George S. Garrity. a retired administrator at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, died of pancreatic cancer Thursday at his home in the Overlea area of Baltimore County. He was 69.
A mentor encouraged him to pursue his education, and he earned a bachelor's degree from University of Baltimore in 1975.
Mr. Garrity was Director of Contracts and Grants at the University until his retirement in 2003. He died a month after his cancer was diagnosed.
His former boss, Marjorie Forster, said Mr. Garrity "was universally loved by the people with whom he worked." He was a patient, kindhearted man who was "always the first to volunteer" when someone needed help. "It was only four or five weeks ago that we learned he was sick," she said. "People on campus are still reeling." He worked for the university for 37 years.
His wife, the former Marie Bentkowski, said she and her husband met 40 years ago at the old Howard Street Bowling Alley in downtown Baltimore. Her sister, who worked with Mr. Garrity at a local canning company near Fells Point, talked the then-Miss Bentkowski into joining a bowling league that Mr. Garrity was organizing. The relationship got off to a memorable, if humorous, start, Mrs. Garrity said. "He sat on my peanut-butter crackers and when he got up to bowl, they were stuck to the back of his pants," she said. "We had a good laugh." They ended the evening with drinks and a long conversation that led to a budding romance and to their marriage a little more than a year later.
Mrs. Garrity said her husband loved travel and the theater, and was delighted when the Hippodrome opened in Baltimore and bought season subscriptions. At the time of his death, he was serving as president of the Quo Vadis Democratic Club. He enjoyed the camaraderie of the club and played pinochle there and at Seven Oaks Senior Citizens Center.
Robert Bouse, a close friend, said George was "really down to earth. He was the kind of fellow if you asked him to do something, he'd say, `Fine.'" Mr. Bouse, 87, said he no longer drives at night and that George would pick him up on the first and third Thursdays of the month to go to the club meetings.
"We had a lot in common," Mr. Bouse said. "We liked to play cards, pinochle. He and I were on the board of the trustees of the St. Patrick's Parish School and Orphan Asylum together."
The two men and their wives got to know each other at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Fells Point, where the Garritys helped run fundraisers and carnivals.
Their work with the church led them to start a travel club in 1981 to help pay for repairs after a fire at the church. They signed 63 people up for a trip to Bermuda and made $8,000. The travel club has continued to operate since then, raising money for a variety of charities, most of them involved in work with the homeless.
In addition to his wife of 39 years, survivors include a daughter, Michelle of Parkville; a sister, Jeanette of White Marsh; and a grandson.
A mentor encouraged him to pursue his education, and he earned a bachelor's degree from University of Baltimore in 1975.
Mr. Garrity was Director of Contracts and Grants at the University until his retirement in 2003. He died a month after his cancer was diagnosed.
His former boss, Marjorie Forster, said Mr. Garrity "was universally loved by the people with whom he worked." He was a patient, kindhearted man who was "always the first to volunteer" when someone needed help. "It was only four or five weeks ago that we learned he was sick," she said. "People on campus are still reeling." He worked for the university for 37 years.
His wife, the former Marie Bentkowski, said she and her husband met 40 years ago at the old Howard Street Bowling Alley in downtown Baltimore. Her sister, who worked with Mr. Garrity at a local canning company near Fells Point, talked the then-Miss Bentkowski into joining a bowling league that Mr. Garrity was organizing. The relationship got off to a memorable, if humorous, start, Mrs. Garrity said. "He sat on my peanut-butter crackers and when he got up to bowl, they were stuck to the back of his pants," she said. "We had a good laugh." They ended the evening with drinks and a long conversation that led to a budding romance and to their marriage a little more than a year later.
Mrs. Garrity said her husband loved travel and the theater, and was delighted when the Hippodrome opened in Baltimore and bought season subscriptions. At the time of his death, he was serving as president of the Quo Vadis Democratic Club. He enjoyed the camaraderie of the club and played pinochle there and at Seven Oaks Senior Citizens Center.
Robert Bouse, a close friend, said George was "really down to earth. He was the kind of fellow if you asked him to do something, he'd say, `Fine.'" Mr. Bouse, 87, said he no longer drives at night and that George would pick him up on the first and third Thursdays of the month to go to the club meetings.
"We had a lot in common," Mr. Bouse said. "We liked to play cards, pinochle. He and I were on the board of the trustees of the St. Patrick's Parish School and Orphan Asylum together."
The two men and their wives got to know each other at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Fells Point, where the Garritys helped run fundraisers and carnivals.
Their work with the church led them to start a travel club in 1981 to help pay for repairs after a fire at the church. They signed 63 people up for a trip to Bermuda and made $8,000. The travel club has continued to operate since then, raising money for a variety of charities, most of them involved in work with the homeless.
In addition to his wife of 39 years, survivors include a daughter, Michelle of Parkville; a sister, Jeanette of White Marsh; and a grandson.
