Joseph D. Lantz, a retired Bethlehem Steel Corp. official and avid outdoorsman, died of cancer Sunday at Union Memorial Hospital. The Roland Park resident was 68.

Mr. Lantz, who was known as "J.D.," was born and raised in Broadway, Va. After graduating from high school in 1951, he attended Strayer's Business College in Washington. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va.

At Virginia Tech, he participated in the ROTC program and after graduation was commissioned a lieutenant in the Air Force. He served in intelligence work at Aviano Air Force Base in Italy until 1961. He remained in the Air Force Reserves, rising to major.

Mr. Lantz participated in Bethlehem Steel's management training program in Pennsylvania before moving to the Baltimore area in 1961. While working at Sparrows Point, he earned a law degree from the University of Maryland Law School in 1965.

He retired in 1992 as assistant comptroller of the Sparrows Point plant.

Mr. Lantz was a founding member of Ten Thousand Villages, a Fells Point store that sells handmade items such as jewelry and toys, produced by low-income artisans in developing countries. He served as legal adviser, accountant and board member in the organization.

Active in sports, he was a member of the Baltimore Bicycle Club, played handball and enjoyed skiing in Switzerland. A hiker, he was a member of the Mountain Club of Maryland and worked maintaining hiking trails in Gunpowder Falls State Park.

In 1954, he married Elaine Muntzing, who survives him.

He was an active member of the North Baltimore Mennonite Church, 4615 Roland Ave., where services will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday.

He is also survived by a daughter, Angela Lantz Smith of New York City; his mother, Goldie Neff Lantz of Harrisonburg, Va.; a brother, Daniel P. Lantz of Broadway; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.