Harriet Hurst
Educator
Harriet Hurst, who retired in 1978 after 30 years as an educator in the Baltimore City school system, died Feb. 11 of cancer at the Stella Maris Hospice. She was 68 and lived in Homeland.
She had been an assistant principal at Robert Poole and Pimlico junior high schools, a counselor and a history teacher during her career, which began in 1948.
Born in Baltimore, she was a 1944 graduate of Eastern High School and a 1948 graduate of Goucher College, where she majored in history. She earned a master's degree in education at the Johns Hopkins University in 1964.
An ordained elder of the Presbyterian Church, she was a member of Faith Presbyterian Church and was Bible study leader in its Jackson Circle.
A memorial service was planned for 11 a.m. today at Faith Presbyterian Church, 5600 Loch Raven Blvd.
Survivors include a sister, Jean Hurst McKay of Bay Village, Ohio; and three nieces. Gabriel Rettaliata, a former autoworker who sold cars for 30 years, died Wednesday of heart failure at his home in Yale Heights. He was 86.
He retired about 15 years ago after 30 years selling new and used cars, mostly for the A. D. Anderson Chevrolet dealership in the Edmondson Village area. Earlier, he worked in the General Motors Corp. plant on Broening Highway in East Baltimore.
A native of Baltimore who was reared in Elkridge, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers in the Pacific during World War II.
A Mass of Christian burial was to be offered at 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church, 4416 Wilkens Ave.
He is survived by his wife, the former Catherine Stone; three daughters, Susan Rettaliata of Oella, Mary Kroner of Catonsville and Chris Smith of Arbutus; a son, Chuck Rettaliata of Eldersburg; two sisters, Mary Rettaliata of Jessup and Amelia Battye of Baltimore; two brothers, John Rettaliata of Ellicott City and James Rettaliata of Baltimore; and nine grandchildren.
Margaret E. Sewell
Active church member
Margaret E. Sewell, who was active in United Methodist Church work, died Monday of pneumonia at Northwest Hospital Center. She was 88 and lived in Lochearn.
She was a communion steward and a member of the Flower Circle and United Methodist Women at Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Baltimore.
She had also helped her husband, the Rev. Walter H. Sewell, in the Southern Maryland, Frederick County, Pennsylvania and West Virginia churches where he was pastor. Mr. Sewell retired in 1976 as a United Methodist minister and died in 1989.
She was born Margaret E. Parker in Chesterfield and attended school in Waterbury, both in Anne Arundel County. She did domestic work as a young woman.
Services were planned for noon today at Mount Zion United Methodist Church, 3050 Liberty Heights Ave.
She is survived by three daughters, Mary L. Allen of Baltimore, Margaret B. Wells of Lochearn and Jessie M. Thomas of Randallstown; three sons, Walter E. and William C. Sewell, both of Baltimore, and Ernest M. Sewell of Randallstown; 21 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.