Western Electric

William R. Heffernan, a telephone technology executive who helped introduce touch-tone service in the 1960s, died Tuesday of heart disease at Oak Crest Village. The former Towson resident was 84. Born and raised in Springfield, Ill., Mr. Heffernan was hired by the old Western Electric Co. in 1941, shortly before he joined the Navy and served in the South Pacific during World War II. An aerial radar technician, he flew numerous combat missions and survived a plane crash. After the war, he returned to the telephone equipment manufacturer and was among the first personnel to staff Western Electric's Eastern regional headquarters in Cockeysville, beginning in 1964.

Benjamin H. West Sr., 94, Western Electric engineerBenjamin Herndon West Sr., a retired Western Electric Corp. efficiency engineer who entertained senior citizens with travelogues and slide shows, died in his sleep Sunday at Edenwald, a retirement community in Towson. He was 94.The former Stoneleigh resident had resided at Edenwald since 1987.He retired in 1970 from Western Electric Corp.'s Point Breeze plant, where he had been an efficiency engineer for 37 years.His travels with his wife to South America, Europe and Asia became the subjects of one-hour slide shows and travelogues that he took to area senior citizen centers and retirement communities.

Harry Howard Ford, 75, Western Electric supervisorHarry Howard Ford, a retired Western Electric Co. supervisor, died Wednesday of cancer at Northwest Hospital Center. He was 75 and lived in Forest Park.Employed at Western Electric from 1946 to 1982, he retired as a safety-engineer supervisor and received perfect attendance awards on numerous occasions.Born in Blackstone, Va., Mr. Ford came to Baltimore as a child and was a graduate of Carver Vocational Technical High School. He attended the Community College of Baltimore.

May Young, 98, operated health clubsMay Young, who operated health clubs with her husband, died Friday of pneumonia at Verdugo Vista Nursing Home in La Crescenta, Calif. She was 98 and had lived in Homeland.She worked in the business offices of health clubs her husband, Fred Lawrence Young, established in Baltimore and other cities.They married in 1920 and ran Young's Health System in the Fidelity Building on Charles Street. He died in 1968 after establishing clubs in Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland and Los Angeles.

Clifford John Philips, a retired accountant whose expressive face earned him roles as a Salty Dog on his many appearances in "Homicide: Life on the Street," died Sunday after collapsing during a walk on Cold Spring Lane. He was 66 and lived in the Roland Springs section of Roland Park.A retired supervisor of budgets and economic forecasting for AT&T, he had a long career in telecommunications. In the last decade, he also had extensive credits in films and television shows shot in Baltimore.

Kenneth W. Blakeslee Sr., 92, Western Electric managerKenneth Worthen Blakeslee Sr., a retired Western Electric Co. manager, died June 30 of heart failure at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 92 and lived in Original Northwood.He joined the benefits department at Western Electric's Point Breeze plant in 1929 and retired in 1971 as a section manager.Born on 20th Street and raised in Homeland, Mr. Blakeslee was a 1925 graduate of the Friends School and received a bachelor's degree in political science from the Johns Hopkins University in 1929.

William M. Tracey, 95, Western Electric ManagerWilliam M. Tracey, retired personnel manager for Western Electric Co., died yesterday of kidney failure at Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville. He was 95.The former Annapolis resident joined Western Electric Co.'s Point Breeze Broening Highway plant in 1929 and retired in 1968.He was an active member of the Maryland Telephone Pioneers of America and a former director of the Baltimore Personnel Administration Association.He also had served on the board of the Baltimore Urban League and was the first president of the Catonsville Senior Center.

John A. Lambie Sr., 85; helped build Liberty shipsJohn A. Lambie Sr., a retired steel worker who during World War II helped build Liberty ships in Baltimore, died Wednesday ++ of heart failure at his home in the Idlewood section of Northeast Baltimore. He was 85.Mr. Lambie joined Bethlehem Steel Corp. in 1941 and during the war years built Liberty ships in the company's Fairfield yard.One of his proudest accomplishments from those years was working on the Liberty ship John W. Brown, which was built at the shipyard in 1942.

Glenn W. Brown, 62, Westinghouse managerGlenn W. Brown, a longtime employee of Westinghouse Defense and Electronic Systems Center in Baltimore, died of pneumonia Feb. 2 in Parma, Ohio, where he lived. He was 62.He worked for Westinghouse as manager of personnel communications and community relations from 1966 until 1987. He also was the company spokesman and editor of its newspaper.As a youngster, the Baltimore native moved with his family to Lewiston, Pa., then to Cleveland. He graduated from Kent State University in 1957, then worked for a newspaper until he joined Westinghouse.

Cheri M. Horton, 49, social worker, therapistCheri M. Horton, a social worker and counselor in Baltimore and on the Eastern Shore, died Wednesday at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury after a two-year struggle with cancer. She was 49 and a resident of Hebron, Wicomico County.For the last two years, she was a private therapist with Counseling Associates in Salisbury. Before that, she was coordinator of counseling services for Coastal Hospice, which serves terminally ill patients throughout the lower Eastern Shore.

