Jacques Kelly

It’s often said that people going to a Maryland oyster roast stop eating the day before. They want to secure the proper appetite for what awaits them.

Thomas A. Perrera, who went from selling newspapers on street corners to co-founding York Road’s Peppermill Restaurant, died of esophageal cancer Jan. 11 at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 91 and lived in Mays Chapel in Timonium.

Anne Dankmeyer Hopkins, former owner and editor of the legal journal American Maritime Cases and an active Baltimore Republican, died of cancer Jan. 5 at her Guilford home. She was 92.

A former tobacco warehouse in East Baltimore has had numerous subsequent owners and uses, including a stationary firm, furniture maker, mattress factory and artist and maker studios.

Francis G. “Gil” French, the retired head of the Baltimore City College mathematics department and a veteran member of the Handel Choir of Baltimore, died of COVID-19 complications Jan. 3 at Roland Park Place.

Shirley Ann Hayes Hargrove, a retired Baltimore City guidance counselor who served at Frederick Douglass High School and was recalled for her optimistic personality, died of cancer Jan. 3 at her home in the Annen Woods section of Pikesville. She was 92.

Jill Robshaw French, an equestrian and riding instructor who taught for many years at the Columbia Equestrian Center, died in her sleep following hip surgery Dec. 8 while undergoing rehabilitation at the Broadmead Retirement Community.

Thomas Brown, who refers to himself as a “Renaissance Mechanic” designed and built a Shakespearean theater stage for the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, located in the old St. Mary’s Church in Hampden.

Dr. Louis L. Randall was the lone Black student in his 1957 class at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Stephen H. Sachs, who had prosecuted the Catonsville Nine in the late 1960s and later served two terms as Maryland’s attorney general before becoming a partner at Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, died Wednesday at his Roland Park Place home. He was 87.

Herman Williams Jr., Baltimore City’s first Black fire chief who was commended for bravery during his lengthy career, died Saturday night. He was 90.

The Rev. Dr. Bowyer Gates Freeman, the pastor of a Forest Park congregation and a past Howard County NAACP president, died of a blood clot Jan. 3 at Howard County General Hospital. The Columbia resident was 61.

This history of Perkins Homes, a former public housing project in Southeast Baltimore, dates back to the 1940s.

Judge Joseph H. H. Kaplan, the retired chief judge for the Circuit Court for Baltimore City who was recalled for his ability to negotiate difficult issues, died Wednesday at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 85.

Dr. Gary Philipp Schoppert, a retired general dentist who practiced in Roland Park for 43 years, died of Parkinson’s disease complications Jan. 1 at his Roland Park Place home. The longtime Homeland resident was 80.

Richard “Dick” Smith, a pianist who entertained at Phillips Seafood Restaurant for nearly 40 years and was an organist at downtown Baltimore’s Stanley Theatre, died of heart disease Dec. 23. He was 76.

Anna Margaret Hergenroeder, a family matriarch and retired nurse at Mercy Medical Center, where she spent 71 years, died of a heart attack Dec. 26 at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center.

Mark Francis Grasso, a Baltimore County attorney and musician who played guitar and violin at local venues, died of complications of non-small cell lung cancer on Dec. 15 at Stella Maris Hospice. The Perry Hall resident was 67.

Baltimore bustled along in 2021 but the changes to the skyline and neighborhoods required some careful inspection. They often arrived by surprise.

Mark H. Beck, an architect who designed the Lexington Market Arcade during his lengthy professional career, died of Parkinson’s disease complications Dec. 16 at his home in Royal Oak in Talbot County.

Jerome Darwin Bird, a retired television and video producer who had been education director for the Pride of Baltimore II, died of progressive supranuclear palsy Dec. 21 at Edenwald Senior Living in Towson.

Rev. Father Brian Michael Rafferty, a retired Roman Catholic pastor who served in Ellicott City and Pasadena for many years, died of an extended illness at University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center.

George F. Marmaras, who arrived penniless from his native Greece and established successful Baltimore restaurants, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 23 at Gilchrist Center Towson. The Perry Hall and Lutherville resident was 90.

Dominic Averza, a leader in Baltimore’s Italian American community who led a firm that completed numerous downtown sidewalk, road and bridge projects, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 11 at his Baltimore County home. He was 94.

