Dr. Irving Scherlis
Urologist
Dr. Irving Scherlis, a retired urologist, died yesterday of lung cancer at Harbor Hospital Center. The Stevenson resident was 75.
He was chief of urology at Harbor Hospital for 29 years until his retirement last year and had been senior attending physician at Sinai Hospital.
Dr. Scherlis graduated from Forest Park High School in 1936. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1940 from the Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree in 1943 from the University of Maryland medical school.
He was an Army surgeon in the Philippines from 1945 to 1947 when he was discharged with the rank of major.
He completed his internship at Sinai Hospital. In 1950, he completed his residency in urology at Sinai.
Dr. Scherlis was a member of the Maryland and American urologic associations, the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, the Southern Medical Association and the Medical Alumni Association of Maryland.
He was an amateur radio operator. His daughter Lorraine Wilderman of Baltimore said he wrote poetry and composed music, and "enjoyed flying his Piper Cub and used to say that he got around by following roads and railroad tracks."
He was a member of Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Ave., of which his parents, Morris and Sarah Scherlis, wholesale fish dealers, were founders.
Services were to be held at 1 p.m. today at Sol Levinson & Bros., 6010 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore.
Other survivors include his wife of 35 years, the former Dorothy Jeanne Wentzler; a son, Dr. Morris Scherlis; another daughter, Marjorie Bates; a brother, Dr. Leonard Scherlis; and a sister, Jean Krause, all of Baltimore.
Memorial donations may be made to the Oncology Department, Harbor Hospital Center, 3001 S. Hanover St., Baltimore 21225; or to Beth El Congregation. Hallie Sether Hasler, a consultant on social services for the elderly, died Sunday of cancer at her home in Bolton Hill. She was 50.
Known as "Bonnie," she had been a consultant to various social service agencies since 1983 when she left the Maryland Department of Human Resources, where she had been assistant director of program planning and evaluation. She had worked for the agency for 14 years.
She was a native of Pelham Manor, N.Y., and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College. She earned a master's degree in Middle East studies from the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, where she met and married Thomas M. Hasler.
She was a skier who had visited most of the major resorts in Europe and the western United States. She also collected paintings and drawings.
She was a Pets on Wheels volunteer, visiting nursing homes with Lacey, her cat; was a member of committees of the United Way of Central Maryland; and had been president of the Bolton Square Homeowners Association.
A memorial service was to be held at 3 p.m. today at SS. Stephen and James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hamburg and Hanover streets, Baltimore.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by her mother, Hallie Sether of Larchmont, N.Y.; two sisters, Joan Sether Bowes of Gaithersburg and Nancy Sether Masterson of Miami; and four nephews.
Memorial donations may be made to Mount Holyoke College, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland or the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Sophie Rozenhek Goldman, a medical technician, died yesterday of cancer at her Pikesville residence. She was 53.
For the past 15 years, she was a medical technician at Northwest Medical Center. Earlier, she worked in laboratories at Sinai and Maryland General hospitals.
Born in Russia, she moved with her family to Poland after World War II when her father was released from a labor camp. In 1962, the family immigrated to East Baltimore where her parents operated a grocery store.
In 1964, she earned a diploma in medical technology from Franklin School of Science and Arts in Philadelphia and, in 1986, earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology from the University of Maryland. She was a member of many professional microbiology and medical technology organizations.
Services were to be held at 10 a.m. today at Sol Levinson & Bros., 6010 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore.
She is survived by her husband of 28 years, Edmund W. Goldman; a son, R. Robert Goldman of Owings Mills; a daughter, Jennifer Goldman of Pikesville; a sister, Clara Levine of Hampden, Conn.; and her mother, Rose Rozenhek of Pikesville.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 43025, Baltimore 21236-0025.
Thomas M. Donahue
Electronics engineer
Thomas M. Donahue, a retired electronics engineer for the National Security Agency, died Monday of leukemia at his home in Crownsville. He was 60.
He had worked at the federal agency at Fort Meade for 39 years, starting in the mid-1950s while serving in the Army.
He held several patents and was an authority on information systems protection and security. One of his patents was for an electrical ground safety testing instrument, and he wrote a technical book on the hazards of aluminum wiring.
Born in Washington, he attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a bachelor's degree in systems management at the University of Maryland.
A sailor and skier, he was a board member of the Chesapeake Cruising Multihull Association.
He was president of the Annapolis Opera Guild and started the group's vocal competition for young artists.
