Sarah Catherine Hance "Josie" Lines

Sarah Catherine Hance “Josie” Lines, 94, died peacefully at her son’s home in La Plata, MD on May 16, 2015. Born January 24, 1921 at home in Island Creek (Calvert County), MD, she was the only child of Catherine Elizabeth Parran and Chesley Williams Hance. She was raised on the family farm and loved the nearby Patuxent River where she boated, swam, fished and caught soft shell crabs. She attended the Island Creek Number 6 One Room School (25 pupils, 7 grades and 1 teacher) until 1934 when she transferred to Calvert County High School in Prince Frederick from which she graduated in 1938. An adventurous youngster, she often retold the story of walking across the Patuxent River with her father on the ice in the winter of 1938 from Calvert County to Sandgates in St. Mary’s County and back again, over a mile each way. In February 1939, she entered the School of Nursing at University of Maryland University Hospital, Baltimore, MD, but did not finish due to illness. While at home for rest under medical care, she met her future husband Second Lieutenant Philip Dater Lines who was in the U.S. Army, stationed at Ft. Meade, MD. They were married on August 8, 1942 at Ft. Jackson, SC. During WWII while Phil was in combat in Europe, she returned home to live with her parents and worked as a Special Duty Nurse at the local hospital. After the end of the war, her husband joined the MD Game and Inland Fish Commission (now DNR) and became the Wildlife Field Superintendent for the five counties of the Southern Maryland Region. In 1948, they built a home in La Plata, MD where they raised two sons. Josie worked in the La Plata Post Office for many years, during which time she was active in the local American Legion Auxiliary, Cub Scouts, and Christ Episcopal Church La Plata. During the summers, the family traveled and camped throughout the United States. During her lifetime, she was proud that she had visited every state except Maine and Alaska. In 1969, she and her family moved back to her childhood home in Island Creek in Calvert County. There, she renewed her interest in gardening and raised championship daffodils which she entered in competition in local, state, regional, national, and even international shows. Josie was very active in Christ Episcopal Church in Port Republic, MD where she served two terms on the Vestry (first woman to serve) and co-hosted the Country Store Booth at the Tournament for many years. She also worked at the Prince Frederick Post Office until her retirement in 1982. She was a member and active supporter of many organizations including Calvert County Garden Club, Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society of Colonial Dames of America, Washington Daffodil Society, American Daffodil Society, Friends of the One Room Schoolhouse, Calvert Historical Society, Calvert County Farm Bureau, and the Calvert Marine Museum. Throughout her life, she remained a generous and caring “people person”. Many friends and acquaintances received gifts of flower bulbs and plants from her. In her later years, she knitted hundreds of caps for the poor and homeless through her knitting group “Caps for the Cold”. She was preceded in death by her husband of more than 52 years. She is survived by her sons David Freeman Lines and his wife Ann of La Plata, MD and Thomas Chesley Lines and his wife Susan of Indian Springs, AL. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren, three nieces, two nephews, and many cousins. The family will receive friends at son David’s home in La Plata on Friday, May 22, 2015 from 3-6 PM. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2015, at 11 AM at Christ Church, Port Republic, MD. Interment will follow in church cemetery. The family will receive friends at a luncheon reception in the church hall following the service. Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Episcopal Church (Port Republic), Hospice, Grace Brethren Church (Waldorf) or the Calvert County Garden Club. Funeral arrangements by Raymond Funeral Service in La Plata, MD.

Sarah Catherine Hance "Josie" Lines

January 24, 1921 - May 16, 2015