Bessie C. Hancock

Bessie Carico Hancock, a retired furniture store owner and school teacher, died at the William Hill Health Care Center, Easton on Tuesday, January 4, 2005. She was 95. Born April 14, 1909 in Dunkirk Farms, King and Queen County of Virginia, she was one of six children of the late Henry Lee and Matilda Anna Longest. In 1916 the family moved to the Brooklyn area of Baltimore. She attended Eastern High School in Baltimore, the Maryland State Teachers College in Salisbury and later took courses at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. She also studied voice and piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and performed with the Handel Choir and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Hancock served as the Organist and Choir Director for the First Baptist Church in Brooklyn for many years. In 1939, she married H. Gwynn Carico and they moved to Easton where Mr. Carico operated the H.G. Carico Motor Company and she operated the H.G. Carico Furniture Store for many years. Following the closing of these businesses, Mrs. Carico renewed her teaching certification and taught at the Pasadena Elementary School in Anne Arundel County and later at the Trappe Elementary School in Talbot County. She retired from teaching in 1976, but remained active in a number of civic organizations in Easton including The Talbot County Women’s Club, The Academy of The Arts, The Lung Association and the Talbot County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Mr. Carrico died in 1983 after a long illness. In 1984 Mrs. Carrico married Bernard W. Hancock, a longtime friend of the family, and they continued to live in Easton. Mr. Hancock died in 1992. Mrs. Hancock is survived by Mr. Hancock’s daughter, Barbara Burch of Easton; a niece, Elaine Schaefer of Baltimore; and five nephews, David Lennon of Oak Ridge Tennessee, Henry Longest of Great Falls Virginia and James Pailthorp, William Pailthorp and Thomas Pailthorp, all of Anne Arundel County. Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 10, 2005 at 11:00 AM at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, P.A., Easton, MD where friends may call one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at 2:00 PM at Meadowridge Memorial Park, Baltimore. Memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church, 115 Idlewild Ave., Easton, MD 21601.