Welder

John W. Barker, a retired tool designer and welder who fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he bought his first motorcycle at age 65, died Wednesday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 84.Mr. Barker, a longtime Ednor Gardens resident who had lived in Phoenix, in Baltimore County, since 1996, was a tool designer at Martin-Marietta Corp. in Middle River for 38 years before retiring in 1972.He then was a welder at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Key Highway shipyard until he retired a second time in 1979.

Anything the boys could do, Dianna L. Lawrence could always do better -- or at least as well. Tough, determined, unflinching, she'd take them on in football, basketball and hockey. Later, she thought it not at all unusual to become a welder."And that was 22 years ago, when there weren't all that many women welders," said her son, Steven Lawrence. "She was always very proud of that, to be a woman making strides for other women in places where they weren't expected to go."Mrs. Lawrence died Tuesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center of inflammatory breast cancer, seven months after being diagnosed with the disease on her 19th wedding anniversary.

Roland Roberts was a carpenter, plumber and welder, but his skills as a musician and comedian won him a measure of fame at Baltimore nightclubs, especially those on Pennsylvania Avenue during its heyday.Usually dressed in a crumpled gray or green suit and sporting a dark fedora, Mr. Roberts was a regular for years at area clubs, including the Odyssey Club and Papa's Place on Pennsylvania Avenue and the Sportsmen's Lounge in Northwest Baltimore.Mr. Roberts died of heart failure Monday at his Howard County home.

NAGANO, Japan -- She remembered being 12 years old and her father losing his job as a factory welder. She remembered the family counting every penny -- for years -- while they lived on her mother's small salary filing claims for an insurance company.She remembered nearly having to stop speed skating, the sport she loved so much, simply because her parents couldn't afford it.And she remembered persevering through the years, pushing herself to make the family's sacrifice a worthwhile investment.

A Laurel welder suffered head and arm injuries after falling about 50 feet from the roof of a food store under construction in Taneytown yesterday, police said.Terry Williams, an employee of a Laurel-based contractor, was installing metal slats about 8 a.m. when he apparently misjudged his distance from the edge and stepped off the roof, Chief Melvin Diggs said.Williams was flown by state MedEvac helicopter to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was in serious but stable condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

It was 1910 when Alfredo Angelo Appetito Sr., then a 12-year-old boy, left his boyhood home of Segni, near Rome, and boarded a ship as a stowaway bound for the New World and a new life.It was a life that included heroic service as an infantryman during World War I, followed by a 45-year career as a welder at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Key Highway shipyard. It came to a quiet end Nov. 18 when Mr. Appetito died in his sleep at the Veterans Administration Hospital on Loch Raven Boulevard. He was 99.Landing in New York, the young Mr. Appetito disappeared into the crowds of the city and eventually made his way to Pennsylvania, where he located some cousins.

Vernon C. Chester, a retired welder, died Monday at the Northwest Hospital center from complications of a stroke. The Pikesville resident was 82.Mr. Chester retired in 1975 as a welding supervisor for the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., which he joined in 1940. He also was a maintenance worker at the B&O Building at Baltimore and Charles streets for many of those years.Born in Cambridge, he had been a policeman there in the late 1930s.He was a former member of the Prince Hall Masons, and a member of the Holy Name Society at St. Edward's Roman Catholic Church, Poplar Grove and Prospect streets, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. today.

George Paul Neubeck Sr., a retired welder and Navy veteran who as a young man boxed in the Baltimore area, died of lung cancer Sunday at Fort Howard Veterans Hospital. He was 74.Mr. Neubeck of Highlandtown was a welder who worked at Bethlehem Steel Corp., the Coast Guard yard in Curtis Bay, and Maryland Shipbuilding & Drydock.He also played the piano and tinkered with electronics.Mr. Neubeck, who started boxing as a teen-ager, fought dozens of amateur bouts before joining the Navy in 1942.

Donald R. MynesWelder and foremanDonald R. Mynes, a welder and shop foreman for a construction company, died Monday at Francis Scott Key xTC Medical Center after a heart attack. He was 60 and lived in Westminster.He was a shop foreman for the Matricciani Co., where he had worked for 29 years.Mr. Mynes was a welder for mining and construction companies in West Virginia before coming to the Baltimore area in 1961. He worked for Wright Contracting Co. as a welder on the Jones Falls Expressway.

Sven Y. OlssonWestinghouse engineerSven Y. Olsson, a retired Westinghouse engineer, died Sept. 10 of kidney failure at Liberty Medical Hospital. He was 84.Mr. Olsson, who lived in West Baltimore, worked for Westinghouse for 35 years before retiring in 1974. His wife, the former Adele Donna Burton, died in 1984.The Olssons loved to go to the racetrack and watch the horses. Mr. Olsson also was active in the Fairmount Neighborhood Association.He was meticulous about maintaining his duplex house, where he and his wife had lived since 1952.

