GHS-Faculty Principal Thomas Watts Stevenson, RIP

Thomas Watts Stevenson, 89, Chambersburg, PA, passed away Sept. 20, 2011 at The Shook Home in Chambersburg, PA. He was the son of the late John Stevenson and Vava (Head) Stevenson. He was born on a farm near Loch Lynn, Maryland, and was raised in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. He was a resident of Garrett County, Maryland, until 1956. He was a 1938 graduateof Oakland High School and a 1942 graduate of Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. He studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and was awarded a Master of Education degree from the University of Maryland at College Park. He was a veteran of World War II, having served with the Army Air Corps from 1943-1946.

He taught for Garrett County Public Schools from 1946-1955, and then ultimately settled in Montgomery County, Maryland, where he was a teacher, administrator, and principal at Poolesville High School and Gaithersburg High School. He retired from Montgomery County Public Schools in July, 1975. He moved to Pennsylvania in 1988.
In his leisure time he enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing,spending time on the C&O Canal, and attending plays at the Kennedy Center, the Totem Pole Playhouse in Pennsylvania, Shady Grove Music Fair in Maryland, and the Garrett County Playhouse. He was a member of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He was active in the C&O Canal Association and Civil War Roundtable. He was a member of the American Legion in St. Thomas, Pennsylvania, and a past member of the Lions Club of Laytonsville, Maryland.
Survivors include his wife, Barbara (St. Clair) Stevenson; one son, Thomas Watts Stevenson, Jr., husband of Betty (Wynkoop) Stevenson, Greencastle; one daughter, Vava Claire (Stevenson) Schroeder, wife of Willard John Schroeder, Jr., Las Vegas, Nevada; four step-daughters, including Kimberly Shifler, wife of Jeffrey, Middletown, PA; Judith Snyder, wife of David, Chambersburg, PA; Cynthia Betz, wife of Terry, Chambersburg, PA; Amy Diehl, wife of Tony, Chambersburg, PA; one brother, Robert Head Stevenson, husband of Martha, Damascus, Maryland; four grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; twelve step-grandchildren; and eleven step-great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his two sisters,Kathryn (Stevenson) Helbig and Dorothy (Stevenson) Stahl; two brothers, Mahlon Stevenson and John Stevenson; and one step-grandchild, Lauren Betz.
Services were private. Memorial contributions can be made to the C&O Canal Association, P.O. Box 366, Glen Echo, MD, 20812; or the Garrett County Historical Society, 107 S. Second St., Oakland, MD 21550

GHS73 - Larry Federline RIP

It was the summer of 1964,  when we were in 4th grade,  that I actually  met and got to know Larry Federline; I'd  been caught &  busted by the nuns at St.  Martin's  for lighting a candle in the church for somebody who I'd heard on TV had  been wounded in Vietnam, all the while Larry got away with chugging the sacramental wine in the sacristy and he didn't even get caught. :-) After that Larry  wanted me to go into the church at recess with him almost daily. Sometimes he'd  bring the bottle into the basement  bathroom and try to talk me into doing a  belt, but I was too scared.
Larry and I remained friends on through grade school and on into high school after that.  It was  a good while out of high school that  I ran into Larry again  and he was still running wild. I always thought Larry had pretty progressive tastes  in music and he followed me around to local  clubs I gigged at.  With a heavy heart I share with you today that  I learned my  grade school friend Larry passed away in Vermont suffering from emphysema back on September 26, 2005. Larry is interred at Parklawn Cemetery. RIP Larry

GHS-Faculty John E. Erdlitz RIP

John E. Erdlitz, GHS Biology Teacher, an  Army Air Corps veteran, retired to Florida, and  passed at his home there, in 1999 at age 80. His wife, Mary Erdlitz, taught Home Economics at GJHS for 25 years, retired in  1980, and passed in 2005, also in Florida.

GHS64 - Elinid Erdlitz Apostolik RIP

Elinid Erdlitz Apostolik, GHS alumni class of '64, passed  away in 2000. Ms. Apostolik  graduated from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She was a writer and editor with the Athens Banner-Herald and Daily News, and with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.

Survivors included her husband, Charles Apostolik, two sons, Paul and Jon, and a granddaughter, Crimson Ivy Bauer, all of Athens, GA. Other survivors included her mother, Mary Erdlitz, her sister Elaine E. Duncanson, and her brother, John M. Erdlitz.  Funeral services were held at Saint Joseph Catholic Church.

GHS75 - James "Jimmy" Hawk RIP

Jimmy Hawk started school in Darnestown Elementary with severall other  surviving alumni, all who say: "Jimmy was a nice guy... he was a funny guy with a great, sly smile. always presenting a positive attitude." Sad to say that  Jimmy  left us in 2008;  no other details known as of this writing. RIP Jimmy

GHS-Community impact: Charles F. Musser Sr., RIP

Mr. Musser, I barely knew you and I'm not even sure you are a GHS alumni, but to me your family has strong ties in the Gaithersburg community, of that I am sure since  my youth at St. Martin's.  I personally knew the Musser clan who  lived on Woodland Drive;  I believe  I  knew your sons or siblings  Ernie, John, Bill,  and probably a few others of your clan  from  back in the daz of my youth, especially my good friend;  talented guitarist and a  teacher of music  today in Walkersville,  Marc Musser. Your passing impacts many I know who know others in your brood throughout the Gaithersburg community. You left a big legacy when you passed Jan.28, 2012 at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital due to multiple organ failures.

Born Oct 5, 1933 in Germantown, you were the son of the late Henry Marcellus and Mary Elizabeth Musser. You are survived by your children, Charles Musser Jr. and wife Carlene of Gaithersburg, Bernard Musser and wife Sherry of Frederick, Mary Virginia Haines of Gaithersburg, John Musser and wife Darlene of Clarksburg, William Musser and wife Cindy of Gaithersburg, two sisters, Lean Collins of Boyds and Janet True of Germantown, one brother Lawrence Musser Sr. of Gaithersburg, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. I understand you were predeceased by nine brothers and sisters.

From your presence  in the Gaithersburg community,  I hope to  help memorialize   this tribute to you  in our hearts and minds. RIP, Mr. Musser.

Burial is at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TV 38105

DeVol Funeral Home in Gaithersburg handled the arrangements.