Funeral Home

Edward James Weber, a second-generation funeral director PTC who tried to enhance the image of morticians and get families more involved in the services of loved ones, died Wednesday of diabetes at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 71.A lifelong Baltimore resident, Mr. Weber had been a mortician since 1952 and believed that relatives should talk and share good memories when someone dies, not just mourn their loss."He'd get the family looking at pictures and making collages," said his daughter-in-law, Kathleen A. Weber of Perry Hall.

Leroy O. Dyett, a Baltimore mortician who built his Liberty Heights Avenue business into one of the city's best-known funeral homes, died Thursday of heart failure at his West Baltimore home.Mr. Dyett, 69, had operated the Leroy O. Dyett and Son Funeral Home in Northwest Baltimore since 1982. From the mid-1950s until he opened his business, he was co-owner of the Morton and Dyett Funeral Home in West Baltimore.One of Mr. Dyett's finest qualities, friends and relatives said, was his work ethic: Not only did he show up seven days a week, but he was usually the first person at the funeral parlor and the last one to leave.

Herbert E. Nutter, a former Baltimore funeral director, died of a heart attack March 7 at Northwest Hospital Center. The Windsor Mill resident was 76. Mr. Nutter was born in Baltimore and raised on Druid Hill Avenue. As a youngster, he began running errands for Helen A. Holland, who was the owner of the George H. Holland Funeral Home. Before his 1948 graduation from Douglass High School, Mr. Nutter studied embalming at Mrs. Holland's establishment and later was certified as a mortician.

A well-known Ellicott City businesswoman was convicted on two counts of practicing mortuary science without a license yesterday after several disgruntled customers complained about her.Alene Collins Witzke, an officer and director of the Harry H. Witzke Funeral Home, was sentenced to 12 months' unsupervised probation. Each count carried a maximum penalty of one year in jail or a $1,000 fine.In an agreement with the state, Mrs. Witzke, 64, pleaded not guilty to the charges and waived her right to a jury trial.

Raymond John Curran Sr., former president and owner of Curran-Bromwell Funeral Home in Cambridge, died of a heart attack Tuesday at the funeral home, which was also his residence. He was 79. Mr. Curran was born in the Bronx, N.Y., and after the death of his father, was raised by relatives in New Jersey and Washington, where he graduated from high school. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was a cartographer. He remained in the Air Force Reserve after the war and was discharged in 1949 with the rank of sergeant.

Irene J. Byers, a retired registered nurse and funeral director, died of lung cancer Friday at a nursing home in Seminole, Fla. The former Randallstown resident was 98. She was born Irene Juliet Peppler in Baltimore and raised on upper Park Heights Avenue. She was a graduate of Western High School and, in 1928, the University of Maryland School of Nursing. During the 1930s and 1940s, she worked as a private-duty nurse. Her marriage to Edward Armiger ended in divorce, and in 1945, she married F. Loring Byers, founder of the Randallstown and former Park Heights funeral home that bears his name.

Vivian O. Nutter, a funeral director who co-owned a Baltimore funeral home, died Dec. 20 of diabetic complications at Chapel Hill Nursing Home in Randallstown. The Woodlawn resident was 75. She was the co-owner of the Nutter Funeral Home, a business she founded shortly after her 1956 marriage to Herbert E. Nutter, who survives her. The business was first located in the 3000 block of W. North Ave. and later moved to its current location on Gwynns Falls Parkway. Born Vivian Olivia Hines in Roanoke, Va., where she attended public schools, she moved to Baltimore's Clifton Avenue in the 1950s.

Robert C. Altenburg, owner and president of Altenburg Funeral Home in Hamilton, died Thursday at Good Samaritan Hospital of complications from a heart condition. He was 76. For years, Mr. Altenburg combined business with good works, splitting his time between his company and volunteer projects. When he learned of poor families who had lost a child, he was known to come to the rescue, said his daughter, Darlene Altenburg of Baltimore. She recalled one struggling couple whose 18-month-old baby died of a congenital defect and another whose 2-month-old infant died last year.

A proud and joyful spirit filled the congregation at Timoth Baptist Church in West Baltimore early yesterday as worshipers swayed to songs performed by a troupe of singers describing how African-Americans have persevered despite their troubled history -- from the horrors of slavery to the desperate fight for civil rights.But the mood grew somber when the singers launched into a song describing a black family whose son Bobby, hooked on drugs, was shot in a drug dispute. It is a scene that many in the audience knew first-hand, and a scene many of the performers live with every day.They are the March Singers, and many of them work at March Funeral Home, one of the largest black-owned funeral homes in the country.

In Annapolis, the path out of this life often passes through the John M. Taylor Funeral Home across from city hall on Duke of Gloucester Street.Yesterday, a few dozen people gathered there once again. The black-suited funeral directors were in attendance. A Catholic priest said a few words. A Methodist minister led those assembled in prayer.But this time there were no tears. No casket. No eulogy. No loss to mourn.Local history and modern marketing came together as the Taylor family's 132-year-old funeral business held its first open house.