Charles Bauermann, supporter of Catholic media and religious vocations, dies at 91

Charles Louis “Chuck” Bauermann’s accounting acumen and imagination helped the Cathedral Foundation that once oversaw the Catholic Review to include new publishing and consulting ventures.

Bauermann, a certified public accountant and lifelong resident of the Baltimore area who had been active at St. Pius X in Rodgers Forge and the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier in Hunt Valley, died July 9 at his home in Mays Chapel. He was 91. His wife of 55 years, the former Margaret “Peg” Hoffman, who was active in many Catholic charitable ventures and who, according to family legend, first met him on the Ocean City boardwalk, died in 2010 at 75. 

“His experience in accounting – and his contacts throughout the archdiocese – gave us credibility,” said Daniel Medinger, former CEO of the Cathedral Foundation.

Medinger noted that Bauermann was a member of the executive committee of the Cathedral Foundation board of directors for more than 15 years. 

“He was an excellent board member – positive, encouraging, but always willing to ask sharp, insightful questions,” Medinger said. “If Chuck was looking things over, I knew that he would keep us on the right track.”

Bauermann was born April 6, 1933, to Carl C. and Florence Bauermann. He and his sister, Les, were later adopted by their mother’s second husband, Frank G. Barnickol.

The former altar server at St. Anthony of Padua in Baltimore graduated from Loyola Blakefield and earned an accounting scholarship at what is now Loyola University Maryland, where he also served in Army ROTC. He was later an adjunct professor of accounting at Loyola.

In military service at Fort Myer, Va., he wrote a manual on management and budget for Army commands. He was discharged from the Army Reserve in 1963 at the rank of first lieutenant.

Bauermann’s working days began at Baltimore’s Hochschild Kohn Department Store, and his career as a CPA began at the firm of Ernst & Ernst. Many years later, he launched Bauermann Consulting Corp., where he worked until he was 86.

Bauermann was a member of the Knights of the Order of Malta Federal Association and was president of the Serra Club of Baltimore, a lay organization that promotes religious vocations, until 2023.

He was also a Knight Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, which supports Christians in the Holy Land, and held the papal honor of the Cross Pro Ecclesiastical et Pontifice, given to laity for distinguished service.

His charitable activities included working with the Mount Calvary bus stop breakfast program, the Franciscan Center, serving meals to the homeless at My Sisters Place, and outreach with the Little Sisters of the Poor.

He served on the board of Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, where he was an extraordinary minister of holy Communion for patients.

Bauermann also helped found the Dulaney Valley Symphony Society, where he served as president.

“Chuck was on the board of the Cathedral Foundation when I arrived in 2009,” remembered  Christopher Gunty, associate publisher and editor of Catholic Review Media. “He was incredibly helpful heading up the governance committee as we did some reorganization of the board.

“What most impressed me about Chuck was that all his involvement was based on his deep faith. He nurtured that faith in the Knights of Malta and the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. He also joined several pilgrimages sponsored by the Catholic Review. His prayerful presence was inspiring to me and to others.”

Gunty said Bauermann’s encouragement for those studying to be priests also invited others to “join the cause.” 

“The world and the archdiocese are a little less without Chuck Bauermann in it,” Gunty said.

Surviving are his children: Karen A. Whitcome of Towson; Cindy Foster and husband Jay Foster of Lafayette, Colo.; Peggy Stone and husband Michael Stone of Hunt Valley; and Chris Bauermann and wife Anne-Marie Bauermann of Parkton; 13 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Another daughter, Mary Catherine “Cathy” Schwartz of Hunt Valley, preceded him in death.

A funeral Mass was offered July 19 at the Catholic Community of St. Francis Xavier. 

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