William Benjamin Durm: Oysterpreneur

William (on the left) with his two brothers

My great grandfather William Benjamin Durm Junior was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland until later in life when he bought a summer home in Annapolis, Maryland where my family has been residing ever since. He was born in 1895 to William Benjamin Durm Senior and Annie M. Goldeisen who were both German immigrants. He had three siblings, John, Oremalee, and Cornelius.

William's house in Baltimore.

William as a young boy

A can from William B. Durm's Oyster packing company

William began his working career as a bookkeeper and it wasn't until 1950 when he went into business for himself that his life really began. He opened an oyster packing business in Baltimore, however during the summer they did not have refrigerated storage on trains, so he was unable to ship oysters.


His clever solution was to convert the business into produce distribution. This switch proved to be incredibly lucrative and he shipped most of his produce all the way to Ohio by train, turning his small company into a multi-state business.

A photo of the summer home William owned in Whitehall Beach

There is a single road leading back to Whitehall Beach, the community where William bought his summer home in Annapolis. William would make long treks from Baltimore to Annapolis on the weekend and became frustrated with the dirt road.

To solve this frustration he brought large quantities of oyster shells by boat with him to Whitehall and lined the dirt road. Broken oyster shells at the time were a similar equivalent to gravel. This was a huge benefit to the community that would later become his permanent home after he retired. 

A portrait of a young William B. Durm Jr.

Prior to the Great Depression, William received a call from a friend warning him of the closing of banks across the country. William was able to retrieve some of his savings, but not all and like many other Americans, he lost a great deal. He became extremely despondent.

A photo of the young couple: William and Mary "Agnes"

Long before he made his dive into business, William was married to Mary Agnes Veihmyer in 1915. They had three children together.

William's three children later in life (middle three)
Noel, Oremalee "Lee", and William III

His first son was William B. Durm III, was born in 1919. William III died of colon cancer on Saturday, June 6th, his 74th birthday.

His daughter, Oremalee was named after William Junior's sister, also named Oremalee and was born on January 20th, 1930.

Noel Elson Durm, the youngest son and my grandfather was born November 23rd, 1931. My grandfather, Noel E. Durm described his father as "a tyrant in strictness but a good family provider."

William (left) on a cruise to Cuba

William was not only adventurous in his career endeavors but also in his personal life where he loved to travel and was able to visit Cuba several times before Castro began his reign.

A picture of one of William's boats,
The "Will-Lee-No" named after
his children.

Proving to be a daredevil, my great grandfather fell in a motorcycle accident and lost his eye which was replaced with a glass eye. An avid boater, He once replaced a boat engine with one from  an airplane.                   

A picture of the
grave of William B. Durm III.
The grave also includes the graves of
William B. Durm Jr. and his wife, Agnes.

After living a long and prosperous life, William died in 1965 at age 70 from an intestinal blockage. He is buried beside his wife, his
brother, Cornelius and his sister, Oremalee at Parkwood Cemetery in Parkville, Maryland.

His grave, originally a small footstone was added to a large die in socket when his son, William B. Junior III died. The new die on socket grave has William Jr. and his wife Agnes' graves added at the bottom. A large portion of the Durm family is also buried at Parkwood
Cemetery.

The front entrance of Parkwood Cemetery
in Baltimore.

The original Mausoleum at the back of
Parkwood.

A view of some graves along a hill in
Parkwood.

Parkwood Cemetery and Mausoleum is a private cemetery established in 1919 and is 

home to famous professional baseball player,

Albert William Rubeling.