Velma L. Chapman-Gray, 96, child care provider
Velma Lee Chapman-Gray, a former Red Cross clerk and child care provider, died June 16 of cancer at her Northwest Baltimore home. She was 96.
Mrs. Chapman-Gray had worked for many years as a Red Cross clerk and child care provider in Greenville, Miss., before she moved to Baltimore in 1963. She took care of children in her home until she retired in 1988.
Born Velma Lee Gray in Fayetteville, Miss., she was a graduate of high school there. She was married to Sylvester Jordan, a farmer, who died in 1931. She married John Chapman, also a farmer, in 1935. He died in 1938.
She was a member of Levindale Adult Day Care Center, where she was in a singing group that performed in area senior citizen centers.
She also was active in Waxter Senior Citizen Center.
She enjoyed gardening.
Services were held Wednesday at Howard Park United Methodist Church in Baltimore.
She is survived by a son, Zander M. Gray of Columbia; three daughters, Reona Thomas and Maxine Watkins, both of Baltimore, and Mary Ross of Columbia; a sister, Bessie Gibson of Centreville, Miss.; five grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.
Robert W. Christian, 70, editor and reporter
Robert Whitney Christian, a reporter and editor who worked on newspapers in Maryland and the southern part of the United States for nearly 50 years, died Sunday in his sleep at his home in Raleigh, N.C. He was 70.
Mr. Christian was retired from the Raleigh News and Observer , where he had worked as a business reporter since 1984.
Starting his career with newspapers on the Eastern Shore, Mr. Christian was Baltimore County manager for Stromberg Publications during the 1970s. He worked as city editor of the Carroll County Times from 1980 to 1981 and was director of public affairs for Maryland Blue Cross and Blue Shield from 1981 to 1983.
He was editor of the Maryland Business Journal from 1983 to 1984.
Born and raised in Towson, where he graduated from high school in 1946, he served in the Air Force and attended the Johns Hopkins University before becoming a reporter.
Mr. Christian's marriages to the former Gloria Alcon and Joan Johnson ended in divorce. A memorial service was held Wednesday in Raleigh.
He is survived by two daughters, Donnalynne Christian Stratford of Owings, Calvert County, and Jennifer Christian Doege of Stevensville; a brother, William Christian of Maitland, Fla.; a sister, Joanna Weigman of Galveston, Texas; and 10 grandchildren.
Carol L. Rubin, 58, health-care attorney
Carol L. Rubin, a Baltimore health-care attorney and managing partner of Fisher & Winner LLP, died Monday of cancer at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson. She was 58.
Mrs. Rubin, a Pikesville resident who stopped working last year because of her illness, had been an adjunct professor of health-care law at the University of Maryland School of Law in the 1980s.
She joined Fisher & Winner, a general-practice Baltimore law firm, in 1994 as a partner.
Born Carol Denton, she was raised in Roland Park. She graduated in 1959 from Eastern High School and earned a certificate in opera from the Peabody Conservatory. She received her bachelor's degree from Goucher College in 1963 and her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1985.
While at law school, Mrs. Rubin was awarded the Medal for Excellence in Advocacy from the American College of Trial Lawyers for her work in the National Moot Court competition.
An avid gardener, Mrs. Rubin enjoyed planting a butterfly garden, which also drew hummingbirds. She also was a crossword-puzzle fan.
Services were held Thursday at Sol Levinson & Bros. Inc., Pikesville.
She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Jack B. Rubin, a Baltimore criminal defense lawyer; two daughters, Mara S. Rubin of Ellicott City and Julie R. Goldberg of Federal Hill; and a brother, Donald E. Houghton of Rodgers Forge.
Donations may be made to the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care, 6701 N. Charles St., Towson 21204.
Stewart R. Stinchcomb, 66, baseball aficionado
Stewart R. Stinchcomb, a Baltimore native who loved baseball, died June 17 at Northwest Hospital Center in Randallstown of heart failure. He was 66.
An umpire and player of baseball and softball, Mr. Stinchcomb participated with local amateur teams for many years.
In addition to taking and calling strikes, Mr. Stinchcomb also raced cars - spending much of the 1950s in the pastime - played cards and followed horse racing.
In 1988, he retired after 23 years as an office supply salesman at Sheaffer Eaton Inc.
"He was what you could call a self-made man," said Mr. Stinchcomb's wife, the former Sandra Miller.
Although his formal education lasted only through the sixth grade, Mr. Stinchcomb spent a lifetime pursuing learning, particularly improving his vocabulary.
He was a member of the Masons of Sharon Lodge No. 183 A.F. and A.M..
Mr. Stinchcomb was honored in 1987 for saving the life of a Maryland state trooper whom he found slumped over the wheel of his patrol car. Mr. Stinchcomb used the trooper's radio to summon help.
Services were held Thursday at Burrier-Queen Funeral Home in Winfield.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Stinchcomb is survived by two sons, Stewart Stinchcomb Jr. of Randallstown and Jeffery Stinchcomb of Chula Vista, Calif.; and a brother Donald Stinchcomb of Sykesville.
Donations
may be made to the American Heart Association or the American Diabetes Association of Maryland.
Emerson L. Dorsey, 78, microbiologist
Emerson L. Dorsey, a microbiologist who served on the Frederick-area board of directors of Goodwill Industries and was president of the local chapter of the March of Dimes, died Thursday of heart failure at Frederick Memorial Hospital.
The longtime Frederick resident was 78.
Mr. Dorsey was a member of the Dorsey family of Sykesville, which has lived there for more than 100 years, longer than Sykesville has been a town.
A 1939 graduate of Robert Moton High School in Westminster, Mr. Dorsey earned his bachelor of science degree in agriculture in 1943 from Princess Anne College, now the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore.
Shortly after graduating, Mr. Dorsey enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps for three years. He was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of sergeant.
Mr. Dorsey worked until his retirement in 1971 as a microbiologist at Fort Detrick in Frederick. He then worked until 1985 as a senior automobile underwriter for State Farm Insurance.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Asbury United Methodist Church, 98 W. All Saints St., Frederick, where Mr. Dorsey had been a member since the 1940s.
His wife of 56 years, the former Ethel E. Harris, died in April.
Mr. Dorsey is survived by a son, Emerson Dorsey Jr. of Baltimore; two daughters, Iva Wright, and Rose Chaney, both of Frederick; four sisters, Thelma Jackson, Mae Whiten, Rosie Hutchinson, and Catherine Dorsey, all of Baltimore; six grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Contributions may be made to Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley, 400 E. Church St., Frederick 21701.