Community Corner

Remembrances of William Donald Schaefer at his Last Residence (WITH VIDEO)

Schaefer moved into the Charlestown retirement home in the spring of 2008.

When William Donald Schaefer moved into the Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville in April of 2008, many residents who lived there already knew him.

Ron Rogers, a longtime Schaefer friend and a retired Baltimore city employee, lived five floors below Schaefer in one of the apartments on the 110-acre campus. Carroll Yingling, a retired pastor who worked in Liberty Heights in Baltimore city and who also lived at Charlestown, would see the governor out in the grounds at dinner or visiting with friends.

Yingling and Rogers, who will be reading a scripture passage at Schaefer's funeral on Wednesday, shared their memories with Patch on video.

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Yingling saw the mayor's leadership at play in his community, as the makeup of the neighborhood grew more diverse. Schaefer had a desire to be fair in how he dealt with communities, Yingling said. 

Rogers also remembered how Schaefer always kept his word.

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"If he said he was going to do something, he would do it," he said.

When Schaefer moved into Charlestown, people were pleased to have him as a neighbor, Yingling said.

Schaefer and Rogers would sit beside one of the pianos in the main area and sing old hymns such as the Old Rugged Cross and Amazing Grace together.

Schaefer received many visitors during his time there, and Rogers remembers catching him at dinner with old friends from years ago.

"He recalled everything in detail," he said.


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