Herbert V. Corbett, 89, collected, studied minerals

Herbert V. Corbett, past president of the Baltimore Mineral Society, who kept 8,000 tiny mineral samples in egg cartons in the basement of his Northeast Baltimore home, died Thursday of lung cancer at Franklin Square Hospital. He was 89.

As a hobby, beginning in the 1960s, Mr. Corbett and his wife, the former Geneva Kneiple, studied minerals with such a passion that they kept his-and-her microscopes in the living room of their Acadia home and specimens of copper on the walls instead of pictures.

Born in Ypsilanti, Mich., Mr. Corbett moved to Baltimore in 1951 as a Navy civilian employeewho did planning and estimating. He worked in the same field for Bethlehem Steel Corp. in Sparrows Point and retired in 1974.

In retirement, he was a volunteer at the Smithsonian Institution, identifying and cataloging minerals. He and his wife, who died in 1995, were micromounting specialists, placing pin-sized crystals on pegs and enclosing them in small plastic boxes.

He was elected to the Mineral Micromounters Hall of Fame in 1990.

A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Perry Hall United Methodist Church, 9515 Belair Road.

He is survived by two daughters, Patricia Perry of Perry Hall and Beth Drost of Wilmington, Del.; four grandchildren; and two great-granddaughters.

Ann Epstein Offit, 90, helped found congregation

Ann Epstein Offit, a founding member of Beth El Congregation in Pikesville and a gifted singer, died Friday at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital of complications from a stroke. She was 90.

Mrs. Offit was born and raised in East Baltimore, and was a bookkeeper for Kay Jewelers until she left to raise two daughters.

She and her husband of 64 years, Edward J. Offit, lived in the Park Heights area of Northwest Baltimore and were among the first couples to join Beth El Congregation, where she remained active in charitable fund raising until her death.

"She was a very meticulous lady," recalled her daughter Bernice Offit Berger of Baltimore. "Her hair was always in place -- full of Spray Net. It never moved, which was in keeping with her personality. She was unflappable, always smiling, always respectful of people. Just as steady as they come."

Mrs. Offit was involved in the Beth El Sisterhood and in organizing the congregation's annual donor shows, in which she was a regularly featured singer.

Services were held yesterday.

In addition to her husband and daughter, Mrs. Offit is survived by another daughter, Barbara Offit Lichtenberg of Baltimore; a brother, Leonard Epstein of West Palm Beach, Fla.; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Bennett Gilbert Gaines, 52, lawyer, wrote legal essays

Bennett Gilbert Gaines, a prolific author of legal essays and collector of antique fountain pens, died Sunday of cancer. The lifelong Baltimorean and attorney was 52.

Mr. Gaines graduated from the Johns Hopkins University in 1970 and went on to the University of Maryland Law School, where he began a long career in legal scholarship as a staff member of the Maryland Law Review.

After graduating in 1973, he practiced real estate and commercial law at several major firms over the next two decades, while writing more than a dozen treatises. Among his major works was a code of professional civility he wrote for the Maryland Bar Association that has been adopted by several other states.

"He was a Renaissance man in many respects," said Barry Bach of Baltimore, a longtime friend and former law partner. "In addition to being a fine lawyer and a good father, he taught himself the art of refurbishing antique fountain pens. He just loved them. People who know him would say, 'Aha, Bennett and his pens.'

"He was a good friend and a remarkable man."

Services for Mr. Gaines will be held at 2 p.m. today at Sol Levinson & Bros. Inc., 8900 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville.

Mr. Gaines is survived by his wife, Sharon Marx Gaines; a daughter, Emily Gaines Demsky; a son, Peter Gaines; a stepson, Brandon Marx, all of Baltimore; a stepdaughter, Christina Marx of Austin, Texas; his parents, Benjamin and Norma Gaines, and a sister, Paula Levin, all of Eilat, Israel.