Gerald "Dode" Bemrick Sr., retired supervisor of maintenance at Fort McHenry and World War II prisoner of war, died Sept. 15 of heart failure at Veterans Medical Center in Baltimore. The Brooklyn Park resident was 87.

He worked at Fort McHenry for 40 years and retired in 1973.

He served as a grenadier with the Army in Europe during World War II and was a prisoner of war near Munich. He was liberated by American forces and discharged in 1945.

Born in Superior, Wis., he moved to Baltimore in 1920 and graduated from City College. In 1961, he married Betty M. Kreiner.

A Mass of Christian burial was offered Friday.

In addition to his wife, survivors include a son, Gerald Bemrick Jr. of Brooklyn; a daughter, Jo Ann Solloway of Edgewood; a sister, Maragret Bemrick of Glen Burnie; a stepson, Wayne Watts of Indiana; two stepdaughters, Connie Wingfield of Pasadena and Cindy Schelhouse of Brooklyn Park; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Pub Date: 9/24/98