George S. Garrity. a retired administrator at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, died of pancreatic cancer Thursday at his home in the Overlea area of Baltimore County. He was 69.
A mentor encouraged him to pursue his education, and he earned a bachelor's degree from University of Baltimore in 1975.
Mr. Garrity was Director of Contracts and Grants at the University until his retirement in 2003. He died a month after his cancer was diagnosed.
His former boss, Marjorie Forster, said Mr. Garrity "was universally loved by the people with whom he worked." He was a patient, kindhearted man who was "always the first to volunteer" when someone needed help. "It was only four or five weeks ago that we learned he was sick," she said. "People on campus are still reeling." He worked for the university for 37 years.
His wife, the former Marie Bentkowski, said she and her husband met 40 years ago at the old Howard Street Bowling Alley in downtown Baltimore. Her sister, who worked with Mr. Garrity at a local canning company near Fells Point, talked the then-Miss Bentkowski into joining a bowling league that Mr. Garrity was organizing. The relationship got off to a memorable, if humorous, start, Mrs. Garrity said. "He sat on my peanut-butter crackers and when he got up to bowl, they were stuck to the back of his pants," she said. "We had a good laugh." They ended the evening with drinks and a long conversation that led to a budding romance and to their marriage a little more than a year later.
Mrs. Garrity said her husband loved travel and the theater, and was delighted when the Hippodrome opened in Baltimore and bought season subscriptions. At the time of his death, he was serving as president of the Quo Vadis Democratic Club. He enjoyed the camaraderie of the club and played pinochle there and at Seven Oaks Senior Citizens Center.
Robert Bouse, a close friend, said George was "really down to earth. He was the kind of fellow if you asked him to do something, he'd say, `Fine.'" Mr. Bouse, 87, said he no longer drives at night and that George would pick him up on the first and third Thursdays of the month to go to the club meetings.
"We had a lot in common," Mr. Bouse said. "We liked to play cards, pinochle. He and I were on the board of the trustees of the St. Patrick's Parish School and Orphan Asylum together."
The two men and their wives got to know each other at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Fells Point, where the Garritys helped run fundraisers and carnivals.
Their work with the church led them to start a travel club in 1981 to help pay for repairs after a fire at the church. They signed 63 people up for a trip to Bermuda and made $8,000. The travel club has continued to operate since then, raising money for a variety of charities, most of them involved in work with the homeless.
In addition to his wife of 39 years, survivors include a daughter, Michelle of Parkville; a sister, Jeanette of White Marsh; and a grandson.
A mentor encouraged him to pursue his education, and he earned a bachelor's degree from University of Baltimore in 1975.
Mr. Garrity was Director of Contracts and Grants at the University until his retirement in 2003. He died a month after his cancer was diagnosed.
His former boss, Marjorie Forster, said Mr. Garrity "was universally loved by the people with whom he worked." He was a patient, kindhearted man who was "always the first to volunteer" when someone needed help. "It was only four or five weeks ago that we learned he was sick," she said. "People on campus are still reeling." He worked for the university for 37 years.
His wife, the former Marie Bentkowski, said she and her husband met 40 years ago at the old Howard Street Bowling Alley in downtown Baltimore. Her sister, who worked with Mr. Garrity at a local canning company near Fells Point, talked the then-Miss Bentkowski into joining a bowling league that Mr. Garrity was organizing. The relationship got off to a memorable, if humorous, start, Mrs. Garrity said. "He sat on my peanut-butter crackers and when he got up to bowl, they were stuck to the back of his pants," she said. "We had a good laugh." They ended the evening with drinks and a long conversation that led to a budding romance and to their marriage a little more than a year later.
Mrs. Garrity said her husband loved travel and the theater, and was delighted when the Hippodrome opened in Baltimore and bought season subscriptions. At the time of his death, he was serving as president of the Quo Vadis Democratic Club. He enjoyed the camaraderie of the club and played pinochle there and at Seven Oaks Senior Citizens Center.
Robert Bouse, a close friend, said George was "really down to earth. He was the kind of fellow if you asked him to do something, he'd say, `Fine.'" Mr. Bouse, 87, said he no longer drives at night and that George would pick him up on the first and third Thursdays of the month to go to the club meetings.
"We had a lot in common," Mr. Bouse said. "We liked to play cards, pinochle. He and I were on the board of the trustees of the St. Patrick's Parish School and Orphan Asylum together."
The two men and their wives got to know each other at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Fells Point, where the Garritys helped run fundraisers and carnivals.
Their work with the church led them to start a travel club in 1981 to help pay for repairs after a fire at the church. They signed 63 people up for a trip to Bermuda and made $8,000. The travel club has continued to operate since then, raising money for a variety of charities, most of them involved in work with the homeless.
In addition to his wife of 39 years, survivors include a daughter, Michelle of Parkville; a sister, Jeanette of White Marsh; and a grandson.
