimore, Mr. Moeser was raised and lived for most of his life on East Clement Street. He attended Southern High School and served in the Navy. In 1947, after working at the old downtown St. Mary's Seminary and the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard, he became the sexton at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church on Riverside Avenue.

John Thomas Johnson, a retired Howard County custodian and World War II veteran, died of a heart attack Dec. 5 at Howard County General Hospital. He was 87 and had lived in Jessup for 10 years. Known as Tom, Mr. Johnson was born in Highland, Howard County. He served in the Army from December 1943 through February 1946, as a private first class and rifle expert. His decorations included the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater ribbon, which he earned fighting to liberate France from Nazi control.

Gertrude B. Chase, a retired public school custodian who enjoyed entertaining, died of heart failure Thursday at North Arundel Hospital. She was 85. She was born and raised Gertrude Blagmond in South Baltimore and attended city public schools. She worked as a custodian in city schools for 35 years before retiring in 1984. Known by family and friends as Gert, she enjoyed cooking and hosting dinner parties at her Northwest Baltimore home. She was an expert baker and was known for her pound cake, family members said.

Silveria Sylvester Chambers, a retired Baltimore County school custodian who later worked for an armored car company, died of cancer Sept. 25 at his Randallstown home. He was 73. Mr. Chambers was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to Baltimore in 1967. He became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He was employed for 26 years as a custodian at Reisterstown Elementary School and later was chief custodian at Randallstown High School. He retired from there in 1994. He also worked as a custodian at Dunbar Armored Inc. for 12 years before he retired last month.

Vardry Le'Mont "Bob" Spencer, an honor college graduate who chose to do the custodial work that he felt gave him a freedom of mind that other jobs would not, died Monday at Union Memorial Hospital after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in his Charles Village apartment. He was 57. For 15 years, Mr. Spencer was a janitor at the 100 West University Parkway apartment building in North Baltimore's Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood. He moved through his daily chores wearing, when possible, headphones that played jazz and classical music.