Clinton Kilty Macsherry Jr., a retired safety engineer for a local insurance firm and the patriarch of his family, died of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease June 22 at his Tuxedo Park home. He was 91.
Born in Baltimore and raised on Merryman Court and in Union Mills, he was the son of Clinton K. Macsherry Sr., who sold securities at Mackubin and Legg, and Marian Shriver Macsherry.
A 1941 graduate of Portsmouth Priory in Rhode Island, he enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He attended flight school at the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Fla., and was awaiting an assignment in the Pacific when World War II ended.
Mr. Macsherry became a member of the Naval Reserve and was a lieutenant commander when he retired in 1968.
He met his future wife, Mary Eleanor Warfield, at a bridge game hosted by his sister.
He received an engineering degree in 1949 from the Johns Hopkins University, then joined the old United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company. He worked at its Redwood Street headquarters in downtown Baltimore until the early 1970s, when the office moved to Light Street.
In his 40 years with the firm, he served as the company's safety engineer. His duties included assessing the safety of roller coasters and controlled demolitions by dynamite implosion in the projects his firm insured.
He retired in 1989.
His son, Clinton K. Macsherry III of Baltimore, said Mr. Macsherry met friends and colleagues from USF&G daily on his workday commute aboard the same Roland Park-downtown Baltimore bus, which went through number changes from 29, to 6 and 61.
"He would start the newspaper crossword puzzle by the time we got on the bus," said William J.D. Somerville Jr., a retired USF&G vice president. "And he'd be finished by the time we got off."
"He read the morning and evening editions of the Sun papers," said his son. "He was hopelessly hooked on comics and crosswords. He had a habit of clipping individual comic strips for friends and family members who might get a chuckle out of them. My wife has two on our fridge from before we were married."
He enjoyed recreational flying from the Carroll County Regional Airport.
"He had a special enthusiasm for gliding in engineless sail planes," said his son.
Mr. Macsherry enjoyed the outdoors and was a camper. He served as an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 1000 of the Boy Scouts based at his church, the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.
He accompanied Scouts on trips to Philmont, N.M., Valley Forge, Pa., and the Shenandoah Valley. He also took the Scouts canoeing in Maine and to Ireland. He was awarded the St. George Emblem for his work with Scouting.
He was a lector at Masses at the Cathedral and was also a parish council member. He belonged to Cursillo, a group that teaches lay leadership.
He was a volunteer at the Keswick Multi-Care Center, arranging religious services and performing pastoral work. He also was an American Red Cross volunteer, and was a CPR instructor and ran blood drives. He was also a blood donor.
Mr. Macsherry was honored by a Baltimore City proclamation for his role saving the life of a man he found unresponsive on a parking lot near his home. He administered CPR and summoned medics.
He was his family's patriarch — he had eight children — and with his wife hosted Sunday evening meals where 20 people were present.
"He presided over weekly Sunday suppers attended by children, grandchildren and assorted guests," his son said.
"In recent years, as he dealt with respiratory challenges, he affixed 'gin' and 'scotch' labels to his portable oxygen tanks and enjoyed the double-takes they drew," he said. "He was an incorrigible punster until the end."
He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati and the Bachelors Cotillon.
A funeral Mass will be offered 11 a.m. Thursday at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 5200 N. Charles St.
In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 57 years; three other sons, Edward Macsherry and Andrew Macsherry, both of Baltimore and Friar Hugh Macsherry, O.F.M., of Camden, N.J.; three daughters, Eleanor Weaver of Chantilly, Va., Anastasia Scherr of Baltimore and Kathleen Goldberg of Lancaster, Minn; two brothers, John H. Macsherry of Towson and Charles O'D. Macsherry of Baltimore; a sister, Emily Macsherry Belt of Amherst, Mass.; fourteen grandchildren; and one great-grandson. A son, Geoffrey Macsherry, died in April.