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June 6, 2002
Edward H. Nabb Sr., a colorful Cambridge lawyer, philanthropist and pilot who organized the annual Christmas Holly Run airlift that delivers loads of freshly cut boughs of holly to cheer residents of windswept Tangier Island, died in his sleep Sunday at his Cambridge home. He was 85.
Mr. Nabb, a well-known figure in Dorchester County, had been senior partner for more than 40 years in the state's oldest law firm -- Harrington, Harrington & Nabb, founded in 1894 by Gov. Emerson C. Harrington. He specialized in real estate and probate law and was of counsel to the law firm in recent years.
A Cambridge native, son of a salesman and nurse, Mr. Nabb worked for Phillips Packing Co. and the local Sears & Roebuck store after graduating from Cambridge High School.
During World War II, he served with the Army Corps of Engineers in Europe and the Pacific, attaining the rank of captain. He also served in Korea with the 116th Engineers Combat Battalion from 1951 to 1952.
In 1947, he married Winifred D. Harrington. Mr. Nabb, who never attended college, came to the study of law through her father, Emerson C. Harrington Jr., who then ran the law firm.
Mr. Nabb began "reading the law" with his father-in-law, and became one of the last people in Maryland to be admitted to the bar without graduating from an accredited law school.
He was known for his custom suits with red linings, overcoats with lamb's wool collars, snappy fedoras in winter, and broad Panama hats in summer, and was especially recognizable at the wheel of his fire engine-red Mazda Miata sports car.
He neither smoked nor drank, and was outspoken and direct. In a 1964 interview in the Sun Magazine, he stated his philosophy: "Maybe it's my background as an Eastern Shoreman. I operate on the principle of expecting something for something."
He took great pride in his Shore heritage, said a 1999 article in Salisbury's Daily Times. "Every part of his life smacks of old-time Eastern Shore ways -- he's a one-of-a-kind character even by Shore standards," it said. "And he loves being an individual in a cookie-cutter world."
He was enthralled with the lore and history of the Shore. "Let's face it," Mr. Nabb said when he endowed Salisbury University's Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture with a $500,000 gift in 1999. "This Chesapeake Bay Region is where the United States began."
"He prided himself on being a stubborn Eastern Shoreman and one of our region's most generous philanthropists. He cared deeply about education and Delmarva history and culture," said Salisbury's president, Janet Dudley-Eshbach.
Mr. Nabb was president of the Nathan Foundation for 25 years, directing the awarding of $600,000 in scholarships for Dorchester County students to attend Salisbury University. "For every person you educate, you've sown the seeds for five more to be educated," Mr. Nabb said in a 1999 university interview.
Mr. Nabb lived close to the water all of his life. He began sailing as a child and moved up to racing powerboats on the Choptank River during the late 1940s. He was elected to the Marine Racing Hall of Fame in 1947.
Whether he was "bullfrogging" in ponds and lakes in search of the bullfrogs whose tender legs he enjoyed fried or flying his Air Coup plane, an interest that began in 1939, life for Mr. Nabb was seldom without adventure.
In 1968, he began flying boughs of holly that he cut on a cousin's farm to residents of Tangier Island, Va., a small, treeless, marshy island in the Chesapeake Bay. He made his last flight in 1997.
Through the years, Mr. Nabb persuaded other pilots to join him, and now more than 30 planes take off each December from Dorchester County Airport for the 40-mile run to deliver the holly used by islanders to decorate their churches and homes.
Mr. Nabb's wife died in 1981. The next year he married Linda Kleinswatcher, who survives him.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Grace United Methodist Church in Cambridge, where Mr. Nabb was a member.
Other survivors include three sons, Edward H. Nabb Jr., Andrew W. Nabb and Ian N. Nabb, all of Cambridge; a daughter, Winifred N. Sewell of Annapolis; and a granddaughter.
July 11, 2002
Helen B. Oram, a retired educator who taught English in Baltimore City and Cecil County public schools, died in her sleep Monday at Keswick Multi-Care Center in Roland Park. She was 95.
The longtime resident of the Ambassador Apartments was born Helen Butler in Baltimore and raised in South Baltimore. She graduated from Southern High School and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from Western Maryland College.
During her nearly 40-year career as an educator, she taught English at Southern High School and Clifton Park Junior High School. She later taught in Rising Sun before retiring in the late 1960s.
She was an active parishioner of Grace United Methodist Church and the Baltimore Country Club. Mrs. Oram was married for many years to Linwood Oram, who was an accounting executive with Montgomery Ward. He died last year.
Services will be held at noon today at Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, 6500 York Road, Rodgers Forge.
Mrs. Oram is survived by two nephews, John D. Butler of Middletown, N.J., and George W. Butler of Virginia Beach, Va.
July 20, 2002
Jerry Thomas Owens, owner of a Cockeysville instrumentation business, died Tuesday of complications from lung cancer at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 50.
