Hyter C. Yerby, a retired machine operator, died of a heart attack Thursday at Maryland General Hospital. He was 88.

Mr. Yerby, who lived on Edgemont Avenue in West Baltimore for many years, was born and raised in Lillian, Va. After graduation from high school, he moved to Baltimore in the late 1930s.

In 1940, he went to work for Container Corp. of America in East Baltimore. He retired in 1979.

He was married in the early 1950s to Olivia Dobbins, who died in 1981.

Mr. Yerby was a longtime member of Fulton Baptist Church, where he sang with the male chorus and was a member of its Emergency Fund.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. today at the church, 1630 W. North Ave.

Mr. Yerby is survived by a brother, Aziriah Yerby of Baltimore; a sister, Brenda Bullock of Baltimore; four nephews; and three nieces.