Family Business

William Tuerke Jr.Former Tuerkes ownerWilliam A. Tuerke Jr., retired chairman and president of Tuerkes-Beckers Inc., the leather-goods chain, died Thursday of emphysema at Memorial Hospital in Easton. He was 84.Mr. Tuerke, who retired in 1983, inherited the leather-goods retailing business from his father, who had founded it in 1899.The company now has 13 stores, including several in Maryland. Shops sell luggage, handbags and other leather items, as well as an array of specialty and gift merchandise.

Recession being the bane of piano retailers, it seems wholly remarkable that Harry Cohen and his son, Lou, decided to start selling Baldwins and Wurlitzers in 1937 - the year the economy relapsed toward the end of the Great Depression. But somehow the Cohens survived the recession of 1937 and 1938. In fact, the family business, founded in Philadelphia, thrived through three generations and extended into three states. Hundreds of families in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland bought new and used pianos from one of the Cohens over the years.

Family matters, but when it comes to city business involving family, Baltimore City Council President Sheila Dixon must step aside. There's no ambiguity in the city ethics law on this point: An elected official must refrain from "any matter" involving a sibling's interest. Ms. Dixon never should have participated in a City Council discussion on minority involvement in the city's cable franchise because her sister works for a firm that has gotten this work in the past. The council president should know better.

Daniel Simons, managing partner of Hubbard Funeral Home, and his wife Heather will pick up 30 Christmas trees in North Carolina to give to the families of deployed Maryland National Guard veterans, in honor of their service. The Maryland National Guard Teen Council will help load the trees on the recipients' vehicles Dec. 8. A visit from Santa is expected and light refreshments will be served at the Wilkens Avenue funeral home.

For years, the family business has been a source of respect and wealth for the Kanes. As a leader in the commercial moving industry, John M. Kane nurtured business and political connections in Montgomery County and Annapolis, and led the Maryland Republican Party during Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s tenure as governor. But as his wife, Mary D. Kane, runs for lieutenant governor with Ehrlich, John Kane is trying to keep himself and the Kane Co. out of the political crossfire. That's because while she seeks public office, John Kane is defending the business in a lawsuit that alleges federal contract fraud.

If you own a family business and you plan that your children will continue it, you have to act now. If you do not, you risk that when you and your spouse die, the business may be sold or liquidated to pay estate taxes. It happens all too often, yet usually can be avoided by careful planning.Congress is expected to dig deeper into the assets of estates in its continuing search for increased federal revenue. With America's population growing older and wealthier, estates obviously are a rich source for new tax money, waiting to be mined.

Barbara A. Stritzinger, a retired co-owner and business manager of a family-owned appliance refinishing business, died of leukemia Jan. 26 at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. The Long Green resident was 83. Barbara A. Vasold was born in Baltimore and raised in Highlandtown. She was a graduate of St. Michael's Business School and in 1943 married Aloysius J. Stritzinger. In 1955, the couple established Appliance Refinishers Inc. in Long Green, specializing in appliances, kitchen cabinets and furniture.

Approaching age 65 and concerned for their family's future, Florence and Hank Billing began figuring out how to pass along their family business and personal assets to their five children.Of the five -- four daughters and one son -- only their son, Kurt, was interested in running the family's two Southampton, N.Y., clothing stores.Kurt, who was selling software to retail stores in Seattle, solved half the problem by opting to return home. In May, he bought Billing's Lingerie on Main Street.

FORTY-FIVE YEARS ago, after his team won the world championship in sudden death overtime, Arthur Donovan, legendary Baltimore Colt and Falstaff of American football, invested his bonus in a country club without a golf course. But while the Valley Country Club, in the Riderwood area of Baltimore County, might not have had 18 holes and fabulous fairways, it had the grand, 19th-century hilltop manor house and 12 acres of a former dairy farm. With Artie Donovan's winnings from the December 1958 NFL championship, it soon had tennis courts, a snack bar, a clubhouse and the huge swimming pool that more than 400 members, their families and friends still enjoy each summer.

Eleanor B. Dopman, an officer of a family-owned millwork business, died Saturday of a heart attack at Franklin Square Hospital Center. She was 84 and lived in Timonium. She was a former Homeland resident. Until she retired about 12 years ago, she worked in claims services at Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Towson. She also did the accounting for several family-owned businesses, including Church House Inc., a church-building firm; Dopman Millwork Corp. on Eastern Avenue; and Elton Construction Co. Born Eleanor Bernard in Baltimore and raised on East 22nd Street, she was a 1936 Eastern High School graduate.

