By Frederick N. Rasmussen
THE BALTIMORE SUN
October 6, 2000
Edwin Rommel Jr., 76, school administrator
Edwin Americus Rommel Jr. generally wasn't known to students in Baltimore County public schools. But as the person who advised the school superintendent whether to cancel classes during bad weather, he might have been the most popular administrator.
Mr. Rommel died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at Noble House Nursing Home in Charles Village. He was 76 and lived in Anneslie.
It was Mr. Rommel's advice to the superintendent of schools that would lead to the decision to cancel classes during inclement weather, giving students an unscheduled holiday. "We were always the first to know, long before it was on the air," said his son John P. Rommel of Lutherville.
From his command post -- first in the Baltimore County Board of Education building at Aigburth Mansion off York Road, and later in the former Greenwood School on North Charles Street -- Mr. Rommel directed a fleet of 700 yellow buses and drivers that transported about 80,000 students daily and traveled some 12 million miles annually.
Mr. Rommel began his career in transportation in the late 1940s, when he managed the now-defunct Baltimore Transit Co.'s Kirk Avenue bus barn. He then was a manager at Quinn Freight Line's Baltimore terminal before he joined county schools in 1965. He retired in 1985.
During the 1970s, he "was responsible for conversion of our fleet from a contract operation to one that is publicly owned and operated," said Rita M. Fromm, transportation director for county schools since 1987. "It allowed us to have better control over maintenance and operation, as well as being a money saver. We also opened a 12-bay state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Cockeysville. It was one heck of an undertaking. "
Mr. Rommel "was a memorable kind of guy who could articulate his feelings clearly. You didn't have to guess where he stood. The stress of the job was enormous and he gave it everything he had," Mrs. Fromm said. A former county bus driver, she described him as "passionate about his job and the operation."
Born and raised on Chilton Street in Waverly, Mr. Rommel was the son of Edwin A. Rommel Sr., a Philadelphia Athletics knuckleballer who was a pitching star in the 1920s and early 1930s and later an American League umpire.
A 1941 graduate of Loyola Blakefield High School, Mr. Rommel enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He served in the Pacific and was discharged with the rank of ensign at war's end.
He received his bachelor's degree from Loyola College in 1948.
Mr. Rommel enjoyed sailing aboard his Owens motor cruiser and fishing. He also was an avid vegetable and flower gardener and a walker.
He was a communicant and former Sunday school teacher at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church, York and Overbrook roads, Rodgers Forge, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Anne Eagers; three other sons, Edwin A. Rommel III of Salisbury, Joseph A. Rommel of Clearwater, Fla., and Bartholomew F. Rommel of Monkton; four daughters, Mary R. Rader of Towson, Joanne R. Chapline of Lutherville, Margaret Jackovitz of Bel Air and Theresa O'Donnell of Catonsville; and 17 grandchildren.
Copyright © 2020, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication
THE BALTIMORE SUN
October 6, 2000
Edwin Rommel Jr., 76, school administrator
Edwin Americus Rommel Jr. generally wasn't known to students in Baltimore County public schools. But as the person who advised the school superintendent whether to cancel classes during bad weather, he might have been the most popular administrator.
Mr. Rommel died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at Noble House Nursing Home in Charles Village. He was 76 and lived in Anneslie.
It was Mr. Rommel's advice to the superintendent of schools that would lead to the decision to cancel classes during inclement weather, giving students an unscheduled holiday. "We were always the first to know, long before it was on the air," said his son John P. Rommel of Lutherville.
From his command post -- first in the Baltimore County Board of Education building at Aigburth Mansion off York Road, and later in the former Greenwood School on North Charles Street -- Mr. Rommel directed a fleet of 700 yellow buses and drivers that transported about 80,000 students daily and traveled some 12 million miles annually.
Mr. Rommel began his career in transportation in the late 1940s, when he managed the now-defunct Baltimore Transit Co.'s Kirk Avenue bus barn. He then was a manager at Quinn Freight Line's Baltimore terminal before he joined county schools in 1965. He retired in 1985.
During the 1970s, he "was responsible for conversion of our fleet from a contract operation to one that is publicly owned and operated," said Rita M. Fromm, transportation director for county schools since 1987. "It allowed us to have better control over maintenance and operation, as well as being a money saver. We also opened a 12-bay state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Cockeysville. It was one heck of an undertaking. "
Mr. Rommel "was a memorable kind of guy who could articulate his feelings clearly. You didn't have to guess where he stood. The stress of the job was enormous and he gave it everything he had," Mrs. Fromm said. A former county bus driver, she described him as "passionate about his job and the operation."
Born and raised on Chilton Street in Waverly, Mr. Rommel was the son of Edwin A. Rommel Sr., a Philadelphia Athletics knuckleballer who was a pitching star in the 1920s and early 1930s and later an American League umpire.
A 1941 graduate of Loyola Blakefield High School, Mr. Rommel enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He served in the Pacific and was discharged with the rank of ensign at war's end.
He received his bachelor's degree from Loyola College in 1948.
Mr. Rommel enjoyed sailing aboard his Owens motor cruiser and fishing. He also was an avid vegetable and flower gardener and a walker.
He was a communicant and former Sunday school teacher at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church, York and Overbrook roads, Rodgers Forge, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Anne Eagers; three other sons, Edwin A. Rommel III of Salisbury, Joseph A. Rommel of Clearwater, Fla., and Bartholomew F. Rommel of Monkton; four daughters, Mary R. Rader of Towson, Joanne R. Chapline of Lutherville, Margaret Jackovitz of Bel Air and Theresa O'Donnell of Catonsville; and 17 grandchildren.
