Doris B. Daneker, former owner of a Towson travel agency who also worked with Down syndrome children, died Saturday of complications from heart disease at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Towson. The Mays Chapel resident was 87.

The daughter of Louis Henry Brendel, a brass molder, and Margaret Louis Swann, a homemaker, Doris Brendel was born and raised in South Baltimore.

She was a 1948 graduate of Southern High School, where she was active in the drama club.

After leaving high school, she worked as a secretary for city public schools before taking a job in the proof room of the old First National Bank. She later joined the bank’s Towson branch as a teller at a drive-in window.

Mrs. Daneker left First National to raise her three children and in 1972 returned to work when she opened Welcome Aboard of Towson, a travel agency located in the Investment Building. She owned and operated the agency until retiring in 1997.

In addition to her professional career, Mrs. Daneker, who had a child with Down syndrome, was a participating parent in the Towson United Methodist Church School for Special Needs Children.

She also was a committee chairwoman at the Ridge School, a Baltimore County public school in Towson for children who have special-education needs.

She enjoyed attending the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and studying the life of Thomas Jefferson.

When living in the Valleywood neighborhood in Timonium, Mrs. Daneker was co-author with several neighbors of “The History of Limestone Valley,” which was published in 1976.

Mrs. Daneker was a longtime member of Towson Presbyterian Church.

A memorial service for Mrs. Daneker will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Lemmon Funeral Home, 10 W. Padonia Road, Timonium.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, George Daneker, a retired accountant and auditor; a son, George “Dan” Daneker of Freeland; two daughters, Melanie Jordon of Glen Rock, Pa., and Robin Bohnstedt of Islamorada, Fla.; and three grandsons.

frasmussen@baltsun.com