Charles R. "Chuck" Callanan, a retired educator, volunteer and author who had headed Park School for nearly a decade, died July 6 of pulmonary disease at Sedgewood Commons, an assisted-living facility in Falmouth, Maine. He was 86. "I was right out of college when he hired me in 1971 as a physical education teacher," said Carol Kinne, who lives in Mount Washington and is director of diversity and service at Park. "I was in awe of his wisdom, sense of humor and vision.

Imagine being able to walk into every boutique, salon and bar in Fells Point without leaving your desk. Or, from the comfort of your couch, touring every restaurant in Little Italy before making a reservation. If Frank Clark has his way, eventually everyone with an Internet connection will be able to virtually visit every business in Baltimore. No, in Maryland. "Our job is to shoot everything," Clark said recently as he photographed a game shop in the Historic Savage Mill. Clark is a "Google-trusted photographer," one of three contractors so titled in the state.

Contributor Lexie Mountain is an epic Van Halen fan, and has an epic review of Wednesday night's show at the Verizon Center. I have to admit: I was hoping for VAN HALEN-CON 2012. Sort of like Burning Man, but with a greater possibility of being set on fire by an errant can of Aqua Net or hassled in the parking lot by some toughs in Thom McAns. You know, a real circus. I wanted to fear for my life. But I did not fear for my life. Whole families, with their kids wearing Styx t-shirts, had come to see Van Halen at the Verizon Center Wednesday night.

Searching for some good old-fashioned family fun that doesn't involve a video game? If so, you should check out Churchville Golf Range. This family-run recreation center, on Churchville Road, has two miniature golf courses, a driving range, nine softball and baseball batting cages, a golf pro shop and an arcade for those who still want their video game fix. Joyce and Ken Rizer purchased, renovated and expanded this Churchville gem from Joyce's...

The flowers are not the only things in bloom at Kroh's Nursery year after year. In fact, this family business has deep roots that continue to grow in this Aberdeen nursery. In 1980, husband and wife, Robert and Mickie Sachs purchased Kroh's Nursery because they wanted to spend the rest of their lives working in a nursery and garden center. And after high school, their son Jeff started working the family business. Today, Jeff runs the day-to-day operations and says, “I started working in the nursery with my parents when I was just 10 years old. I remember holidays and Mother's Day, which are the busiest days of the year for us.” Though Robert and Mickie still work at the nursery today, Jeff Sachs runs the business and has expanded what they offer with custom design/build landscape services including hand crafted stone walls and patios, garden pools and waterfalls, and landscape maintenance.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's guests in the city's private skybox at Ravens games this past season included a small circle of city employees, prominent business leaders, donors to her campaign, and several family members, documents show. City officials say there are no restrictions on whom the mayor can invite to the skybox, which is provided at no cost to Rawlings-Blake, as it was to her predecessors, under the lease agreement for what is now called M&T Bank Stadium. Documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun through a public records request indicate that the mayor extended invitations for both personal and political purposes.

If you are in a small business that is also a family business, you probably heard warnings about the pitfalls of working with relatives. When bringing family members into a business for the first time, especially as investors or in a startup situation, consider putting the business relationship in writing. Many small companies would never have survived without dedicated family members. But avoid favoritism. Pay scales, promotions, work schedules, criticism and praise should be evenhanded between family and non-family employees.

An article in last week's MBW gave an incorrect spelling of the name of a family business specialist with Ernst & Young who was quoted regarding the problems of succession in such businesses. In fact, the man's name is Bruce Bullock.MBW regrets the error.Of the images that make up the American dream, the family business rests right up there with mom, baseball and apple pie.A recent study by BDO Seidman, a national accounting and consulting firm, showed that 75 percent of business owners want their children to eventually come on board and help run the company.

On Christmas morning, an unidentified man called the restaurant and liquor store Wesley's in Elkton and asked for the winning Powerball numbers. When a clerk read the numbers over the phone, the mystery caller said, "Looks like I am the winner. " So far, that's all the longtime family-run restaurant, lounge and liquor store knows about the person who won the $125 million jackpot. Maryland Lottery officials don't know who the winner is either. Like nearly all state offices, the agency was closed Monday, said spokeswoman Carole Y. Everett.

Shortly after Boo Corrigan was hired as Army's athletic director earlier this year, he found himself talking to a group of graduates of the U.S. Military Academy. Nobody in the room noticed, but Corrigan seemed to be doing a pretty good imitation of a man many consider one of the most influential and respected college athletic administrators of his time. "I found my mannerisms were the same as my dad, the way I was talking," Corrigan recalled. "He's a lot smarter than I am. I called my brother David and said, 'I think I've become Papa Gene.'" The influence of his father, a Baltimore native who was the athletic director at Virginia and Notre Dame before becoming the commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference, was what directed his now 44-year old son back into what essentially was the family business.