Robert G. Tapley, 87, printer for The Sun
Graveside services will be held at 2: 30 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Maryland Veterans Cemetery in Crownsville for Robert G. Tapley Sr., a retired printer.
Mr. Tapley died Oct. 20 of congestive heart failure at Presbyterian Hospital in Greenville, Texas. He was 87 and had lived in Greenville since 1994.
The former Laurel resident worked for The Sun from 1969 until 1973, when he retired. Earlier, he was a printer for 20 years at the Wall Street Journal in Washington.
The Oklahoma native served in the Navy during World War II.
His marriage to the former Edith Belvin ended in divorce.
He is survived by six sons, Robert G. Tapley Jr. of Emory, Texas; Douglas Tapley of Cooksville; Steve Tapley of Jessup, Don Tapley of Huntsville, Texas, Philip Tapley of Alexandria, La., and Byron Tapley of Atlanta; a daughter, Patricia Irwin of Pasadena; two sisters, Grace Tapley of Greenville and Anna Mae Rhodes of Seminole, Okla.; 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Donnie Watson, 88, homemaker
Donnie Watson, a homemaker and longtime member of Leadenhall Baptist Church in South Baltimore, died Dec. 4 of undetermined causes at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 88.
The former Donnie Williams was born in Janesville, N.C., and educated in the public schools. In 1930, she married William Watson Sr. The couple moved to Baltimore later in the decade and Mrs. Watson, who had worked in a factory, became a homemaker.
Services were held yesterday.
Her husband, who was a steelworker, died in 1978. She is survived by a son, William Watson Jr. of Baltimore; three daughters, Leolia Myers, Goldie Harris and Barbara Ingram, all of Baltimore; 32 grandchildren; and many great- and great-great-grandchildren.
Charles E. Toomey Jr., 87, fuel oil business owner
Charles Edward Toomey Jr., a past president of J. H. Toomey & Sons Inc., a lumber, hardware and fuel oil business, died Saturday of renal failure at St. Agnes HealthCare. The lifelong Elkridge resident was 87.
Mr. Toomey remained active in the family-owned business, which was established in 1896, until his death. In 1934, he led the firm into the fuel oil business at a time when homes were being converted from coal to oil heat.
Mr. Toomey graduated from Christ Church School in Urbana, Va. In 1935, Mr. Toomey married Julia Alice Roberts, who died in 1993.
A charter member of the Elkridge Rotary, founded in 1948, he was honored this year for 50 years of service.
He was a longtime communicant and vestryman at Grace Episcopal Church in Elkridge, where services were held Wednesday.
He is survived by four sons, Charles E. Toomey III and Robert A. Toomey, both of Annapolis, William W. Toomey of Elkridge and Richard B. Toomey of Columbia; a sister, Jane T. Russell of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; 13 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Pub Date: 12/11/98