William Arwady, a retired appliance sales manager and World War II veteran, died of complications from a stroke June 1 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center.
The Towson resident was 97.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was the son of Bishara Arwady, a women's clothing importer and retailer, and the former Katherine Mobyed.
He attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn and joined his father's business in New York.
Each year, the family took a Hudson River Day Line steamboat and lived at Saratoga Springs during the summer thoroughbred racing season.
"The family set up their shop in the Grand Union Hotel," said his son, Joseph Arwady of Brookside, N.J. "My father filled in for his father at lunch. He had a passion for work and getting things done. When he was not working in his father's store, he would hawk newspapers to the wealthy summer crowd."
Joseph Arwady recalled a family story about an instance when Mr. Arwady, then 11, sold newspapers under a streetlight at Saratoga Springs. One night around midnight, the young newspaper vendor spotted Al Jolson, the film star and Broadway entertainer, as he called out "Extra, Extra, Late Edition!"
According to family lore, Al Jolson said to boy, "Hey, kid, how many papers do you have? Here's five bucks. I'll take them all. Now go home where you belong."
Family members said Mr. Arwady was an ardent patriot. In 1940, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to Fort Meade.
While on leave in downtown Baltimore, he met Miriam Virginia Joseph, a secretary and nurses' aide, at a USO dance.
They became engaged and wrote to each other while he served in the military. He bought an engagement ring while on a ship and mailed it to her.
He became an Army technical sergeant and was stationed in Scotland, France and Germany.
After the end of fighting in Europe, he boarded a medical supply ship bound for the China-Burma-India theater. Joseph Arwady said his father passed through the Strait of Gibraltar in August 1945.
In a family video, Mr. Arwady recalled the day: "The captain comes over the ship's loudspeaker. 'This is the captain. The Japanese have surrendered, and the destination of this ship is now Boston.' We celebrated for three days."
He returned to Baltimore and married his fiancee at Faith Lutheran Church.
Mr. Arwady earned his GED certificate while he was a student at the University of Baltimore. He also enrolled in courses at Baltimore College of Commerce and the old Baltimore Junior College.
Soon after settling here, Mr. Arwady was recruited as a salesman.
He excelled and went on to sell appliances for RCA, D&H Distributors — where he specialized in Tappan and Caloric ranges — and at Baltimore-Washington Wholesalers.
"We had an early color television set, the first in our neighborhood, because my dad would not sell anything unless he owned it first," said his daughter, Katherine Broadwater of Catonsville.
"We had two stoves. We had one upstairs and one in the basement. He wanted to make sure he could talk about each in a knowing way," she said.
As an RCA salesman, he also had early copies of Elvis Presley recordings.
Mr. Arwady won numerous sales awards. He retired from Baltimore-Washington Wholesalers in 1990.
He volunteered at the Bykota Senior Center in Towson. He was also an accomplished pool player and played with his own cue.
"He had tremendous hand-to-eye coordination," said his son. "He never banged a ball. He had a gentle stroke."
He also wrote numerous letters to The Baltimore Sun that offered practical advice on how to improve the world.
"Politically, he registered as an independent. He felt you voted for the individual, not the party," said his son. "He had earlier been a Democrat, and then changed affiliation to a Republican."
His wife of 70 years, who was a retired child care provider, died this year.
A funeral service for Mr. Arwady will be held at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday at Divinity Lutheran Church, 1220 Providence Road in Towson, where he was a 60-year member and served as an usher.
In addition to his son and daughter, survivors include a sister, Helen Argento of Port Richey, Fla.; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.