Ethel M. Bird, whose voluntarism with the American Red Cross spanned 56 years and included the co-founding of the Perky Hornets, a therapeutic bowling program for people with multiple sclerosis, died of heart failure Saturday at Oak Crest Village in Parkville. She was 95.

Mrs. Bird lived in Abingdon for many years before moving to the Parkville retirement community in 1994.

Born in Level in Harford County, she was raised on Carey Street in Baltimore and attended city public schools.

She was married for many years to Stanley A. Bird, a welder. Mr. Bird died in 1994.

Mrs. Bird's association with the Red Cross began in 1946 when she joined the Baltimore chapter as a volunteer driver. She continued in that capacity until 1978, serving as chairwoman of the Red Cross Motor Services division.

While continuing to volunteer in Baltimore, she also started volunteering for the Red Cross in Harford County, where she had moved from Mount Holly Street in 1967.

Active in the Red Cross blood donor program, Mrs. Bird and her husband remained active in the program into the 1990s. They developed a reputation for being highly effective in recruiting volunteers. The Ethel Bird and Stanley Bird Award is presented annually by the Harford County chapter of the Red Cross to its volunteer of the year.

She also served on the board of the Harford County Red Cross from 1979 to 1994, and was a member of the board of the Central Maryland Red Cross.

In 1961, the executive director of the Maryland chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society called Mrs. Bird about arranging transportation to Perry Hall Lanes for a bowling league for people with multiple sclerosis.

"It was to be a trial run to see if the patients could use tenpin bowling. We asked the Red Cross if they would furnish a couple of station wagons once a week for a few weeks. Those weeks turned out to be 27 years," Mrs. Bird said in a 1989 newspaper interview.

The league, co-founded by Evelyn Bieman, later became the Perky Hornets. It has met continually for 41 years at the bowling lanes on Ebenezer Road, now Brunswick Perry Hall Lanes, which donates the bowling fees.

The volunteers help team members who bowl from wheelchairs by placing balls within reach of their wheelchairs.

"We started with 14 bowlers and now have 27 regular bowlers whose ages range from 40 to the 70s," said Joan Denzler of Perry Hall, a Perky Hornets volunteer for 38 years.

"Birdy and Evelyn were friends. Evelyn's husband had multiple sclerosis and they were looking for an activity that was both social and therapeutic, and they settled on bowling," she said.

"She threw herself into it and brought great leadership. She had no children, and they became her children. If someone didn't show up, she was right on the phone to make sure they were all right and didn't need something," Mrs. Danzler said.

A woman of medium height, Mrs. Bird was known for her conservative style of dress, carefully coifed white hair and organizational skills.

"She was a very nice woman and could be very direct when it came to talking turkey," Joseph Abbott, also a volunteer, said with a laugh. "She was a very compassionate lady whose concern for those suffering from multiple sclerosis was almost an obsession. Both the patients and other volunteers loved her."

"She was an old-school volunteer who picked an organization and dedicated her life to it. This was her life," said Elizabeth L. Belk of Finksburg, who worked in the Red Cross volunteer office for 12 years. "She had a very positive outlook on life and enjoyed making others laugh. She certainly brightened many a day for others."

Mrs. Bird brought such sports and broadcasting figures as Brooks Robinson, Chuck Thompson, Lenny Moore, Vince Bagli and journalist Sam Lacy to visit the team over lunch.

For her work, Mrs. Bird was honored by the Red Cross with the Clara Tucker Award, the Clara Barton Award and the John T. Menzie Award. She was similarly honored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Services will be held at noon today at McComas Funeral Home, 1317 Cokesbury Road, Abingdon.

Mrs. Bird is survived by two nephews, Clinton A. Clubb of Oxford and Charles C. Hight of Charlotte, N.C.