In Memoriam

The Prussian Observers have reported the passing of Lila Marie Heintz, the wife of Gregory von Rothenburg. Lila died on Sunday, January 25, during a lengthy operation for a recently discovered aneurysm.

Although Lila had been blinded in an accident some time before Gregory and she met, she learned to cope with her handicap so effectively that those who knew her later kept forgetting her lack of sight. She maintained her household (cooking, cleaning, laundering, balancing the checkbook, etc.) without assistance.

After marrying Gregory, Lila came to share her husband's historical interests. Not merely would she sit with him during TV documentaries or listen as he read from books, but she would discuss these things with him thoughtfully, offering insightful comments. She even joined him occasionally in period attire at local living history events. The couple were approaching their seventeenth anniversary when she passed.

Asked whether there was a charity to which those who wished could make donations in Lila's name, Gregory answered without hesitation:

The Volunteer Fire Department of Hyde Park, Inc.
1449 Sussex Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21221.

This fire company exists entirely on donations from a not particularly prosperous neighborhood. Their ambulance service were quick to the rescue for Gregory and Lila at different emergencies in their lives.

Charles A. "Buck" Wills (1937-2003)

Charles Augustus "Buck" Wills, 66, former Sergeant in the Maryland Signal Detachment and long-term resident of Towson and recently removed to York County, PA, died Sunday, August 31, 2003, at York Hospital, York, PA, of cancer. There will be no public funeral or memorial services. His family in Baltimore is planning a private family memorial gathering. Born February 11, 1937, in Baltimore, he was the son of the late James Earl and Mary T. (Edelen) Wills. He was self-employed for all of his life. His immediate survivors include his 3 children, Diane Carole Snuffer, of Baltimore, Regina Frances "Jean" Meek, of Essex, and Richard Charles Wills, of Towson. He is also survived by his only grandchild, Laura Ashley Meek. He was preceded in death by his parents, James Earl and Mary T. (Edelen) Wills and a sister, Mary Elizabeth. He also leaves his 2 sisters, Ann Swann and Frances Malot, both of Catonsville and a brother, James Earl Wills, Jr., of Richmond, VA. Memorial contributions can be made to Cancer Care Associates of York, 25 Monument Road, Suite 194, York, PA 17403. The John W. Keffer Funeral Home, Inc., 902 Mt. Rose Ave., York, PA 17403, is in charge of arrangements.