Executive Assistant

"Deep" and "sitcom" are not words often used in the same sentence. But a visit to the "VEEP" soundstage in Columbia gave a glimpse of the larger cultural power of this savvy satire from HBO, returning for its second season Sunday night. I also came away dazzled by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who last year won an Emmy as best comedic actress for her portrayal of Vice President Selina Meyer. "VEEP" drills as far down into the state of the national psyche as any TV comedy has in the past 30 years.

"Deep" and "sitcom" are not words often used in the same sentence. But a visit to the "VEEP" soundstage in Columbia gave a glimpse of the larger cultural power of this savvy satire from HBO, returning for its second season Sunday night. I also came away dazzled by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who last year won an Emmy as best comedic actress for her portrayal of Vice President Selina Meyer. "VEEP" drills as far down into the state of the national psyche as any TV comedy has in the past 30 years.

Florence J. Micherdzinski, a retired Bendix Corp. executive assistant and an avid gardener, died Friday of an intestinal blockage at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. She was 88. Florence Januzak was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., where she graduated in 1943 from Villa Maria Academy. After graduating from high school, she worked as a secretary for New York state government in Buffalo, until moving to Washington in the late 1940s. In 1953, when the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare was established during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mrs. Micherdzinski became the administrative assistant to Oveta Culp Hobby, who was named to head the department.

R. Lucille Eliasberg, a former executive assistant at the Roland Park Country School who was known equally for her charm and toughness, will be remembered Saturday at the school where her daughter and granddaughter followed her. Ms. Eliasberg died of age-related issues Wednesday at Presbyterian Home of Maryland in Towson. She was 93. "She was a woman to admire for her courage, spunk and character, but the message in her eye and her bearing was unmistakable: offend at your peril," said her oldest son, Richard R. Jones, 62, president of PCA, a graphics company in Timonium.

R. Lucille Eliasberg, a former executive assistant at the Roland Park Country School who was known equally for her charm and toughness, will be remembered Saturday at the school where her daughter and granddaughter followed her. Ms. Eliasberg died of age-related issues Wednesday at Presbyterian Home of Maryland in Towson. She was 93. "She was a woman to admire for her courage, spunk and character, but the message in her eye and her bearing was unmistakable: offend at your peril," said her oldest son, Richard R. Jones, 62, president of PCA, a graphics company in Timonium.

Margaret M. Schwartze, a retired executive assistant and longtime Severna Park resident, died Monday of heart failure at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. She was 65. Ms. Schwartze was born in Yonkers, N.Y., and was raised in Severna Park and the Eastern Shore. She was a 1961 graduate of Severna Park High School. Ms. Schwartze was employed for more than three decades as an executive assistant for the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund. After retiring in 2003, she lived in The Villages, Fla., until moving back to the area two years ago. An animal lover who was fond of Shih Tzu miniatures, she also enjoyed boating and reading.

Irene May Keesler, a retired Johns Hopkins University executive assistant, died of heart failure Aug. 4 at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Timonium resident was 78. Born Irene Zoeller in Dumont, N.J., she attended the Scudder secretarial school in New York City and worked there for Gulf Oil Corp. She met and married Carl Von Elm, a Gulf Oil drilling engineer. They later divorced. In 1962, she married Don Keesler, a salesman for the old Manhattan Shirt Co., and moved to Baltimore, where she became executive assistant to George Owen, Hopkins' dean of arts and sciences at the Homewood campus.

Edna "Emo" O'Connor, a retired administrative assistant at WBAL broadcasting, died of cancer Friday at Kensington Park Assisted Living, where she had lived since April. She was 89 and formerly resided in Ellicott City and Northwood. Born and raised in Overlea, Edna Mason was a 1932 graduate of Eastern High School. She began working for WBAL radio in the mid-1930s when the station was in the Lexington Building in downtown Baltimore. She became executive assistant to five general managers of WBAL television operations, including working 15 years with the late Brent O. Gunts.

James and Teresa Crumpler, of Forest Hill, announce the engagement of their daughter, Jamie Teresa Crumpler, to Christopher Sean Kalck, son of Lawrence and Geraldine Kalck, of Fallston. Crumpler is a 1997 graduate of Fallston High School and a 2001 graduate of Towson University, where she earned a bachelor of science in mass communications. She is an executive assistant with Constellation in Baltimore. Kalck is a 1995 graduate of Fallston High School and a 1999 graduate of Goucher College, where he earned a bachelor of arts in applied mathematics.

Marsha Schachtel, who has been involved in economic development in Maryland for nearly 20 years, has been named executive assistant to the secretary of economic and employment development and charged with monitoring federal spending in the state.Mrs. Schachtel most recently worked as a contract researcher on a project examining Baltimore's finances under a grant funded by the Abell Foundation. She also worked on the state's recently announced economic development strategy, which advocates focusing on life sciences and information technologies industries.

