Loretta Paul Permutt, a retired Johns Hopkins School of Public Health administrator, died of pancreatic cancer Sunday at her Mount Washington home. She was 89.

Born Loretta Paul in Pittsburgh, she served in Army intelligence in the Pacific during World War II. She left the service as a staff sergeant. She then attended Bryn Mawr College and the University of Chicago.

She moved to Baltimore in the 1950s and, after raising her family, she became a Johns Hopkins School of Public Health clerk. She was promoted to faculty assistant to Dr. Abraham M. Lilienfeld in the epidemiology department. She coordinated research projects and grants proposals before retiring about 40 years ago.

Mrs. Permutt read to the blind on the Radio Reading Service. Trained as a mediator, she settled disputes and also tutored adults in literacy projects.

She traveled extensively and enjoyed cooking. She also hosted a weekly bridge club and was a conversationalist to friends and family.

"She had a wonderful gift for understanding people," said her son-in-law, Jim Meade of Fairfield, Iowa.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Sol Levinson & Bros., 8900 Reisterstown Road.

Survivors include her husband of more than 60 years, Dr. Solbert Permutt, a retired Johns Hopkins Medical School professor and pulmonologist; a son, Thomas Permutt of Columbia; two daughters, Nina Meade of Fairfield and Lisa Ellen Permutt of Baltimore; a sister, Martha Adams of Philadelphia; five grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.

Jacques Kelly