Patrolman Anthony  H. Maliszewski
Proudly written and submitted by his daughter, Mary English

My father was born on May 31st, 1914. Julian and Marianna Maliszewski were his parents, and he was their third child out of ten. Both of his parents were immigrants from Poland. Although they lived in villages only a few miles apart in Poland, they met in Baltimore and were married at Holy Rosary Church on S. Chester Street.

My father attended Holy Rosary School and finished the 8th grade. Back then, children were expected to help with the family income, so they went to work. The 1920 census shows him working in a drug store. At some point, he went to work for Budeke’s, which was located on Broadway in Fells Point. I know he did deliveries because that is how he met my mother, Frances. She worked as a secretary, and he made deliveries to the company she worked for. They married on November 21st, 1940, at Saint Michael’s Church on Lombard St. and Wolf St. Interestingly, it was a Thursday and Thanksgiving. They had five children: Anthony in 1942, Robert in 1944, James in 1945, Michael in 1950, and me, Mary, in 1955.

He joined the Baltimore City Police Department in 1942 and was stationed at what I think was the Northeastern District substation on Belair Road. Back then, patrol cars had two officers, and I remember his partner, Adam Grabecki. It was also a very different time, and my father never actually shot his gun. He did a lot of community interaction and was regularly requested to play Santa Claus at local churches. As his children got older, he was always volunteering to switch with fellow officers who had young children so that they might enjoy Christmas morning with their little ones.

I believe it was around 1962 that my father was stationed at the old Pine Street Station, where women and juveniles were kept. He was wonderful with the children and babies; he used to take great care of them. I’m guessing this was pending social services taking the children when their mothers were incarcerated. He was given the nickname “Yardy” back then and worked as a "Turnkey,” if I remember correctly. When the Pine Street station was closed, he went to the Northeast District Police station on Argonne Drive. It was from there that he retired in August of 1972, after 30 years of service.

When my mother retired, they were able to do some traveling, and they were lucky enough to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 1990. My mother, Frances, passed away in 2000, and my father was not quite the same after. They had been married for 60 years. He followed her in 2003. My father instructed me to call a specific number at the Police Department when he passed, and I was very thankful that I did. The person I spoke with knew my father and was kind enough to ask if we needed pallbearers for his funeral. He arranged for police cadets to be his pallbearers, and there were also police officers standing beside their cars on the route to the cemetery. So many attendees told me my father would have been so proud of their honoring him in this way. He was very proud of his service in the Baltimore Police Department. On this page, you’ll find some pictures, newspaper clippings, and copies of certificates we have saved over the years. I searched newspapers.com to try to find better copies of the clippings we had. I have also enclosed copies of letters sent to the family offering condolences when he passed. There is a letter from Kevin Clark, who was then the acting commissioner, as well as a letter from Michael Hayden, the director of the National Security Agency. My brother, Robert, worked for NSA; there is also a tribute to my father from oldest grandson, James, who wrote on his blog.