Elizabeth "Liz" Anne Lickle, a retired surgical nurse who sang alongside her husband, “Patches” Lickle, at folk music-themed events of the 1960s and 1970s, died of pneumonia Nov. 30 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 82 and lived in Sparks.

For columnist Jacques Kelly, baking fruitcake was a family holiday ritual.

C. Christopher Brown, a retired attorney and University of Maryland School of Law professor, died of complications of Parkinson’s disease Dec. 17 at his North Charles Street home. He was 80.

Flossie Jane Taylor, a retired telephone operator who became a syndicated food columnist for the Hearst newspapers, died of an infection Dec. 4 at her Dundalk home. She was 88.

Bethlehem Steel Company once employed 30,000 people at the mill and another 4,000 in its adjacent shipyard.

Robert A. Zimmerman, a retired Baltimore Museum of Art exhibit designer and social event planner, died of COVID-19 complications Monday at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 83.

Nickolas A. Antonas, the former owner of Highlandtown’s Eastern House restaurant, died of congestive heart failure Saturday. He was 84 and lived in Rosedale and later in Essex.

James E. Haga, a retired Bethlehem Steel millwright, World War II veteran and boater, died of old-age complications Dec. 3 at his Mays Chapel home in Timonium. He was 97.

M. King “Chip” Hill III, a retired attorney, sailor and music enthusiast, died of a neurodegenerative disease Nov. 30 at his Brooklandville home. He was 67.

Want to go on an old-fashioned night stroll? Here are two options just in time for the Christmas season.

James Clyde Keck Jr., a lead paint removal activist who was a founder of the People’s Free Medical Clinic, died of a glioblastoma Nov. 30 at his Essex home. He was 83.

Joseph Kavanagh McGeady, a retired official of a marine heavy contracting business who became a community volunteer, died of respiratory failure Dec. 6 at his Severn Heights home. He was 88.

Frank Truan Gray, a retired attorney recalled as a skilled real estate specialist, died of pulmonary complications Nov. 27 at Roland Park Place. The former Otterbein resident was 101.

Ernest F. Imhoff, a retired Baltimore newspaper city editor recalled as “the heart and soul of The Evening Sun,” died Wednesday of complications of pneumonia at the Springwell Retirement Community. The former Bolton Hill resident was 84.

George Harlis Bolling, a retired Army colonel who served in the Signal Corps in Germany, South Korea and Vietnam, died of complications of heart disease Nov. 15 at Frederick Health.

Mary Regina “Jean” McCauley, a retired St. Agnes Hospital hematology lab worker and family matriarch, died of complications of kidney disease Nov. 18 at Gilchrist Hospice in Columbia. The longtime Ellicott City resident was 89.

The Ouija board used to be produced in Baltimore. Here's what's happened to their manufacturing facility since production moved out of state.

Peter N. Marudas, recalled as an astute political strategist who worked calmly behind the scenes for three Baltimore mayors and a U.S. senator, died of heart failure Nov. 20 at his North Baltimore home. He was 84.

John Lockwood McShane, a retired architect who designed midcentury modern buildings and was a past president of what was then the Maryland Historical Society, died Nov. 13. He was 93.

Dr. Diane M. Becker, a retired Johns Hopkins public health scientist who championed healthy community medicine in underserved areas, died of metastatic breast cancer Wednesday at her North Roland Park home. She was 78.

The old Mayfield Theatre on Howard Street has sat vacant for decades. A developer plans to change that.

Kenneth L. Hatter, a retired advertising salesman and World War II veteran, died of renal failure Nov. 13 at his Towson home. He was 94.

William Gaines “Billy” Christmas, who was recalled as a colorful member of the Maryland thoroughbred racing industry, died Sunday of old-age complications at his Idle Miss Farm in Monkton. He was several days short of his 96th birthday.

Born in West Baltimore and raised on Arlington Avenue, she was the daughter of Harry Dorsey, a World War II veteran, and his wife, Nellie. She attended Booker T. Washington Junior High School and was a graduate of Western High School.

Donald Norris McCulloh Sr., a retired Towson University teacher and administrator, died of a gastrointestinal condition Nov. 7 at his Phoenix home in northern Baltimore County. He was 83.

The historic building, located at 29 E. North Ave in Baltimore, has housed an automobile dealership, bar and night club. It's next purpose? Home to two nonprofits.