Advanced lung cancer was diagnosed in 1999, and Mr. Owens, a 10-year resident of Monkton, was not expected to live more than six months. He followed an aggressive treatment program at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
"He lived longer than anybody expected," said Dr. Caroline Foster Owens, his wife of 11 years. "As he was dying, [Mr. Owens' doctors] all agreed that Jerry's spirit was just an inspiration for all of them."
Born in Richmond, Va., Mr. Owens graduated from Paul G. Blazer High School in Ashland, Ky., in 1969, and was named to the all-state basketball team by the Louisville Courier Journal.
He attended Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., on a basketball scholarship, and graduated from the University of Richmond in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in English and psychology.
For two years, he worked for Dart Container Corp. as the sales representative for Virginia and parts of Maryland and Tennessee. While at Dart, a maker of disposable plastic food-service items, Mr. Owens sold the company's largest order up to that time to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va.
"I think he could have sold anything," his wife said. "He had a fantastic voice and a fabulous smile, and at the end that was his only way of expression."
After leaving Dart, Mr. Owens traveled the country and lived for periods in Hawaii and Seattle, Wash. -- selling boat furniture -- before moving to the Baltimore area in 1979.
At that time, he went to work for Koch Associates in Cockeysville, which sells industrial instrumentation products to the government, as well as to the power and health care industries. He was named Koch's general manager in 1985, became president in 1988 and bought the business in 1991. That same year he married Dr. Caroline Foster, a Towson dentist.
Mr. Owens expanded Koch's business and won numerous sales awards. He belonged to the Instrument Society of America and the Mechanical Equipment Manufacturers Representatives Association. He stopped working last year when he lost most of his vision.
Mr. Owens enjoyed woodworking, gardening, and small construction and renovation projects. He often ran on the Northern Central Railroad trail, and spent time there during his illness. His family plans to place a bench on the trail with Mr. Owens' name on it as a memorial, Dr. Owens said. "After the cancer was diagnosed, he went there every day; that was his church," she said.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today at Bethel Presbyterian Church, 4135 Norrisville Road in White Hall.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Owens is survived by two sons, John Foster Owens and Joseph Thomas Owens of Monkton; his mother, Mildred Owens of Richmond; a brother, Danny Owens of Louisville, Ky.; and a sister, Linda Smith of Richmond.
April 18, 2002
Ralph Shaver Parsons, a retired Montgomery Ward & Co. sales manager, died of pneumonia Friday at his White Marsh home. He was 78.
Born and raised in Trucksville, Pa., Mr. Parsons enlisted in the Navy after his high school graduation. He served with the Seabees in the Pacific during World War II.
He worked as furniture department sales manager at Ward stores in Catonsville and later Rosedale, and retired in 1985.
He was a member of American Legion Post 183 in Parkville, and the Rosedale post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He enjoyed tinkering in his garage workshop, repairing his car, and planting and growing tulips. He also was a longtime golfer and a member of a foursome that played regularly at Clifton Park.
He was a communicant of Our Lady of Pompei Roman Catholic Church.
Services were held Saturday.
Mr. Parsons is survived by his wife of 57 years, the former Elsie Buck; two sons, Robert R. Parsons of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Allan W. Parsons of Carney; a daughter, Beverly A. Parsons of White Marsh; three grandchildren; and a great-grandson.
July 31, 2002
Margaret Payne, a retired public school teacher, died of heart failure Thursday at Blakehurst Retirement Community in Towson. She was 92 and earlier had lived in Northwood.
Mrs. Payne taught for 24 years in Somerset County public schools and was a former president of the Somerset County Teachers Association. She moved to Baltimore and taught seventh-grade subjects in the Baltimore County system, including what was then Parkville Junior High School.
Born Margaret Powell in Princess Anne on the Eastern Shore, she was a graduate of University of Maryland, College Park, where she also earned a master's degree in education.
A former president of the Garden Gate Club, she served on the board of the Presbyterian Home in Towson. She also was active in the Maryland State Retired Teachers Association, Eastern Shore Society and Baltimore Opera Guild. For many years she was a hostess for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's decorator show house.
A former member of Manokin Presbyterian Church in Princess Anne, she belonged to First and Franklin Presbyterian Church in downtown Baltimore.
Her husband, Robert J. Payne, died in 1962.
Services were held Monday.
She is survived by a nephew, Robert T. Powell of Princess Anne.
July 19, 2001
William Michael Wright, who graduated last month from Hereford High School where he was a star varsity football player, was killed Saturday in an automobile accident on Interstate 83. The Hereford resident was 18.
Mr. Wright was driving north on I-83 when his 1987 Chevy Blazer left the road, hit an embankment and overturned. He was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
Born in Columbia and raised in Hereford, he began playing football as a youngster for the Hereford Recreation Council.
At Hereford High, he had played fullback on the junior varsity and varsity teams.
Mr. Wright, at 5 feet 10 inches and 230 pounds, was a formidable presence on the football field.
Steve Turnbaugh, football coach at Hereford since 1994, recalled him as a consistent and hard-working player, who came into his own his junior year.
