Col. George Aldridge
Decorated in 3 wars
Retired Army Col. George W. Aldridge Jr., a decorated infantryman and pilot in three wars and planner and administrator for Queen Anne's County, died March 16 of cancer at his home in Chevy Chase, where he had lived since the mid-1980s.
Colonel Aldridge, who was 69, was born in Queenstown and was a graduate of Centreville High School. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska.
He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and was an air defense artilleryman who landed with the 1st Infantry Division at Normandy during World War II. After the war, he became a civilian employee of the Maryland National Guard and was commissioned as an officer in the guard.
During the Korean War, he commanded a mortar unit in the 5th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division. He stayed on after Korea and took flight training in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. In 1962, he commanded a helicopter company in Vietnam.
His decorations included the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, two Bronze Stars, two Legion of Merit awards, 10 Air Medals and the Belgian Croix de Guerre.
After retiring from the Army in 1972, he moved back to the Eastern Shore and, according to his son, was the first planner and first administrator for Queen Anne's. From 1975 until 1981, he managed the Aspen Institute at Wye Plantation.
His marriages to the former Heather S. Allen and the former Joan H. Fleming ended in divorce.
He is survived by a son, Army Col. George W. Aldridge III of Fort Riley, Kan.; a sister, Helen Dill of Denton; and a grandson.
Services were held Wednesday.
James Gardner Sr.
C&P; engineer
James M. Gardner Sr., a retired right-of-way engineer for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Maryland in Annapolis who headed state and national Masonic groups, died March 16 at the Anne Arundel Medical Center of a head injury he suffered in a fall on ice in January. The Annapolis resident was 71.
He retired from C&P; in 1985. He started working for the company in 1942 as a telephone repairman. While at C&P;, he was president of an employees credit union in Annapolis and of Local 2107 of the Communications Workers of America.
He had been grand commander of the Knights Templar in Maryland and at his death was treasurer of the Grand Commandery. He had also headed the state organization of the Royal Arch Masons.
Born in Chester, Mr. Gardner was a 1939 graduate of Stevensville High School and attended the Maryland Institute of Art before enlisting in the Army and serving in the Signal Corps with the 8th Armored Division in Europe during World War II.
Survivors include his wife, the former Jean E. German; a daughter, Melva Jean Slonin of Ocean View, Del.; and two grandchildren. A son, James M. Gardner Jr., died in 1987.
Services were held Saturday.
John F. Barry
Veteran of 3 wars
John F. Barry, a retired Army warrant officer and veteran of three wars, died March 18 of pulmonary complications at Frankford Hospital in Philadelphia. He was 76.
He enlisted in the Army in 1942 and served in the North African, Italian, French and German Campaigns with the 8th Armored Division. He served with an infantry unit during the Korean War and completed two tours of duty in Vietnam before retiring in 1967 with the rank of chief warrant officer 3rd class.
His citations include the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Army Commendation with Oak Leaf Clusters.
After leaving the Army, he went to work as general sales manager for the Berman Leasing Co., a truck leasing firm. He also worked for National Car Rental System Inc. and Lend Lease Truck Rental and Leasing before retiring a second time in the early 1980s.
He made his home for several years in Glen Burnie and Joppatowne.
Before joining the Army, Mr. Barry was a butcher for Miller Brothers and delivered milk with a horse-drawn wagon for the Scott Powell Milk Co. in Upper Darby, Pa.
His first marriage ended in divorce.
Survivors include his second wife, the former Jean Wiley of Atlantic City, N.J.,; three daughters, Patricia Lewis and Jacqueline Barry, both of Edgewood, and Sheila Hickman of Joppatowne; a stepson, John Davis of Philadelphia; a brother, Raymond J. Barry of Gettysburg; a sister, Grace Jackson of King of Prussia, Pa.; and nine grandchildren.
Services were held yesterday .
Martin G. Imbach Jr.
Navy engineer
Martin George Imbach Jr., a retired engineer at the Navy's David Taylor Research Center in Annapolis, died March 13 of heart failure at his home in St. Petersburg, Fla. The former Annapolis resident was 72.
He moved to Florida in 1982 shortly after he retired from the center, where he had worked since 1963. His assignments had included testing of the Alvin deep-submersible craft.
Earlier, he was an engineer for Nortronics Inc., in Riverside, Calif.
Born in Baltimore, he graduated from Mount St. Joseph High School and earned an engineering degree at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
He served in the Army in the Pacific during World War II.
His wife, the former Pearl Betty Warner, died in 1980.
He is survived by three daughters, Joann Zinkind of Gulfport, Fla., and Victoria Imbach and Susan Miller, both of St. Petersburg; two sons, Michael Imbach of Annapolis and Martin Imbach of Glen Burnie; two sisters, Betty Leon of Ashton and Bernadette Perilla of Olney; a brother, Francis Imbach of Silver Spring; and three grandchildren.
A memorial Mass was offered yesterday.
Albert Blattermann
Beth Steel millwright
Albert Blattermann, a retired millwright at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point plant, died Saturday at Mercy Medical Center of heart failure. He was 88 and lived on South Exeter Street.