Copyright © 2020, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication
By Frederick N. Rasmussen
THE BALTIMORE SUN
October 6, 2000
Edwin Rommel Jr., 76, school administrator
Edwin Americus Rommel Jr. generally wasn't known to students in Baltimore County public schools. But as the person who advised the school superintendent whether to cancel classes during bad weather, he might have been the most popular administrator.
Mr. Rommel died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at Noble House Nursing Home in Charles Village. He was 76 and lived in Anneslie.
It was Mr. Rommel's advice to the superintendent of schools that would lead to the decision to cancel classes during inclement weather, giving students an unscheduled holiday. "We were always the first to know, long before it was on the air," said his son John P. Rommel of Lutherville.
From his command post -- first in the Baltimore County Board of Education building at Aigburth Mansion off York Road, and later in the former Greenwood School on North Charles Street -- Mr. Rommel directed a fleet of 700 yellow buses and drivers that transported about 80,000 students daily and traveled some 12 million miles annually.
Mr. Rommel began his career in transportation in the late 1940s, when he managed the now-defunct Baltimore Transit Co.'s Kirk Avenue bus barn. He then was a manager at Quinn Freight Line's Baltimore terminal before he joined county schools in 1965. He retired in 1985.
During the 1970s, he "was responsible for conversion of our fleet from a contract operation to one that is publicly owned and operated," said Rita M. Fromm, transportation director for county schools since 1987. "It allowed us to have better control over maintenance and operation, as well as being a money saver. We also opened a 12-bay state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Cockeysville. It was one heck of an undertaking. "
Mr. Rommel "was a memorable kind of guy who could articulate his feelings clearly. You didn't have to guess where he stood. The stress of the job was enormous and he gave it everything he had," Mrs. Fromm said. A former county bus driver, she described him as "passionate about his job and the operation."
Born and raised on Chilton Street in Waverly, Mr. Rommel was the son of Edwin A. Rommel Sr., a Philadelphia Athletics knuckleballer who was a pitching star in the 1920s and early 1930s and later an American League umpire.
A 1941 graduate of Loyola Blakefield High School, Mr. Rommel enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He served in the Pacific and was discharged with the rank of ensign at war's end.
He received his bachelor's degree from Loyola College in 1948.
Mr. Rommel enjoyed sailing aboard his Owens motor cruiser and fishing. He also was an avid vegetable and flower gardener and a walker.
He was a communicant and former Sunday school teacher at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church, York and Overbrook roads, Rodgers Forge, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Anne Eagers; three other sons, Edwin A. Rommel III of Salisbury, Joseph A. Rommel of Clearwater, Fla., and Bartholomew F. Rommel of Monkton; four daughters, Mary R. Rader of Towson, Joanne R. Chapline of Lutherville, Margaret Jackovitz of Bel Air and Theresa O'Donnell of Catonsville; and 17 grandchildren.
Copyright © 2020, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication
THE BALTIMORE SUN
October 6, 2000
Edwin Rommel Jr., 76, school administrator
Edwin Americus Rommel Jr. generally wasn't known to students in Baltimore County public schools. But as the person who advised the school superintendent whether to cancel classes during bad weather, he might have been the most popular administrator.
Mr. Rommel died Wednesday of cardiac arrest at Noble House Nursing Home in Charles Village. He was 76 and lived in Anneslie.
It was Mr. Rommel's advice to the superintendent of schools that would lead to the decision to cancel classes during inclement weather, giving students an unscheduled holiday. "We were always the first to know, long before it was on the air," said his son John P. Rommel of Lutherville.
From his command post -- first in the Baltimore County Board of Education building at Aigburth Mansion off York Road, and later in the former Greenwood School on North Charles Street -- Mr. Rommel directed a fleet of 700 yellow buses and drivers that transported about 80,000 students daily and traveled some 12 million miles annually.
Mr. Rommel began his career in transportation in the late 1940s, when he managed the now-defunct Baltimore Transit Co.'s Kirk Avenue bus barn. He then was a manager at Quinn Freight Line's Baltimore terminal before he joined county schools in 1965. He retired in 1985.
During the 1970s, he "was responsible for conversion of our fleet from a contract operation to one that is publicly owned and operated," said Rita M. Fromm, transportation director for county schools since 1987. "It allowed us to have better control over maintenance and operation, as well as being a money saver. We also opened a 12-bay state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Cockeysville. It was one heck of an undertaking. "
Mr. Rommel "was a memorable kind of guy who could articulate his feelings clearly. You didn't have to guess where he stood. The stress of the job was enormous and he gave it everything he had," Mrs. Fromm said. A former county bus driver, she described him as "passionate about his job and the operation."
Born and raised on Chilton Street in Waverly, Mr. Rommel was the son of Edwin A. Rommel Sr., a Philadelphia Athletics knuckleballer who was a pitching star in the 1920s and early 1930s and later an American League umpire.
A 1941 graduate of Loyola Blakefield High School, Mr. Rommel enlisted in the Navy in 1942. He served in the Pacific and was discharged with the rank of ensign at war's end.
He received his bachelor's degree from Loyola College in 1948.
Mr. Rommel enjoyed sailing aboard his Owens motor cruiser and fishing. He also was an avid vegetable and flower gardener and a walker.
He was a communicant and former Sunday school teacher at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church, York and Overbrook roads, Rodgers Forge, where a Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, the former Anne Eagers; three other sons, Edwin A. Rommel III of Salisbury, Joseph A. Rommel of Clearwater, Fla., and Bartholomew F. Rommel of Monkton; four daughters, Mary R. Rader of Towson, Joanne R. Chapline of Lutherville, Margaret Jackovitz of Bel Air and Theresa O'Donnell of Catonsville; and 17 grandchildren.
Copyright © 2020, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
