Msgr. M.J. Gamber, Govans pastor, dies at 78
A Mass of Christian burial for Msgr. Martin J. Gamber, pastor emeritus of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Govans, will be celebrated at 11 a.m. today at the Chapel of Stella Maris Hospice, Dulaney Valley Road.
Known for his simple, uncomplicated faith, he said shortly before he died that he would like to offer Christmas Mass in heaven. Monsignor Gamber died of cancer Christmas morning at Mercy Medical Center. He was 78.
Born in Baltimore on New Year's Day in 1913, he moved with his family to Gamber in Carroll County and attended elementary and high school at St. John's Catholic School in Westminster. He graduated in 1930.
After working as a salesman for six years and studying for three years at St. Charles College, formerly on Maiden Choice Lane, he entered St. Mary's Seminary on Paca Street to study philosophy. In 1941, he entered the seminary in Roland Park to study theology.
On St. Patrick's Day in 1945, he was ordained by Bishop John N. McNamara at the Basilica of the Assumption. His first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Govans, a post he held until 1950 when he spent six months at St. Ambrose Church in Pimlico. Later that year, he became assistant chaplain at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, a position he held for six years.
In 1956, Monsignor Gamber was named chaplain of the motherhouse of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, where he was known for the devotion and loving attention he gave to the elderly and infirm. He became pastor of St. Martin of Tours Parish in Baltimore in 1966 and returned to St. Mary's Catholic Church in Govans in 1968 to become its pastor.
After six years at St. Mary's, he resigned his post and was given the title of pastor emeritus. He was appointed assistant chaplain at Stella Maris Hospice, a job he held until he retired to Long Crandan at the Cardinal Shehan Center for the Aging in 1983.
He was a visiting priest at St. Lawrence in Woodlawn and Our Lady of the Fields in Millersville after his retirement while his health permitted.
In addition to his assignments, Monsignor Gamber served as chaplain of the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae from 1945 to 1956 and chaplain of the National Federation of Catholic College Students from 1960 to 1965, when Pope Paul VI named him domestic prelate. He was also archdiocesan director of
the Family Life Bureau from 1965 to 1968.
He is survived by two brothers, Glenn Gamber of Los Angeles and Francis Gamber of Salisbury; and two sisters, Clara G. Rossbach and Janet G. Mitchell, both of Salisbury.
John William Phillips
U.S. investigator
John William Phillips, retired director of security and investigations for the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, died Thursday at Howard County General Hospital of a combination of illnesses. He was 79.
Mr. Phillips, who had lived in Columbia, was born in Birmingham, Ala., and came to the Washington area in 1934, serving through the Depression with the federal Civilian Conservation Corps.
In 1937, he married Anne Catherine Burns of Washington, and the couple reared five children in Clarksville.
He worked with the FBI for 12 years, working as a clerk before receiving a night school law degree and being promoted to the rank of special agent. After World War II, he worked for the federal War Assets Administration and the National Fireworks Co., a munitions manufacturer. He joined the Commerce Department in the 1950s and rose to the top investigative post, which he held until he retired in the late 1960s.
In 1973, he and his wife moved to Stuart, Fla., where he enjoyed golf and fishing and was active in a conservation program.
After his first wife died in early 1985, he married Lucille Anderson Nerbun of Takoma Park before returning to the Baltimore area in 1988 and settling in Columbia.
He is survived by his wife; three sons, J. William Phillips Jr. of Hollywood, Fla., Robert E. Phillips of Laurel and Richard H. Phillips of Lancaster; two daughters, Susan E. Miller and Karen A. Lorditch, both of Clarksville; 11 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Although there will be no services, the family will receive friends at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at the home of Susan Miller, 7270 Guilford Road in Clarksville.
The family suggested memorial contributions to the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute or the American Heart Association.
Charlotte L. Williams
Social Security worker
Services for Charlotte L. Williams, a retired Social Security Administration worker, will be held at 6 p.m. tomorrow at Shiloh Christian Community Church, 2500 W. Lombard St.
Mrs. Williams, 69, died Wednesday at St. Agnes Hospital after a long illness.
The former Charlotte Love graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in 1940. She attended Coppin State University until 1942, when she married Henry R. Williams. He died in 1974.
In 1944, she began working as a claims authorizer for the Social Security Administration. She retired in 1979.
Mrs. Williams was active in her Edmondson Village community as captain of the Neighborhood Watch and a member of the neighborhood association. She was a member of Shiloh Christian Community Church and was secretary of the alumni association for her high school graduating class.
Called "Lee" by childhood friends and "Annie" by her grandchildren, Mrs. Williams enjoyed being with family and friends.
Mrs. Williams is survived by her only child, Carole A. Jackson; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren, all of Baltimore.
The family suggested contributions to the Shiloh Christian Community Church, 2500 W. Lombard St., Baltimore 21223.
Cora D. Parrott
Bolton Hill resident
Services for Cora D. Parrott, a Bolton Hill resident and homemaker, will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at the City Temple of Baltimore, a Baptist church at Eutaw Place and Dolphin Street.
Mrs. Parrott, who was 78, died Saturday at University of Maryland Medical Center from an aneurysm.
The former Cora Dennis was born in Baltimore and graduated from Frederick Douglass Senior High School in 1930. Two years later she married Russell L. Parrott and the couple moved to O'Donnell Heights, later settling in Edmondson Village. Mr. Parrott died in 1988.
As a young mother, Mrs. Parrott worked in the hat check room of the old Belvedere Hotel on North Charles Street but resigned in the early 1950s to rear her children.
Mrs. Parrott's survivors include two daughters, Lenora P. Pullen and Donna R. Parrott of Baltimore; three sons, Russell L. Parrott Jr. of New York, James E. Parrott and Dennis S. Parrott, both of Baltimore; and two brothers, Charles Dennis of Mattapoisett, Mass., and Walter Dennis of Baltimore.
Verice D. Cumming
Former schoolteacher
Memorial services for Verice Diver Cumming, a former Baltimore schoolteacher, will be held at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Glyndon United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Cumming died Dec. 4 at her home in East Fishkill, N.Y., after a long battle with cancer. She was 71.
She grew up in Baltimore and married Robert S. Diver in 1941. After his death, she married George Cumming, who is also deceased.
Mrs. Cumming retired from the Baltimore public school system in 1974 after 20 years of teaching. She moved to Hawaii, then to New York in 1988.
She is survived by three sons, Scott Diver of East Fishkill, Roydan Diver of Augusta, Ga., and Richard Diver of Poway, Calif.; two daughters, Diana Diver of Cornwall, N.Y., and Deidre Diver of Santa Monica, Calif.; three sisters, Joan Mersinger, Linda Broadfoot and Betty Schmidt, all of Baltimore; a brother, Roy Hoffman of Philadelphia, Pa.; 12 grandchildren; and one great granddaughter.