Duffy

James Parthemos, a co-founder and former owner of Duffy's, a popular Irvington restaurant and bar, died of heart failure Sunday at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. He was 80. Mr. Parthemos, the son of Greek immigrant parents, was born in Baltimore and raised near Walther Boulevard in Northeast Baltimore. He was a graduate of city public schools. He served as a sergeant in the Army during World War II and fought in the North Africa and Italian campaigns. After the war, he established a small restaurant on Forrest Street, and in 1954 started Duffy's with his father-in-law and wife, the former Susan Malas, whom he married in 1952.

Leonard Duffy had two reactions when he heard that the Baltimore County school board was looking for someone outside the school system to listen to the concerns of parents, students, teachers and other citizens:* He could do the job.* But a person would be crazy to take it.Well, call the Towson consultant, community activist and father of four a lunatic if you like. He is the school board's new liaison, and this week he stepped into a position the board once rejected on legal grounds, then reluctantly embraced when public demands that such a position be created would not die.Though the uproar that surrounded Superintendent Stuart Berger and the board through the spring and summer has diminished considerably, sniping continues, and wary parents watch as change comes to the county schools.

As a copy boy at the Sun in the late 1940s, S. L. Harrison was able to observe celebrated Sun editorial cartoonist Edmund Duffy up close. His daily routine included carrying Duffy's finished cartoon to the paper's engraving room.Now an associate professor at the University of Miami (Fla.) School of Communication, the former copy boy has pursued a lifelong study of newspaper cartoonists and written widely on the subject. His most recent book is "The Editorial Art of Edmund Duffy."The 310-page book reproduces more than 250 of Duffy's most memorable and dramatic drawings.

Conditions were nearly perfect for Saturday's 15th Last Train to Boston Marathon: temperature in the 50s and a drizzle that cooled off the field of 194.The only drawback was a fog that blanketed the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground and prevented the lead runners from keeping an eye of their closest competitors on the four-loop trek around the arsenal.But save for a wrong turn on loop one that cost John Duffy 2 1/2 minutes and dropped him to fifth place, not even the fog was much of an impediment as Duffy ran off a 3-minute, 41-second victory over second-place finisher Robert Yara.

Virginia Compton, a longtime waitress at Duffy's Restaurant and Bar in Irvington and the old Cross Keys Inn in Columbia, died Thursday at the Catonsville home of a daughter, Patricia Shipley. Mrs. Compton, who was 75, had emphysema and Alzheimer's disease. Until she retired six years ago, Mrs. Compton served food and drink for 10 years at Cross Keys, and then for 15 years at Duffy's, a Southwest Baltimore landmark for three-quarters of a century. "I never saw her write anything down, even if she had a table of nine or 10, and I seldom saw her make a mistake," said Betty Tolker of Catonsville, a frequent patron of Duffy's.

There must be dozens of restaurants like Duffy's around Baltimore -- nondescript places that serve fine food at truly reasonable prices, mostly to a regular clientele that comes from close-around.To most of us, however, these places are invisible. They do little to draw attention to themselves, other than doing what they have always done well.Pity.In the case of Duffy's, its exterior gave absolutely no hint of the attractive dining room, pleasant service and good food my husband and I would find on a recent Friday night.

After just nine games, former South Carroll field hockey standout Patti Duffy has made a name for herself at Virginia Commonwealth University."She's a big-time player," VCU spokesman Mark Halstead said yesterday. "Whenever you can get a freshman to come in and play like Patti has for us, you're very fortunate."Duffy gained attention when she became only the second freshman to start a season opener for coach Pat Stauffer.Duffy has played all but 13 minutes in nine games for the Division I school in Richmond.

The Rev. Francis Leo Duffy, a former Loyola High School teacher and Mercy Medical Center's senior chaplain for more than two decades, died Sunday of cancer at the downtown Baltimore hospital. He was 74. Father Duffy was a well-known figure in downtown Baltimore and on his daily strolls, he greeted friends and strangers alike with a smile, often pausing to engage in extended conversations. But he was equally a presence at Mercy Medical Center. "He came to us and asked if he could stay for three months, and he stayed for 23 years," said Sister Mary Thomas Zinkand, Mercy's president emeritus.

Mount Hebron wrestling coach Michael Duffy, The Sun's 2001-02 All-Metro Coach of the Year, has resigned to devote time to graduate classes at Loyola College. Duffy, who will stay on for his fourth year as the Vikings' athletic director, said he will work as an assistant to Sean Alkire, whom Duffy has hired to replace him. Alkire has been a head coach at DuVal of Prince George's County and an assistant at Wilde Lake. In 2001-02, Duffy guided the Vikings to an 18-0 record and Howard County, region and Class 4A-3A state dual meet titles.

The pre-match drama nearly surpassed the on-the-mat fireworks during second-year River Hill's 36-24 victory over perennial power Oakland Mills in a battle of unbeaten teams yesterday.Oakland Mills stayed in its locker room until the last possible moment, delaying the match from its scheduled 4 p.m. start to 4: 23. The Scorpions hoped to give 189-pounder Paul Duffy time enough to return from a doctor with a note that would clear him to wrestle despite a rash on his knee and elbow.No. 14-ranked River Hill, knowing that its 130-pound stalwart, Billy Allen, seriously injured his ankle during an indoor soccer game the previous night, did a little shadow boxing of its own. The Hawks weighed Allen in, hoping to fool Oakland Mills into thinking that he could wrestle.