School Custodian

Silveria Sylvester Chambers, a retired Baltimore County school custodian who later worked for an armored car company, died of cancer Sept. 25 at his Randallstown home. He was 73. Mr. Chambers was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to Baltimore in 1967. He became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He was employed for 26 years as a custodian at Reisterstown Elementary School and later was chief custodian at Randallstown High School. He retired from there in 1994. He also worked as a custodian at Dunbar Armored Inc. for 12 years before he retired last month.

An article in the Jan. 24, 1963, edition of the Herald Argus and Baltimore Countian reported the heroics of a school custodian in rescuing a student. Fourteen-year-old Norman G. Gaither , an eighth grade student at Our Lady of Victory Catholic school on Wilkins avenue, was rushed to St. Agnes hospital in the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department ambulance on Jan. 16 after a cinder block wall collapsed in the school room, knocking him into a chair, injuring his chest and fracturing ribs.

Franklin A. Burchill, a retired Baltimore County public school custodian and school bus attendant who was active in VFW affairs and walked the trail of World War II's infamous Bataan Death March -- which his brother survived -- died of liver cancer May 12 at Sinai Hospital. The Owings Mills resident was 70. Mr. Burchill was born and raised in Frackville, Pa. He served with an Army artillery unit in Germany from 1953 to 1959, then was a construction worker until becoming a custodian in 1979.

At 50, Fredua Agyeman has lived in Howard County for just over a decade, but until recently he could never imagine buying his own home. Last month, with a big boost from county housing programs, the county school custodian made the jump from renting in a county-owned complex to owning a three-bedroom townhouse near the Elkridge library. Two of his children live with him. Daughter Ama, 16, is a full-time student at Howard Community College who joined him at 14 from his original home in Ghana, West Africa.

A former Meade Senior High School custodian will likely be sentenced to probation next month after he pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel Circuit Court this week to having sex with a 15-year-old student in the school's auditorium.Mortimer M. Peters, 37, of the 400 block of Starwood Drive in Glen Burnie admitted to Judge Eugene M. Lerner that he had sex with the girl Feb. 20.The encounter was consensual, according to prosecutors, but is considered a third-degree sex offense because the girl was under age 16 and Peters was more than four years older than the girl.

A Howard County school custodian was in serious condition last night after being shot in an apparent random attack inside an Ellicott City Rite Aid store Saturday, police said. Robert Lee Jackson, 50, the chief custodian at Mayfield Woods Middle School in Elkridge and father of three, was buying sodas when he was shot four times by a man he did not know, according to county police and his family. Arrested and held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center was James Milton Lane, 46, on charges including attempted first-degree murder.

Sarah Elaine Adams, a retired school custodian and housekeeper, died Friday of cancer at her home on Abbotston Street.Services for Mrs. Adams, who was 74, were held yesterday at the Most Worshipful Zerubbabel Masonic Grand Lodge.She retired in 1988 after 30 years as a housekeeper for a Baltimore family. Earlier, she was a school custodian.The former Sarah Elaine Gatewood was born and reared in Dorsey.Her husband, Charles Floyd Adams, a retired construction foreman, died in 1989. After his death, Mrs. Adams, who had lived on Carrollton Avenue for many years, moved for a time to Bridgeton, N.J.She is survived by three daughters, Sarah Satterfield and Hattie Washington, both of Baltimore, and Hazel McCoy of Bridgeton; three sons, the Rev. Marion Adams and Greer Tripp, both of Baltimore, and Theodore Kelley of Bridgeton; a sister, Emma Jackson of Baltimore; 17 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Two men killed when their car hits pole in Annapolis Two men died early yesterday morning when their Honda coupe struck a telephone pole at Bay Ridge Avenue and Bank Street, Annapolis police said. Ryan James Wiseley, 21, of the 900 block of Monterey Ave. in Annapolis and Jason Patrick Heeney, 22, of the 600 block of Old Stage Road in Glen Burnie were declared dead at the scene, police said. Wiseley was driving south on Bay Ridge at a high speed when the car left the road and struck the pole, police said.

Goldie E. HollisSchool custodianGoldie E. Hollis, a retired school custodian, died Friday at A Family Place, a group home in Baltimore, after a series of strokes. She was 87 and had lived for many years in East Baltimore.The former Goldie E. Creth, a native of Petersburg, Va., retired in 1966 after working for many years in the Baltimore school system.She was a member of Holy Covenant Episcopal Church, 5657 The Alameda, where services were set for 11:30 a.m. today.She is survived by her husband, Herman H. Hollis; a daughter, Corrine Byrd; a stepdaughter, Marian Cromartie; two stepsons, Charles Hughes and Lloyd W. Jones; eight grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson.

Oleatha SpencerSchool custodianOleatha M. Simmons Spencer, a retired school custodian, died Saturday of a heart attack at Harbor Hospital Center. The Glen Burnie resident was 65.She had worked as a custodian for nine years at Marley Elementary School in Anne Arundel County until retiring in 1972 on a medical disability.The native of Bartow, Fla., was educated in schools there and moved to Glen Burnie in 1944 after her marriage to Garrison F. Spencer, who survives her. They divorced in 1971.