He retired 24 years ago after working at Sparrows Point for about 30 years.
He settled in Baltimore in 1937 and worked for the Glenn L. Martin Co. for two years before going to work for the steelmaker.
He is survived by his wife, the former Clara Napolillo; three sons, Albert, Francis and Joseph Blattermann; a daughter Mary Bracken; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandson. All are of Baltimore.
A Mass of Christian burial was offered Wednesday.
Eleanor T. Rogers
Active in 2 communities
Eleanor Townsend Rogers, who had been active in church and community affairs in Severna Park and Annapolis, died March 13 of cardiac arrest March 13 at the Annapolis Convalescent Center. She was 94.
She had lived in Annapolis for about eight years. Before then, she had been a resident of Round Bay and then Linstead since 1939.
The former Eleanor Townsend was a native of Baltimore who graduated from Western High School and attended what is now Towson State University and Cornell University.
In 1923, she married John Berrien Rogers, who operated Rogers Elco Marina on Rock Creek before his death in 1964.
She had been a member of the Altar Guild and the Women of St. Martin's at St. Martin's-in-the-Field Episcopal Church and of the Severn River Garden Club.
She was a Gray Lady with the Red Cross in Annapolis during World War II and had been a member of the auxiliary of what is now the Anne Arundel Medical Center, working in its Clothes Box shop for more than 20 years.
She is survived by two daughters, Eleanor Rogers Kramer of Annapolis and Jean Rogers Hawkins of Whispering Pines, N.C.; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Martin's-in-the-Field, or to St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Church Circle, Annapolis.
A memorial service was held Wednesday.
El'Vera M. Hobbs
Scout leader
El'Vera M. Hobbs, a native of Baltimore who had lived for many years in Virginia and Pennsylvania, died Tuesday of cancer at her home in Gilbertsville, Pa. She was 61.
The former El'Vera M. Palmer also lived in Newport News, Va., and in Worcester, Pa., after leaving the Baltimore area in 1966. She moved to Gilbertsville about two years ago.
She had been an adult leader in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
Services were to be held at 11 a.m. today at the Gonce Funeral Home, 4001 Ritchie Highway, Brooklyn Park.
She is survived by her husband, Ralph W. Hobbs Sr.; a daughter, Sharon Demarest of Gambrills; four sons, Ralph W. Hobbs Jr. of Gloucester, Va., Warren Hobbs Sr. of Matthews, Va., Steven Hobbs of Skippack, Pa., and David Hobbs of Gilbertsville; a sister, Dorothy Pawling of Exmore, Va.; and six grandchildren.
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C. L. Corpening
Accident victim, 22
Christopher L. Corpening, who had taken a year off from his full-time college studies to work, died Saturday at a hospital in Wytheville, Va., after being injured in an automobile accident nearby on Interstate 81. He was 22 and lived in Severn.
He was working as a microfilm technician for Octo Inc. in Laurel and taking courses at Anne Arundel Community College. He had earlier worked as a sales clerk at Montgomery Ward and Hobby Works stores.
He planned to return in the fall to the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.
He graduated from Meade Senior High School in 1990.
Services were set for noon today at the Cavalry Chapel at Fort Meade.
Mr. Corpening is survived by his parents, Franklin and Clara Corpening, and a half-brother, Claude Federici. All are of Severn.
Capt. Arthur Wypler
Was Maher executive
Capt. Arthur A. Wypler, a former officer on merchant ships and a retired official of stevedoring firms, died Sunday of cancer at his home in Arbutus. He was 85.
He retired two years ago as executive vice president of Maher Terminals in Baltimore. He had been with the firm since 1980, when he retired as executive vice president of the Universal Terminal and Stevedoring Co. in New York City.
Born in New York City, he was a 1927 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. He served aboard merchant ships, many of them owned by the Isthmian Steamship Co. during World War II and then became an official of Universal.
He is survived by his wife, the former Jocqulyn Darynple; a son, Jean A. Wypler Sr. of West Caldwell, N.J.; a sister, Alberta Vitter ,, of North Babylon, N.Y.; and two grandchildren.
Services were held Wednesday.
Virginia Ruth Ingram
SSA retiree
Virginia Ruth Ingram, a retired Social Security Administration employee, died Sunday of cancer at her home in Glen Burnie. She was 69.
She retired in 1978 as a correspondence analyst after many years of service with SSA.
The former Virginia Ruth Lilly is survived by her husband of 48 years, Thomas L. Ingram; a daughter, Cartha J. Freburger of Riviera Beach; two brothers, Paul and Sol Lilly, both of Beckley, W. Va.; four sisters, Bea Brown of Beckley, Ruby Gunther of Winter Haven, Fla., Yvonne Vaughn of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Lil McMichael of Pueblo, Colo.; and a granddaughter.
Services were held Wednesday.
Helen K. Stevens
Memorial service
A memorial service for Helen K. Stevens, a longtime Gilman School teacher who died Feb. 5, will be held at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the school's Alumni Auditorium, 5407 Roland Ave., Baltimore.