Frank P. Hepner, a retired welder who enjoyed home improvement projects, died of a circulatory ailment Friday at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Middle River resident was 92. Born in Baltimore and raised in Fells Point, he was a 1935 City College graduate and later attended Strayer's Business College. He served in the Army as a medical technician during World War II. Mr. Hepner became a welder and worked at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point Shipyard and later for the Standard Oil Co. He retired nearly 30 years ago from the C. Hoffberger Co. He oversaw the unloading of fuel from tankers docked in Canton.

Albert Joseph DiSeta, a retired Bethlehem Steel welder and World War II veteran, died of congestive heart failure Thursday at Forest Hill Mariner nursing home. The former Joppatowne resident was 91. Born in Baltimore and raised in Little Italy on Fawn Street, he attended St. Leo's Parochial School and was a 1934 City College graduate. He also attended Maryland Institute College of Art. During 1935 and 1936, he worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps and helped build the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

Ernest R. Goddard Jr., a retired welder and steamfitter and lifelong Annapolis resident, died of heart failure Feb. 28 at his home. He was 92. He was a graduate of St. Mary's High School in Annapolis and worked at the Trumpy Yacht Yard before becoming a member of what became Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 486. He was a steamfitter and welder for 40 years, spending many years of his career at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point shipyard. He was a member of the Severna Park Elks Club, Annapolis Moose and Eastport Democratic Club.

John J. "Joe" Lagaz, a retired welder, died of asbestosis Sunday at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. The former Dundalk resident was 73. Born in Centralia, Pa., he attended Cunningham High School and moved to Baltimore in the early 1950s to work for Bethlehem Steel Co. His work there was interrupted by his service in the Army. He was assigned to West Germany and qualified as a sharpshooter. After his military service, he returned to Baltimore. He worked in the steel-making and shipyard divisions for 38 years.

Nov. 12, 1971 - Sept. 20, 2005EDMOND LLOYD CROCHERON, 33, died at home on September 20, 2005. He was raised in Baltimore and New Jersey and was living in Coatesville, PA at the time of his death. Edmond was survived by his mother Deborah Lloyd; his father Edmond P. Crocheron; his son Edmond James (E.J.) Crocheron; a sister, Michelle Bishop; brother-in-law Greg Bishop; two nephews, Gregory and James Bishop; one niece, Tyler Bishop; his grandmother Verna Fromm and Colleen Vicario the mother of his son and longtime love.

Frank Thornton, 60, hasn't sculpted anything since health problems robbed him of his upper-body strength three years ago. The Rock Hall resident used to make a living as a machinist and welder, and he oc casionally sells his sculptures, many of which sit his in yard along Route 20. This year, the Kent County Arts Council published a book of his poetry, "Inside -- The Box - Outside."

Joseph Burrell, a retired welder who enjoyed entertaining family and friends, died Monday at Bon Secours Hospital of complications from Alzheimer's disease. He was 73 and a longtime resident of Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood. Mr. Burrell was born and raised in Baltimore. He cut short his public school education to help support his family. He worked for 30 years as a welder at the old Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. in Fairfield. He retired in the late 1980s. Always well-tailored and seldom without a snappy hat, Mr. Burrell cut quite the sartorial figure, family members said.

Charles Oscar Weems Jr., a retired Bethlehem Steel Corp. welder and longtime Turners Station resident, died of pneumonia Friday at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was 86. Mr. Weems, who was born in Baltimore and raised on Gilmor Street, graduated in 1938 from Frederick Douglass High School. During World War II, he served in an Army infantry unit in Europe, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. After being wounded, he was given the nickname of "Wounded Knee," family members said.

Irving George Shinosky, a retired ship's welder who was active in Little League, died of complications from Parkinson's disease Wednesday at his residence in the Lake Shore section of Pasadena. He was 88. Born in Scranton, Pa., he moved to Baltimore nearly 60 years ago after serving in the Army during World War II. Before his retirement more than 30 years ago, he was a Maryland Drydock Co. welder at Fairfield. Active in Brooklyn-Curtis Bay Little League, Mr. Shinosky had been a coach, manager and umpire.

Edward Irvin Carter Sr., a retired welder and metals fabricator, died of cancer Saturday at his Randallstown home. He was 65. Born in Hebbville, he was a 1958 graduate of Milford Mill High School and served in the Army in Germany. Mr. Carter recently retired as a cost estimator for Ed-K Machine on Falls Road in Mount Washington. He previously worked 26 years for DCA Food Industries in Jessup, where he was a shop supervisor in charge of producing machinery used for Entenmann's bakery products.