James S. Bierer: An obituary published yesterday incorrectly reported that James Shadel Bierer was survived by his wife, the former Cornelia Warner Rutledge, who died in 1993. The Sun regrets the error.
John Owens sang as he flipped burgers as a short-order cook, sang while he chauffeured passengers in his cab and sang while he swept alleys and cleaned vacant lots as a sanitation worker.
And he didn't just sing or hum to himself -- he sang loud and strong so all could hear.
"Not a day went by when Mo wasn't singing," said Rodney McNeil, a longtime friend and former neighbor of Mr. Owens' in the Rosemont community of West Baltimore. "He was always a happy person."
Mr. Owens, a Baltimore native, died Tuesday of heart failure in Rocky Mount, N.C., where he had lived for the past three years. He was 70.
Known as Joe or Mo (for Motown, because he loved soul music), Mr. Owens was popular throughout Rosemont and along nearby North Avenue. Neighbors knew him as someone who regularly cleaned the area and checked on older residents.
Younger residents remember him as the ever-joking man who invited young people to his house for cookouts, dancing and card parties.
"He could dance better than most of them kids, although he was about 50 years older than them," said Sherrie Logan, who lived near Mr. Owens for more than 20 years. "He was lively and fun."
Friends said he invited the youngsters to his house to keep them off the streets and out of trouble. Many confided in Mr. Owens and did small chores around his house to earn money.
"He's the kind of person who would give up his last money if someone said they needed it," Ms. Logan said. "He could do any of what he paid the kids to do, but he wanted to instill some sort of values in them."
Raised in South Baltimore and a graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, Mr. Owens served in the Army from 1943 to 1945 during World War II.
His fancy for singing began while in the military, and he sang in several small local rhythm-and-blues and gospel groups to earn extra money after his discharge.
From about 1950 to the early 1960s, Mr. Owens was a short-order cook at a diner on Pennsylvania Avenue. The clientele ranged from men who hung out on corners to downtown businessmen to entertainers such as Redd Foxx, when he was in town to perform at nearby clubs.
"They'd hear him in the back and sing along with him or laugh," said Sidney Coleman, Mr. Owens' grandson. "He knew how to keep the business coming back."
Mr. Owens worked for the city sanitation department until about 1980, and in recent years drove a taxi for Diamond Cab Co. He also was a hack when not working for Diamond.
"He's the only person I know who could be happy while sweeping an alley," Mr. McNeil said. "I guess he felt that he was just happy to see another day."
A memorial service is planned for this month.
He is survived by his wife, the former Virginia Newsome, whom he married in 1955; two sons, Jarrett Owens of Miami and Michael Owens of Baltimore; a daughter, Tammy Shields of New York City; a brother, Quincy Owens of Rocky Mount; and five grandchildren.
Roger L. Poling, 64, computer systems analyst
Roger Lowell Poling, a retired computer systems analyst, died of heart disease Tuesday at University of Maryland Medical Center. The Baltimore resident was 64.
Mr. Poling worked for the Social Security Administration from 1961 until his retirement in 1990.
A native of Van Wert, Ohio, he graduated from Purdue University in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in science. He also served in the Army.
Mr. Poling was an avid Orioles, Colts and Ravens fan who enjoyed sailing, woodworking, golfing and sunsets. He was also an active member of Zion United Methodist Church in Cecilton, and attended the West Baltimore and Mount Vernon Place United Methodist churches.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. today at the Mount Vernon Place church, at Mount Vernon Place and Charles Street.
Survivors include his wife of 39 years, the former Joan Tustison; a son, Andrew S. Poling, and a daughter, Diane M. Poling, both of Baltimore; and two sisters, June Poling Taylor and Marilyn Poling Bair, and a brother, Larry L. Poling, all of Van Wert.
Stanley John Lowney, 82, retired systems analyst
Stanley John Lowney, a retired systems analyst and World War II veteran, died Thursday of heart failure at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Baltimore resident was 82.
Mr. Lowney had been employed for about a decade as a systems analyst for the state government before retiring in the early 1980s. Previously, he worked in the business and engineering departments of General Electric in Boston and Westinghouse in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Boston native attained the rank of sergeant in the Army's postal division during World War II before obtaining his bachelor's degree in business and engineering from City College in New York.
A Shriner, he was a member of Baltimore's Boumi Temple and Kena Temple in Fairfax, Va., and the Scottish Rite. He also was active in boating organizations and an instructor with the Sue Island Power Squadron.
He attended Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, at Baltimore and Ware avenues in Towson, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. tomorrow.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, the former Anne Svoboda; three daughters, Barbara Stinson of Rapid City, S.D., Marilyn Johnson of Philadelphia and Patricia Lowney of Baltimore; a son, Stanley F. "Skip" Lowney of Berkeley, Calif.; and seven grandchildren.
