Francis Ehart

Francis C. Ehart, 93, of Severn and formerly of Linthicum Heights passed away on August 19 at the Hospice of the Chesapeake in Harwood after a brief illness. Mr. Ehart was born on July 22, 1915 in Baltimore to Charles T. Ehart and Mary Ehart. After attending parochial schools in Baltimore City through the eighth grade, he later earned a high school equivalency by attending night school in Baltimore City. He retired in 1981 as Vice-President of government sales for D.N. Owens & Co., Inc., a Baltimore business forms company. He worked for Owens for 50 years, starting in 1931 as an errand boy. He eventually became manager of the firm's printing operation and held that position until a major fire destroyed the business in 1948. After the fire the owner, Dorsey Owens, decided to permanently close the printing plant and concentrate on sales. Mr. Ehart, in order to stay employed, was thrust into the sales end of the business with no experience or accounts. He took full advantage of this opportunity, eventually becoming the top salesman at Owens, and was highly respected by his co-workers and competitors alike. He helped usher in the era of continuous computer forms, designing each form to scale meticulously by hand. He felt his legacy was to provide exceptional service to his customers, some of whom remained friends with him today, 28 years after his retirement. He supplied computer forms to a majority of state agencies, including designing and printing state payroll checks, tax refund checks, tax assessment notices, state driver's licenses and printing state payroll checks, tax refund checks, tax assessment notices, state driver's licenses and vehicle titles and registration cards. He often remarked he handled state business from "womb to tomb", providing both birth and death certificates to state and local governments. At the time of his retirement, he also provided Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland with the majority of their computer forms. Mr. Ehart enjoyed spending time at his Ocean City residence, which he had for over 40 years; traveling with his family on cruises and destinations like Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and Canada; and fixing things around the house. He was a charter member of St. Philip Neri Church in Linthicum Heights. He was preceded in death by his wife of 38 years, Lucille P. Ehart, in 1983 and his brother, Anthony F. Ehart, in 2000. He is survived by one son, Dr. Charles W. Ehart, his daughter-in-law, Marguerite A. Ehart, and one grandson, Gregory C. Ehart, all of Severn.