Frank J. Tamberino, a neighborhood pharmacist who won the confidence of the customers who referred to him as "doctor," died of kidney failure Friday at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Fallston resident was 72.
Born in Baltimore and raised on East Eager Street, he began work as an 8-year-old, selling fruit and vegetables alongside his father on a produce truck.
Mr. Tamberino attended St. James the Less School and was a drum major in its marching corps. He was a 1957 City College graduate and worked behind the soda fountain at the old Lake Pharmacy on Harford Road in Mayfield.
He earned a degree at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.
"My father only had a fourth-grade education but he instilled the work ethic in his sons. He led by example. He was proud of my brother because he was the first one to go to college and get a degree," said his brother, Andrew Tamberino, who lives in Timonium.
After graduating, he began his career by filling prescriptions at McGinity's Pharmacy in the Patterson Park area. He later worked at, then bought, the Highland Pharmacy at Highland Avenue and Baltimore Street.
"He knew so many people he could have been a politician," said Jackie Kelly, a pharmacy technician he trained who now lives in Westminster. "He gave advice. He talked and he listened."
Known throughout Highlandtown as "Doctor Frank," he made his own compounds — items not commercially available — and often showed other pharmacists how to make them. Friends said that Mr. Tamberino liked the challenge of business and branched out from pharmacy into the medical supply business, founding MediRents & Eastern Medical Supplies.
"He stressed education, and pharmacy was his life," said his daughter, Sharon Tamberino of Lutherville. "He also stressed the value of work. He said, 'You push yourself. You keep on swinging. You never feel sorry for yourself. You'll find your happiness.' "
After selling his medical supply business, he became a Giant food store pharmacist. His final post was pharmacy manager at Klein's ShopRite stores in Harford County.
"He was not a corporate type of person, and when he ran a pharmacy, he ran it like it was his own," said Keith Pfaff, a pharmacist and friend who lives in Forest Hill. "He knew his customers on a first-name basis."
He also invested in businesses run by his sons. They founded Tamber's Nifty Fifty Diner at St. Paul and 34th Streets in Charles Village and later Tamberino's Italian Sub and Pizza Shop in Hickory.
He also was the owner of Whitaker Mill Farm, a Fallston thoroughbred breeding farm. In 1971, he bought Ball Belle and raced it at Pimlico, Laurel and Bowie. He also had a horse transportation business.
"When his horses ran bad, he never got mad," said his son, Steven M. Tamberino of Forest Hill. "He loved the game."
A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church, 533 Jarrettsville Road in Hickory.
In addition to his brother, daughter and son, survivors include his wife of 50 years, the former Kathleen Harper; another son, David A. Tamberino of Forest Hill; three other brothers, Guy Tamberino of Timonium, Anthony Tamberino of Essex and Joseph Tamberino of Catonsville; and four grandchildren.