Machinists

Louis Forster, a retired Coast Guard machinist and World War II veteran, died of Parkinson's disease Saturday at Oak Crest Village in Parkville. The former Pasadena resident was 83. Mr. Forster was born in Baltimore and raised in Ednor Gardens. He attended Polytechnic Institute, later earning his General Educational Development diploma there. During World War II, he served as an armored tank driver with Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army and fought at the Battle of the Bulge. He was a machinist for 38 years at the Coast Guard's Curtis Bay yard until retiring in 1986.

Roland A. Scherer, a retired Bethlehem Steel Corp. machinist and champion dog breeder, died of Alzheimer's disease Wednesday at Manor Care Rossville, where he had lived since 2001. He was 94. Mr. Scherer was born in Baltimore, raised in Middle River and attended Baltimore County public schools. He worked for 34 years as a machinist at Bethlehem's Sparrows Point plant and retired in 1965. Mr. Scherer was a longtime resident of Hydes, where he owned Rolcap Kennels, and bred and raised prize-winning beagles.

US Airways said yesterday that it has failed to squeeze millions of dollars' worth of concessions from its pilots and other workers aimed at staving off a second bankruptcy filing that ultimately could cost thousands of workers their jobs and travelers their convenience. The Arlington, Va.-based airline still ranks among the nation's largest, but in recent years it and other major carriers have had to weather a fear of flying after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a recession and the pervasiveness of cheap seats offered by low-fare airlines in a growing number of cities.

Kenneth H. Messinger, a retired machinist and volunteer, died of Parkinson's disease Tuesday at Oak Crest Village retirement community in Parkville. He was 92. Mr. Messinger was born and raised in Beverly, Mass., and attended Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, where he studied pattern making and electrical refrigeration. He worked for more than 40 years as a machinist at International Equipment Co. in Cambridge, Mass., until retiring in 1964. Mr. Messinger, who earlier had lived in Watertown, Mass.

Virgil Lee Thomas, a former Baltimore machinist, died of a heart attack Wednesday at Smyth County Community Hospital in Marion, Va. The Marion resident was 50. Mr. Thomas was born in Marion to a widowed mother. He was 9 when the family moved to Dundalk, where his mother remarried. When Mr. Thomas was 14, he was struck by a car while riding a bicycle, said his sister, Brenda Lorbiecki of Baltimore. She said the injuries he suffered from that accident affected him the rest of his life. He earned his General Educational Development diploma and served in the Army and later the Maryland Army National Guard.

Andrew S. Calder, a retired machinist who worked for several area breweries, died of pneumonia Monday at St. Elizabeth Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Southwest Baltimore. The former Catonsville resident was 98. Mr. Calder was born and raised in Latrobe, Pa., where he attended public schools. "His original name was Caladaro, but the family changed it in 1940 to Calder because it sounded more American," said Cathy Moylan, a granddaughter. In 1927, Mr. Calder married Ann McCarthy, and the couple moved to Baltimore.

Albert J. Stansfield, a retired machinist and welder for General Motors Corp., died Thursday of acute myocardial infarction at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass., while visiting his daughter. He was 83 and had lived for more than 50 years in Baltimore. Born and educated in Brownsville, Pa., he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, he was honorably discharged as a staff sergeant. After the war, he returned to work for General Motors in Baltimore as a welder and machinist, retiring in 1982.

Clifton Gordon Jr., a retired National Security Agency employee, died of a heart attack Sunday at Union Memorial Hospital. The Northwest Baltimore resident was 67. Mr. Gordon was born and raised in Hamlet, N.C., and worked briefly in New York City before moving to Baltimore in the late 1950s. He worked as a cook at the old Hilltop Diner on Reisterstown Road before going to work in 1963 as a machinist at NSA on the grounds of Fort Meade. He retired in 1995. Mr. Gordon enjoyed fishing and cooking for his family.

Edward S. Hall Jr., a longtime machinist who served for more than half of a century as a member of the Herald Harbor Volunteer Fire Department, died of a stroke Wednesday at Heritage Harbor Health and Rehabilitation Center in Annapolis. He was 87. A Linthicum native, Mr. Hall graduated from Glen Burnie High School. He joined the merchant marines in the 1930s before taking a job as a machinist at the Koppers Co.'s Baltimore foundry before World War II. He retired in 1971. Mr. Hall moved from Baltimore to Herald Harbor with his wife and daughter in 1946, and immediately joined the Anne Arundel County community's fire department.

Donald C. Gardner, an Elvaton civic activist and retired machinist and tool-and-die maker, died Sunday of a colon disease at Anne Arundel Medical Center. The Millersville resident was 81. Born and raised in Bedford, Pa., he moved to Baltimore in 1940. During World War II, he served in the Army's tank corps. A master machinist and tool-and-die maker, he worked at American Can Co. and American Standard. He retired in 1988 as a model maker at the Navy's David Taylor Research Center in Annapolis.