FREDERICK, Md. - Harry Lewis Decker, 88, of Crestwood Village, died Saturday, Jan. 8, 2000, at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

Born July 28, 1911, in Keyser, W.Va., he was the son of the late Walter S. and Harriet Quinn Decker.

He was a 1929 graduate of Frederick High School.

In April 1930, he began a career with Potomac Edison Company, retiring in 1975. He worked in the Area Development Office, and at the time of his retirement he was supervisor of records and library. He had been assigned to write a number of historical articles on the company and the Frederick and Washington county areas.

He served in the U.S. Navy, stationed in London, during World War II.

He was a life member of Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Frederick. He also was a member of Saint John's Cemetery Restoration Committee and, later, the Saint John's Cemetery Committee.

As a historical researcher, he is credited with bringing to light the staging of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in Frederick and the involvement of William Ware in the incident which may have sparked the War of 1812. He researched and authored a special edition magazine, "The Valley News Echo," for Potomac Edison Company, which highlighted battles and activities in the company service area during the Civil War. He also was author of the history of the Potomac Edison Company, and published a history of the H&F Trolley System, "End of an Era."

During the bicentennial, he wrote a play, "The Treason Trial of General Wilkerson," which was produced on stage at the Maryland School for the Deaf.

He served as a member of Historic District Commission, and later was appointed as the Frederick City Historian. He also served on the Battle of Monocacy Committee, gave lectures to clubs and organizations throughout the area, and was an instructor in local history at Frederick Community College and lecturer with Saint John's Regional School.

He was a life member of Junior Fire Company No. 2 in Frederick, where he compiled the company's first commemorative fund-raising booklet.

He was a former president and a life member of the Historical Society of Frederick County Inc.

An avid golfer, he started the first senior men's tournament at Holly Hills and became the group's first president.

He is survived by
his wife, Evelyn M. Kefauver Decker, whom he married Sept. 7, 1962,
nieces, nephews,
great-nieces and great-nephews.

He was preceded in death by
two brothers,
James S. Decker and
Walter Henry Decker,
a niece and
a great-nephew.

Services will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 118 E. Second St. in Frederick. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Wayne G. Funk. Burial will be in Saint John's Cemetery.

The family will receive friends Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Keeney and Basford Funeral Home, 106 E. Church St. in Frederick, where a Rosary will be recited at 8:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 118 E. Second St., Frederick, MD 21701; Historical Society of Frederick County Inc., 24 E. Church St., Frederick, MD 21701; or Frederick County Chapter, American Cancer Society, 1011 E. Patrick St., Frederick, MD 21701.

SOURCE:
Obituary published January 9, 2000
The Herald-Mail, Hagerstown, MD