George J. Panzer, a retired Western Electric cable specialist and jeweler who was a decorated World War II veteran, died of complications from lung disease Saturday at Oak Crest Village. The former Dundalk resident was 91. Born in Baltimore, he was the son of a pickle and sauerkraut maker and grew up near Patterson Park. He was a 1931 graduate of St. Michael's Parochial School and attended the Marianist Brothers Preparatory School in Beacon, N.Y. He was a bicycle messenger for Western Union and the Radio Corp.

Levi H."Lee" Manchester, a retired Western Electric Corp. division chief, died of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care on Aug. 11. The former West Towson resident was 91. Mr. Manchester was born and raised in Tiverton, R.I., and graduated from B.M.C. Durfee High School in 1935. He was an apprentice machine and tool and die maker at General Electric Co.'s Providence Base Works plant in Rhode Island. In 1941, he moved to Baltimore and took a job with the old Glenn L. Martin Co. plant in Middle River, and then joined Western Electric working on radar and other high-tech equipment at the company's former Point Breeze Works in Southeast Baltimore.

Kenneth Ray Carson, a former Western Electric Corp. telecommunications installer who had lived in Halethorpe and Relay, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer July 24 at Hernando-Pasco Hospice in Hudson, Fla. He was 74. Mr. Carson was born in Tarentum, Pa., and moved with his family in 1945 to Sergeant Street in South Baltimore. He was a 1951 graduate of Southern High School and served in the Army as a Teletype operator in Japan from 1953 to 1955. Mr. Carson worked installing switchboards and telecommunications equipment for Western Electric for 21 years until retiring in 1973.

ROBERT F. "Hymie" WILHELM, 72, died Thursday July 3, 2008 in York. He was the husband of Marlene D. [Brown] Wilhelm to whom he was married for 50 years. Born August 17, 1935 in Baltimore, a son of the late John R. Wilhelm and the late Hedwig [Inbierowicz] Rominski, he had worked for Western Electric and then retired from AT&T in Arizona. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church - Dallastown; Loyal Order of Moose, Grunwald Club, Quo Vadis Club, and the American Legion. He was also active in the Pioneers civic club through Western Electric.

William R. Carter, a retired Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. supervisor and a decorated World War II veteran, died Wednesday of heart failure at Bonnie Blink, the Maryland Masonic Home in Hunt Valley. He was 86. Mr. Carter was born and raised in Northeast Baltimore. He was a 1940 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. He worked at Western Electric Corp. before enlisting in the Army in 1942. He served as a staff sergeant with the 3rd Signal Company of the 3rd Infantry Division in Europe.

Charles Gillis "Max" Maxwell, a retired Western Electric Corp. machine operator, died of a stroke Friday at a Hanover, Va., hospital. The former Dundalk resident was 62. Mr. Maxwell was born and raised in Baltimore and graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes Parochial School. He served with a Marine Corps infantry unit in Vietnam from 1963 to 1967. He attained the rank of corporal, and his decorations included the Marine Corps Rifle Sharpshooters Badge. After being discharged from the Marine Corps, he joined Western Electric's Point Breeze plant, where he worked as a quality-control inspector until transferring to the Hanover, Va., plant in 1983.

Louis E. Martino, a retired Western Electric Corp. auditor and accomplished musician, died Saturday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care of complications from open-heart surgery. The longtime Timonium resident was 83. Mr. Martino was born and raised in Newark, N.J., and graduated from Barringer High School in 1940. During World War II, he enlisted in the Coast Guard and was assigned as lighthouse keeper at Mount Desert Rock near Frenchboro, Maine. Mr. Martino later joined the attack transport USS Joseph T. Dickman, which transported troops as part of the invasion of Okinawa.

On September 3, 2007, MARY JOAN MACK ROBERTS HOLLAWAY passed away and God did received another angel. Devoted daughter of Mary Mack; loving sister of two brothers and two sisters; cherished grandmother of one grandchild. Also survived by her co-workers at Western Electric for 30 years and many friends, nieces and nephews. A Celebration of her Life will be held privately.

Joseph Ptaszynski, a retired industrial engineer and volunteer, died of cancer July 10 at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. The longtime Perry Hall resident was 70. Mr. Ptaszynski was born in Baltimore and raised in Canton and Highlandtown. He was a 1954 graduate of Patterson High School and served in the Army in Germany for two years as a radio operator. He attended the University of Baltimore, earning a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1964. He was employed for 27 years with Western Electric Corp.

On May 9, 2007, SYREE G. HAYS (born December 10, 1915); wife of the late Charles W. Hays, Sr.; devoted mother of Charles W. Hays, Jr. and Syree B. Hays; former employee of Western Electric Company. Memorial services will be held at Colonial Baptist Church, May 17, 2007 at 7 P.M. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Colonial Baptist Church, which she loved so much.