A memorial Mass was to be offered at 10 a.m. today at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Annapolis.
He is survived by his wife, the former Barbara Anne Schmidt; his mother, Mary Schilling Donahue of Williamsport, Pa.; and a brother, James Donahue of Laporte, Pa.
Memorial donations may be made to the Oncology Center at Anne Arundel Medical Center.
Catherine Ercole
Bridal consultant
Catherine Ercole, a retired bridal consultant for a florist, died Tuesday of cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Northeast Baltimore resident was 69.
She worked for Penny Lane Flowers in Northeast Baltimore for about 10 years and retired a year ago.
She was born Catherine Cicone in Baltimore and graduated from Patterson Park High School.
A Mass of Christian burial was to be offered at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of Pompei Roman Catholic Church, Claremont Avenue and South Conkling Street, Baltimore.
She is survived by her husband of 47 years, John F. Ercole Sr.; three sons, Joseph C. Ercole of Timonium, Carl J. Ercole of Perry Hall and John F. Ercole Jr. of Washington; a daughter, Carla D. Ercole of New York City; a brother, retired Howard County Circuit Judge Guy J. Cicone of Ellicott City; a sister, Ada Orlando of Baltimore; and two grandchildren.
W. R. Bealefield Sr.
Locomotive engineer
William R. Bealefield Sr., a retired locomotive engineer, died Wednesday of an aneurysm at his winter home in Lakeland, Fla. The White Marsh resident was 73.
He retired in 1982 after operating diesel locomotives for 32 years on the Patapsco and Back Rivers Neck Railroad, a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel Corp.
He first went to work at Bethlehem's Key Highway shipyard and joined the Army after he was laid off in 1943 during World War II. He served in Europe and, after he was discharged with the rank of sergeant in 1946, he became a railroad fireman for Bethlehem Steel.
Mr. Bealefield was reared in Hamilton in Northeast Baltimore and attended St. Dominic's School and the Polytechnic Institute.
He was a member of the United Transportation Union, a charter member of of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 10067 in Chase, the Military Order of the Cootie Pup Tent No. 22 and the Loyal Order of the Moose in Lakeland.
He was a communicant of Our Lady Queen of Peace Roman Catholic Church in Middle River and St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Lakeland.
Services were to be held today in Lakeland. Plans for a memorial service in the Baltimore area are incomplete.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, the former Sarah E. May; three sons, William R. Bealefield Jr. of Bay City, Texas, Paul L. Bealefield of Emporia, Kan., Edward J. Bealefield of Reisterstown; and two daughters, Teresa Ann Martin of Vancouver, Wash., and Patricia Bealefield-Sterling of Kissimmee, Fla.; two stepbrothers, Charles Gamble of Kingsville and Edward Gamble of New Jersey; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Helen Warner, 61, of Winfield, who was a bus aide on Carroll County school buses for about five years, died Tuesday at Carroll County General Hospital after a heart attack.
A Mass of Christian burial for the former Helen Damasiewicz, a native of Baltimore, was to be held at 10 a.m. today at St. John's Roman Catholic Church in Westminster.
Her husband, Oscar D. Warner, died last year. She is survived by three sons, Oscar D. Warner Jr. of Woodbine, Richard K. Warner of Winfield and Timothy S. Warner of Mount Airy; three sisters, Mary Ann Steinberg of Westminster, Patricia Baxter of Reisterstown and Wanda Parks of Seaburst, Wash.; two brothers, Thomas and Michael Damasiewicz, both of Baltimore; and six grandchildren.
Agnes Matthews, 93, a retired domestic worker who lived in South Baltimore, died Monday at Bon Secours Hospital after a heart attack.
Services for the former Agnes Tilghman were to be held at 10 a.m. today at Payne Memorial AME Church, 1714 Madison Ave., Baltimore, where she was a member of the Missionary Society and the Usher Board. Her husband, Nathaniel Matthews, died 40 years ago. She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Nancy J. Schreiber, 83, a Baltimore native, died Feb. 2 of complications after surgery at a hospital in Ormond Beach, Fla., where she lived with a daughter.
The former Nancy J. Lynn had been a saleswoman in stores in Florida and Silver Spring.
A memorial Mass was to be offered at 9:30 a.m. today at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church in Owensville. Her husband, Ralph F. Schreiber, died in 1980. She is survived by two daughters, Nancy Graybeal of Ormond Beach and Mary J. DiFiore of Harwood; 11 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.