James W. Hundley Jr., 81, retired Koppers executive
James Winslow Hundley Jr., a Ruxton resident and longtime Koppers Co. executive, died of heart failure Tuesday at his summer home in Watch Hill, R.I. He was 81.
A Baltimore native, Mr. Hundley graduated from Princeton University in 1940 and served in the Navy during World War II. He worked at Koppers, a metalworkcompany, for 25 years as an engineering executive. An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Hundley enjoyed waterfowl hunting on the Eastern Shore and deep-sea fishing in Florida and Rhode Island.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 1401 Carrollton Ave., Ruxton.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, the former Virginia Carrington Baird; two sons, James Winslow Hundley III of New York and Charles Baird Hundley of Butler; three daughters, Louise McLean of Gordonsville, Va., Charlotte Riggs Nelsen of McLean, Va., and Virginia Carrington Shea of Annapolis; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
James Shadel Bierer, a retired naval captain, died of heart failure Aug. 26 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. The Fallston resident was 90.
Mr. Bierer spent 30 years in the Navy Supply Corps before his retirement in 1958. After convoy duty in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans during World War II, he was assigned in 1944 to Saipan and later Guam, where he organized supply lines for advancing U.S. troops.
Born in Kansas City, Mo., the son of a career naval officer, he graduated from Western High School in Washington and the Naval Academy Class of 1928 -- whose 60th anniversary reunion he organized.
Services were Friday at St. Alban's Anglican Church in Joppa.
He is survived by his wife, the former Cornelia Warner Rutledge, whom he married in 1939; and two sons, James R. Bierer and Neale R. Bierer. All are of Fallston.
Elizabeth Tilghman Carroll, 86, Talbot library head
Elizabeth Tilghman Carroll, former head of the Talbot County Free Library, died of congestive heart failure Aug. 27 at her Easton residence. She was 86.
Mrs. Carroll headed the county library from 1968 until she retired in 1980 -- and the next day she returned as a volunteer, family members said. She continued in that capacity until last year.
The former Elizabeth Tilghman Combs was born in Baltimore and raised on Long Island, N.Y. She spent summers at Gross Coate, her family's estate near Easton, built in 1750.
She earned her bachelor's degree in 1933 from Sweet Briar College and married Richard Neville Carroll in 1937. The couple lived in Carlsbad, N.M., and after her husband's death in 1959, Mrs. Carroll earned her master's degree in library science in 1961 from the University of Denver.
She worked for the Enoch Pratt Free Library until 1968, when she moved to Talbot County. She was a member of the Talbot County Historical Society.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sept. 19 at Little Gross Coate Cemetery in Easton.
She is survived by a son, Dr. Richard N. Carroll of Florence, N.J.; a daughter, Elizabeth Carroll Dorbin of Trappe; six grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
John M. Hamilton, 80, steamship captain
John M. Hamilton, a retired steamship captain who began his 47-year seafaring career as a cabin boy, died of heart failure Aug. 30 at Franklin Square Hospital. The White Marsh resident was 80.
Born and raised in Winterset, Iowa, Mr. Hamilton ran away to sea in 1933 after the death of his parents and got his start as a 15-year-old cabin boy. He graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y., and became a member of the Master, Mates and Pilots Association.
He was assigned to North Atlantic convoy duty aboard cargo and hospital ships during World War II, and later became a captain of Grace Line passenger ships that were in South American service and Ore Navigation Co., a Bethlehem Steel Corp. subsidiary that transported iron ore to Sparrows Point blast furnaces. He retired in 1980 as captain of a container ship.
A former resident of St. Paul Street in Baltimore, he was married in 1948 to the former Chela Novo-Terez. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a brother, Robert Hamilton of Lebanon, Ill.
According to his wishes, Mr. Hamilton will be buried at sea. Plans for a memorial service in Baltimore were incomplete.
Marceline E. Rusk, 85 senior center receptionist
Marceline E. Rusk, a former receptionist at a senior center and lifelong Baltimore resident, died of heart failure Aug. 30 at Irvington Knolls Care Center in Southwest Baltimore. She was 85.
Miss Rusk, who lived downtown most of her life, graduated from Frederick Douglass High School about 1930 and attended cosmetology school in New York.
She was a waitress in the 1940s, a beautician in the 1950s and a teacher's aide in the 1960s and 1970s.
From 1983 to 1988, she was a receptionist at the downtown Waxter Center for Senior Citizens.
She enjoyed reading and was a member of the Beauticians and Waitresses Club of Baltimore, and a lifelong member of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Miss Rusk is survived by many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was being planned for next month.
Pub Date: 9/06/98