Rachel A. McGuirk
Homemaker
Rachel Abel McGuirk, a homemaker and widow of the veteran South Baltimore legislator Harry J. McGuirk, died Thursday of complications from lung disease at Stella Maris Hospice.
A Mass of Christian burial for the 68-year-old Catonsville resident will be offered at 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Monastery Church, Old Frederick Road and Edmondson Avenue in Irvington.
Mrs. McGuirk was born in Baltimore and, in 1942, graduated from Forest Park High School, where she was active in the Zeta Tau sorority. After graduation, she went to work for the Western Maryland Railway as a bookkeeper.
She met her future husband at a church group in Edmondson Village. They were married in 1945. Mr. McGuirk, who also was an aide to Gov. William Donald Schaefer, died in April.
"She lived in the limelight of my father's political career," said her daughter, Renee McGuirk Spence. "She really enjoyed the social aspect of his career and was willing to make breakfast for him at 7 a.m. or dinner at midnight. But she liked staying in the background."
Mrs. McGuirk enjoyed playing bridge and was a member of a Catonsville marathon bridge club. She also did charitable work for the Elks. She and her husband enjoyed vacationing in Ocean City and eating in their favorite restaurants, the Prime Rib and Tio Pepe's.
She is survived by her mother, Leah M. Logan of Baltimore; a son, Bryant, of Baltimore; two daughters, Renee McGuirk Spence of Catonsville and Jamie E. McGuirk of Baltimore; a sister, Betty Gibbons of Baltimore; and two grandchildren, Matthew Spence and Rachel Spence of Catonsville.
The family suggested memorial contributions to the Stella Maris Hospice, 2300 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson 21204.
Sam C. "Joy" Sudano, a lifelong resident of Little Italy and former steelworker, died Friday of cancer at his home on Greencrest Road. He was 63.
Services for Mr. Sudano will be held at 9:30 a.m. today at St. Patrick's Church, 317 S. Broadway.
One of 10 children, Mr. Sudano was born and raised in Little Italy, where he got his nickname, "Joy," when he was 10 years old for singing "I've Got Joy Joy Joy Because God is Here" at church. The children who sang would receive milk and cookies.
At age 12, Mr. Sudano began working with his father and brothers in the family business, a produce stand on Pulaski Highway.
He worked there until he joined the U.S. Army in 1952, serving in Augsburg, Germany, as a cook.
In 1957 he married Rosemarie Dombrowski. He owned and operated a produce stand on Lombard Street from 1955 to 1957. In 1957 he became a steelworker at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point plant. He left there in the early 1960s to take a job with the Hill Chase Steel Co. on North Point Road. He worked there for 10 years, then in the 1970s he became a truck driver for Purolator Security Inc.
Mr. Sudano enjoyed doing repair work and handyman projects around the house.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons, Samuel B. Sudano and Paul Sudano of Baltimore; three daughters, Donna Marie Leszczar, Helen Smith and Laura P. Sudano, all of Baltimore; four brothers, Benjamin Sudano, Joseph Sudano, ,X Michael Sudano and Charles Sudano, all of Baltimore; four sisters, Angela Sudano, Mary Sudano and Elizabeth Hilferding, all of Baltimore, and Josephine Rau of Florida; and five grandchildren.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore 21205.
Eula Fay McFarland, a homemaker and former schoolteacher, died Thursday of complications following surgery for a perforated ulcer at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown.
Services for Mrs. McFarland, who was 95, will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Piney Plains United Methodist Church in Little Orleans, Md.
The former Eula Fay Smith was born in Washburn, W.Va. She was educated in Harrisville, W.Va., and obtained a teaching certificate after attending summer school at Salem College and West Virginia University.
As a young woman, she taught grade school in Ritchie County, W.Va., for several years.
She met her future husband, Daniel Willard McFarland while a student at West Virginia University. They married in 1922 and raised eight children. Mr. McFarland died in 1946.
Mrs. McFarland was a member of the Piney Plains United Methodist Church and the Queen Esther Chapter No. 3, Order of the Eastern Star.
She enjoyed gardening and loved cats.
She also had a collection of teapots, receiving many as gifts over the years.
Her survivors include five daughters, Edna Ruth Fleming of Richmond, Va., Ellamae Plum of Hagerstown, Betty Lee Lippincott of Sterling, Va., Katherine Lefever of Alexandria, Va., and Maryann Gresham of Baltimore; two sons, James H. McFarland of Herndon, Va., and John W. McFarland of Levale, Md.; one sister, Clare Bee of New Cumberland, W.Va.; 23 grandchildren, a number of great-grandchildren; and four great-great-grandchildren.
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Ethel L. Kaplan
Teacher
Ethel L. Kaplan, active in community affairs and Jewish charitable organizations, died Oct. 29 at University Hospital of cancer.
Services for the 80-year-old Baltimore resident were held Oct. 30 at Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home.
The former Ethel Lovett was born in Baltimore and graduated from Western High School in 1929. She received her bachelor's degree from James Madison University in 1934. She taught commercial courses at Patterson Park High School and Mergenthaler Vo-Tech for 17 years.
She served on the Medical Malpractice Arbitration Board from 1984 to 1992 and the city Liquor Board from 1980 to 1990.
Mrs. Kaplan was a life member of Hadassah, the Altrua Guild, of which she was a founding member, the Oheb Shalom Sisterhood and the Variety Club.
She enjoyed collecting antique cut glass, china plates and bisque figurines.
She married Judge Harry L. Kaplan, a prominent magistrate and attorney, in 1940. He died in 1986.
She is survived by her daughter, Rona Schultz of Baltimore; and two granddaughters, Jennifer Ann Schultz and Lauren Nicole Schultz, both of Baltimore.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society, 8219 Town Center Drive, White Marsh, Md., 21162.