John-Clarence North Sr., 76, lawyer and legislator

John-Clarence North Sr., a prominent Talbot County lawyer who served 16 years in the General Assembly, died Wednesday of heart failure at his Easton home.

He was 76 and still practicing law in Easton.

In 1950, at 28, he became the youngest man ever elected from Talbot County to the House of Delegates. After a four-year term, the Democrat won three terms in the state Senate.

Born and raised in Tilghman, Mr. North was a 1939 graduate of Easton High School. He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific theater of operations during World War II.

He earned his law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1947.

He was an active member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Masonic organizations including the Boumi Temple's Eastern Shore Shrine Club.

He was a communicant and lector at Christ Episcopal Church, 111 S. Harrison St., Easton, where services were held yesterday.

Survivors include his wife of 45 years, the former Vivian Marina Butt; two sons, John-Clarence North Jr. of Indianapolis and Steven Matthew North of Easton; a daughter, Amy North Gagnon of Savage; a brother, Robert North Jr. of Annapolis; two sisters, Edna Henry and Eva Hubbard, both of Easton; and two grandchildren.

Lyle Wallis, 81, aerospace engineer

Lyle Wallis, a retired aerospace engineer whose career spanned the eras from piston-powered airplanes to intercontinental ballistic missiles, died Monday of Parkinson's disease at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 81 and lived at the Blakehurst Life Care Community in Towson.

From 1951 until his retirement in 1978, Mr. Wallis was employed at the old Glenn L. Martin Co. plant in Middle River, where he worked on the PFM Marlin airplane, and the Titan II, Vanguard and Matador missiles. He also worked on development of the C-5A transport, Gemini and Saturn rockets.

Born in Port Huron, Mich., he was a 1935 graduate of Cass Technical School. He owned and operated Michigan Air Services from 1935 to 1939, when he joined Pan-American World Airways as maintenance chief for the airline's Atlantic Division.

During World War II, he served with the Navy in the Pacific.

The longtime Towson resident was a communicant of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, where a Mass of Christian burial was offered Thursday.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, the former Helen Marie Barrett; three sons, Lyle P. Wallis of Manchester, Charles S. Wallis of Parkton and John G. Wallis of Towson; a daughter, Dorothy A. Nash of Stewartstown, Pa.; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Odo C. Starkey, a former accountant and avid gardener, died of pneumonia Sept. 20 at the Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson. She was 96.

A longtime Stoneleigh resident, she moved to Edenwald in 1990. She was an accountant for many years in the Baltimore office of Sonotone Corp. Earlier, she was a bookkeeper for William E. Hooper Co. in her native Hampden.

The former Odo Cordelia Chenowith attended Eastern High School but left to help support her family. She was married in 1926 to Maurice L. Starkey Sr., who died in 1966.

She was a member of the Stoneleigh Garden Club and won many ribbons with her flowers. She also was a founder of the Junior Garden Club of Stoneleigh, a member of First and St. Stephen's United Church of Christ.

A memorial service was held yesterday.

She is survived by a son, M. Lee Starkey of Stoneleigh; a daughter, Barbara S. Ehlert of Los Angeles; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

James H. Young, 56, hospital worker, caterer

James H. Young, a retired hospital worker and caterer, died of cancer Sept. 19 at the University of Maryland Medical Center. He was 56 and lived in Northwest Baltimore.

The Baltimore native was a security attendant at Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center from 1963 until retiring in 1985. He later worked as a substitute teacher in city schools and, since the mid-1960s, had operated J. H. Caterers.

He graduated from Carver Vocational-Technical High School in 1960, served in the Army until 1963, and graduated from what is now Baltimore City Community College in 1973.

A Mass of Christian burial was offered Thursday.

He is survived by his wife, the former Juliet Smith, whom he married in 1973; three sons, James H. Young Jr., Jeroll Young and Lamar Young, all of Baltimore; his mother, Virginia V. Young of Baltimore; and four brothers, Joseph Jordan Jr. and Michael Jordan, both of Mechanicsville, Lawrence Jordan of Fort Washington and James Jordan of Hinesville, Ga.

Also, eight sisters, Iris Turner, Harriett Horton and Jacqueline Langston, all of Baltimore; Phyllis Hopewell, Joan Jordan and Thelma Strickland, all of Mechanics- ville; Rose Walters of Columbia and Bernadette Tyer of Hinesville, Ga.; and a granddaughter.

Dr. Horace V. Leslie, 58, dentist for 28 years

Dr. Horace V. Leslie, a Jamaican native who practiced dentistry in West Baltimore for nearly 30 years, died Monday from complications of a stroke at his Pikesville home. He was 58.

Since 1970, Dr. Leslie had practiced from offices in the 800 block of N. Fulton Ave. and at other sites in Baltimore.

Dr. Leslie came to the United States in 1959, and graduated from Howard University in 1965 and its School of Dentistry in 1970.

He was an avid golfer, and a member and past president of Chi Delta Mu fraternity.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the March Funeral Home, 4300 Wabash Ave.

xTC Dr. Leslie, who was divorced, is survived by two sons, Horace V. Leslie Jr. of Millersville and Hugh Solomon of Baltimore; a daughter, Xiamara Leslie of Millersville; a brother, Wilmot Leslie of Jamaica; three sisters, Hyacinth Leslie of Baltimore, Monica Harrison of New York and Olga Geoghagen of Jamaica; and a special friend, Dorothy Bannister of Baltimore.

Edward Hamilton Boblitz, 76, retired police officer

Edward Hamilton Boblitz, a retired Baltimore police officer, died Thursday of heart failure at the Manor Care Nursing Home in Ruxton. The North Baltimore resident was 76.

Mr. Boblitz joined the police department in 1947 and served most of his career in the Southern District. He retired in 1971.

A native of Baltimore, he graduated from Forest Park High School in 1939 and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Mr. Boblitz enjoyed woodworking and renovated several houses in the Ruxton area.

A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Lorraine Park Cemetery, 5608 Dogwood Road.

He is survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Benson, whom he married in 1944; two sons, William Benson Boblitz of Towson and Michael Hamilton Boblitz of Charlottesville, Va.; and a grandson.

Clifford M. Scovens, 20, provided private child care

Services for Clifford Monroe Scovens, a Northwest Baltimore resident who worked as a child-care provider, will be held at 10: 30 a.m. tomorrow at First Mount Olive Freewill Baptist Church, at Fremont Avenue and Saratoga Street.

Mr. Scovens, 20, was shot during a robbery attempt Monday night and died Tuesday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. A suspect was arrested shortly afterward and charged with first-degree murder.

Mr. Scovens, who attended Northwestern High School, provided child-care services in private homes.

He is survived by a son, Kajuan Taylor of Baltimore; his parents, Larry D. Robinson of Portsmouth, Va., and Michelle Scovens of Baltimore; a brother, Shaun Lace Scovens of Baltimore; and his maternal grandfather, James Edward Scovens of Baltimore.

Pub Date: 9/27/98