James and Teresa Crumpler, of Forest Hill, announce the engagement of their daughter, Jamie Teresa Crumpler, to Christopher Sean Kalck, son of Lawrence and Geraldine Kalck, of Fallston. Crumpler is a 1997 graduate of Fallston High School and a 2001 graduate of Towson University, where she earned a bachelor of science in mass communications. She is an executive assistant with Constellation in Baltimore. Kalck is a 1995 graduate of Fallston High School and a 1999 graduate of Goucher College, where he earned a bachelor of arts in applied mathematics.

Bruce Page Wilson, former president of Mercantile-Safe Deposit & Trust Co., who earlier had been president of the old Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad, died July 5 of complications from a stroke at Nubbin Ridge, his Green Spring Valley home, where he had lived for more than half a century. He was 92. "Bruce Wilson was a very strong and ethical person. He had it all," said H. Grant Hathaway, former chairman and chief executive officer of the old Equitable Trust Bank. "He was ... a terrific competitor.

Florence J. Micherdzinski, a retired Bendix Corp. executive assistant and an avid gardener, died Friday of an intestinal blockage at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. She was 88. Florence Januzak was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., where she graduated in 1943 from Villa Maria Academy. After graduating from high school, she worked as a secretary for New York state government in Buffalo, until moving to Washington in the late 1940s. In 1953, when the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare was established during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mrs. Micherdzinski became the administrative assistant to Oveta Culp Hobby, who was named to head the department.

The last City Hall in the Park for the season, scheduled for Sept. 28 at Cypress Field, has been canceled and no new date has been set. Lou Ann Crook, executive assistant to Mayor Craig Moe, said there was a scheduling conflict and they hope to reschedule the outdoor meeting in the next couple of weeks. Moe and city management staff hold the outdoor meetings from May to September as an informal opportunity to update residents on city activities and allow residents to meet one-on-one with elected officials and senior staff.

Darthea Redding Kerr, a soprano vocalist who worked as executive assistant to the National Symphony Orchestra and personnel manager of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, died Aug. 16 of cancer at her home in Essex. She was 61. Mrs. Kerr was born in 1949 in Philadelphia. She was the second daughter of James and Jane Redding, and was raised in Severna Park. Mrs. Kerr started singing as a young girl at school, where the choir teacher encouraged her to pursue singing, her sister said.

The Volunteer Center For Anne Arundel County, which is beginning its 10th year, named the following officers for 2011-2012: Talia Whitney, Premier Planning Group executive assistant, president; Mary Lynn Johnson, M&T Bank assistant vice president for Chesapeake Business Banking, vice president; Regina Bidnick, CPA, Heim Lantz senior accountant, treasurer and board member; and Benjamin W. Hahn, attorney for Schnader Harrison...

Kathy Hammel promoted to media buyer at Rosse Kathy Hammel of Westminster has been promoted to media buyer at Rosse & Associates Inc. of Sparks. Rosse is a full-service advertising, marketing communications and public relations firm. Hammel has been with Rosse for eight years, previously as executive assistant and office manager. She attended the University of Southern Mississippi and is a graduate of Commercial College in Shreveport, La.

Mary Hilda Counselman, a retired Johns Hopkins executive assistant, died of lymphoma Thursday at the Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. She was 86. Born in Baltimore and raised on Augusta Avenue, she was a 1941 Mount St. Agnes High School graduate and earned a bachelor's degree at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in 1945. Miss Counselman spent 32 years of her career at the Johns Hopkins Medical School as executive assistant to Dr. Vernon Mountcastle and then as executive administrator of the Department of Physiology, family members said.

Gregg L. Bernstein announced a fresh leadership team for the Baltimore prosecutor's office Monday morning, shortly after being sworn in as city state's attorney, officially ending incumbent Patricia C. Jessamy's 15-year reign. As previously announced, former federal prosecutor George J. Hazel and Elizabeth Embry, a former assistant state's attorney and assistant city solicitor, will make up two-thirds of the three-person team. Hazel left the U.S. Attorney's Office to become Bernstein's chief assistant state's attorney, while Embry was named executive assistant state's attorney for policy and planning.

Margaret M. Schwartze, a retired executive assistant and longtime Severna Park resident, died Monday of heart failure at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. She was 65. Ms. Schwartze was born in Yonkers, N.Y., and was raised in Severna Park and the Eastern Shore. She was a 1961 graduate of Severna Park High School. Ms. Schwartze was employed for more than three decades as an executive assistant for the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund. After retiring in 2003, she lived in The Villages, Fla., until moving back to the area two years ago. An animal lover who was fond of Shih Tzu miniatures, she also enjoyed boating and reading.