George W. Bauernschmidt Jr., a retired banker and avid gardener, died June 19 of multiple system atrophy at his Severna Park home. He was 89.
The son of Rear Adm. George W. Bauernschmidt Sr. and Maude Pearce, a homemaker, George William Bauernschmidt Jr. was born in Long Beach, Calif. He was the scion of a prominent Baltimore brewing family and grandson of Marie Oehl von Hattersheim Bauernschmidt, a well-known Baltimore political crusader for 40 years who died in 1962.
Because of his father's naval career, Mr. Bauernschmidt spent his early years in California, Samoa, Hawaii and Washington, where he graduated in 1942 from St. Albans School.
He attended the Naval Academy. After the Navy's downsizing at the end of World War II, Mr. Bauernschmidt and others in the Class of 1946 were forced to withdraw from Annapolis a month before graduation, said his wife of 56 years, the former Phyllis Roberson, a retired real estate agent.
After serving in the Marine Corps, Mr. Bauernschmidt earned a bachelor's degree in 1950 from George Washington University. He later earned a master's degree in business in 1957 from New York University and a law degree from the University of Maryland.
A banker at Maryland National Bank, Mr. Bauernschmidt spent the last three years of his career as a trust officer at the old Union Trust Co. He retired in 1975.
Mr. Bauernschmidt was a longtime resident of Severna Park and lived at Bent Elbow, a large brick home that dates to 1907 and overlooks the Severn River.
"One of his hobbies was caring for our home and 7 acres of gardens. He was a jack-of-all-trades and could fix anything," said Mrs. Bauernschmidt.
Mr. Bauernschmidt enjoyed reading history and taking writing courses. He also was a world traveler.
"He once took three of our five children on a six-week trip to Alaska. They drove and pitched tents every night and had many adventures along the way, including driving over the Alcan Highway," his wife said.
"And in the late 1960s, he took the whole family on a cross-country trip and we pitched tents every night. We had so much fun," said Mrs. Bauernschmidt.
Later in life, the couple traveled to Normandy to visit Omaha Beach, where his father had participated in the June 6, 1944, invasion and established a supply line to the Allies.
"We went to France, Turkey, Ireland, and when we were in Greece, I didn't see how he did it, but he got me to climb Adelphi," his wife said.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 3 at St. James Episcopal Church, 3100 Monkton Road.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Bauernschmidt is survived by two sons, George W. Bauernschmidt III of Phoenix, Ariz., and James R. Bauernschmidt of Severna Park; three daughters, Nancy B. Kasner of Poolesville, Janet Diane Gill of Chico, Calif., and Emilie B. Langfitt of Rochester, N.Y.; and 10 grandchildren.