At 50, Fredua Agyeman has lived in Howard County for just over a decade, but until recently he could never imagine buying his own home. Last month, with a big boost from county housing programs, the county school custodian made the jump from renting in a county-owned complex to owning a three-bedroom townhouse near the Elkridge library. Two of his children live with him. Daughter Ama, 16, is a full-time student at Howard Community College who joined him at 14 from his original home in Ghana, West Africa.

Ethel L. Banks, a retired custodian and former longtime West Baltimore resident, died of a heart attack Monday at Northwest Hospital Center. She was 76. The former Ethel Lee Lewis was born and raised in Plymouth, N.C., and came to Baltimore in 1961. Mrs. Banks was employed by Baltimore County public schools and worked for 31 years as a custodian at Rodgers Forge Elementary School until her retirement in 1992. Mrs. Banks was a longtime resident of Sequoia Avenue in Ashburton, but since 2003 she had lived in Owings Mills.

Franklin A. Burchill, a retired Baltimore County public school custodian and school bus attendant who was active in VFW affairs and walked the trail of World War II's infamous Bataan Death March -- which his brother survived -- died of liver cancer May 12 at Sinai Hospital. The Owings Mills resident was 70. Mr. Burchill was born and raised in Frackville, Pa. He served with an Army artillery unit in Germany from 1953 to 1959, then was a construction worker until becoming a custodian in 1979.

James V. Hardison, a retired junior high school custodian and longtime Turners Station resident, died in his sleep Tuesday at Cherrywood HealthCare and Rehabilitation Centre in Reisterstown. He was 90. Mr. Hardison was born and raised in Castalia, N.C., and moved to Baltimore in the early 1930s. For 42 years until retiring in 1977, he worked as a custodian at Rock Glen Junior High School, now West Baltimore Middle. He was an avid Orioles and Ravens fan, and enjoyed shooting pool. Mr. Hardison, a tenor, was a member of Greater St. John Baptist Church where he sang with the choir for many years.

Gertrude B. Chase, a retired public school custodian who enjoyed entertaining, died of heart failure Thursday at North Arundel Hospital. She was 85. She was born and raised Gertrude Blagmond in South Baltimore and attended city public schools. She worked as a custodian in city schools for 35 years before retiring in 1984. Known by family and friends as Gert, she enjoyed cooking and hosting dinner parties at her Northwest Baltimore home. She was an expert baker and was known for her pound cake, family members said.

Silveria Sylvester Chambers, a retired Baltimore County school custodian who later worked for an armored car company, died of cancer Sept. 25 at his Randallstown home. He was 73. Mr. Chambers was born and raised in Jamaica and moved to Baltimore in 1967. He became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He was employed for 26 years as a custodian at Reisterstown Elementary School and later was chief custodian at Randallstown High School. He retired from there in 1994. He also worked as a custodian at Dunbar Armored Inc. for 12 years before he retired last month.

Carroll E. Kelbaugh, 87, United Methodist ministerThe Rev. Carroll E. Kelbaugh, a retired United Methodist Church minister, died Sunday of a heart attack at Carroll County General Hospital. He was 87 and a Hampstead resident.Mr. Kelbaugh was head of the billing department at American Standard Inc. for 31 years and entered the ministry after his 1967 retirement at the age of 55. A 1970 graduate of Wesley Seminary in Washington, he was ordained in the United Methodist Church.He served churches in Pleasant Grove, Boring and Emory, and several churches in Southern Maryland until retiring from a full-time ministry in 1977.

James V. Hardison, a retired junior high school custodian and longtime Turners Station resident, died in his sleep Tuesday at Cherrywood HealthCare and Rehabilitation Centre in Reisterstown. He was 90. Mr. Hardison was born and raised in Castalia, N.C., and moved to Baltimore in the early 1930s. For 42 years until retiring in 1977, he worked as a custodian at Rock Glen Junior High School, now West Baltimore Middle. He was an avid Orioles and Ravens fan, and enjoyed shooting pool. Mr. Hardison, a tenor, was a member of Greater St. John Baptist Church where he sang with the choir for many years.

Two men killed when their car hits pole in Annapolis Two men died early yesterday morning when their Honda coupe struck a telephone pole at Bay Ridge Avenue and Bank Street, Annapolis police said. Ryan James Wiseley, 21, of the 900 block of Monterey Ave. in Annapolis and Jason Patrick Heeney, 22, of the 600 block of Old Stage Road in Glen Burnie were declared dead at the scene, police said. Wiseley was driving south on Bay Ridge at a high speed when the car left the road and struck the pole, police said.

A Howard County school custodian was in serious condition last night after being shot in an apparent random attack inside an Ellicott City Rite Aid store Saturday, police said. Robert Lee Jackson, 50, the chief custodian at Mayfield Woods Middle School in Elkridge and father of three, was buying sodas when he was shot four times by a man he did not know, according to county police and his family. Arrested and held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center was James Milton Lane, 46, on charges including attempted first-degree murder.