"When one of our fullbacks got injured during his junior year, Bill stepped right in, and that's why we won the first round of the playoffs," said Mr. Turnbaugh. "During his senior year, he was our second-leading scorer and rusher."
Mr. Turnbaugh described him as a "fantastic player. He was an extraordinarily strong yet quiet kid who worked hard at football and never let it bother him if other kids got more glory. He was always up to the challenge and had fun when he was in there."
He recalled Mr. Wright's unusual running style that amused his fellow players and fans.
"His feet never left the ground when he ran, and he was constantly being teased about it. He used to say, 'That's all right, I don't have far to go if I get knocked over,'" said Mr. Turnbaugh.
"His death is a tragedy. His whole life was ahead of him, and now it's been cut short," he said.
To honor Mr. Wright, the Hereford High team will wear a memorial decal on its football helmets during the coming season.
"It will be a decal with 'BW' and they'll wear them on the backs of their helmets. ... It was something they wanted to do," said Mr. Turnbaugh.
Mr. Wright worked in the meat department at Graul's Market on Mount Carmel Road, where he was an apprentice meat-cutter.
"He was a workaholic who began working at Graul's when he was 14," said his father, Edward J. Wright Jr. of Hereford.
"I had hired him as a cart boy," said Ken Bullen, manager of the popular north Baltimore County market. "He was a nice kid who was very popular with the customers and well-known throughout the store. Everybody is upset about what has happened."
"He was a well-mannered kid, who was very popular," said his father, who is president of the Long Green Volunteer Fire Co., where his son volunteered at fund-raising dinners. "He was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back."
Mr. Wright was a communicant of Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church in Parkton, where a Mass of Christian burial was offered yesterday .
He also is survived by his mother, Theresa Ann Wright, two brothers, Edward J. Wright III and James Wright, and a sister, April Wright, all of Hereford; his paternal grandparents, Edward J. Wright Sr. and Ruth Wright of Baltimore; and his maternal grandmother, Estelle Fromm of Baltimore.
May 3, 2001
Mary Ellen White, 77, nursing shift supervisor
Mary Ellen White, a retired registered nurse, died Monday of complications of Parkinson's disease at Keswick Multi-Care Center, where she resided for 17 years. She was 77 and previously lived in Middle River.
Mrs. White retired as a private duty nurse in the 1970s. Earlier, she was a nursing shift supervisor at Keswick, where she began her career in the 1940s.
Born in Baltimore, Mary Ellen Mullen was raised in Jarrettsville and graduated from Keswick School of Nursing in 1941.
She enjoyed fishing, roller-skating, shuffleboard and riding a motor scooter. She also made doll clothes and embroidered.
In 1941, she married James C. White, who died in 1987.
Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. today at Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home, 3631 Falls Road.
She is survived by a son, Richard H. White of Edgewood; two daughters, Mary Ellen Rosensteel of Middle River and Betty Jean Rosensteel of Stevensville; eight grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
August 5, 2001
Carol Weinberg, a Goucher College professor of education who examined intolerance and injustice through the plays she wrote, died of cancer Monday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. She was 54 and lived in Cockeysville.
Her plays -- among them Freedom Summer, Keeping the Faith and Every Susie and Sal -- often dealt with racial prejudice, the women's movement and dysfunctional families, and were produced at local theaters.
"She wrote about people in a way that made you want to know them better," said Rodney Bonds, chairman of the Baltimore Playwrights Festival. "She had a voice of social conscience and a way with dialogue and plots that made them worth watching."
Kathleen Barber, a friend who lives in Northwood, said, "Carol was one of the gems of the 1960s. All those ideals we had, all that enthusiasm that we could possibly change the world -- she lived the life. She was one of those persons who helped the world along. She was a magnet for people."
Known for her sense of humor, she was called "One-line Weinberg" by friends.
Last year, after Goucher College was awarded a France-Merrick Foundations grant for an endowed professorship devoted to community service, Dr. Weinberg was named its first chairwoman. She directed Goucher students in community service projects that took them to schools, hospices, environmental agencies, homeless shelters and food banks.
"She helped students realize there was a world beyond the walls of the college," said Megan Cooperman, a 1996 Goucher graduate who lives in Columbia.
Dr. Weinberg received the Student Services Award three times, given by students to the faculty member who has shown "extraordinary commitment" to students.
Said Kevin Probst, another 1996 Goucher graduate: "She was a direct and challenging person. She pushed me and forced me to set clear and attainable goals. She had this ability to focus on you."
Dr. Weinberg joined the Goucher faculty in 1978 as an instructor in the Women's Studies Program and a member of the student-life staff. In 1986, she became associate dean for student affairs at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. She returned to Goucher in 1993 as coordinator of community service. In 1995, she became Goucher's director of residence life and taught courses in the education department. She also wrote two books: The Complete Handbook for College Women and The Transition Guide for College Juniors and Seniors.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Queens, she was a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton, the University of Pennsylvania and Michigan State University, where she earned her doctorate in education.
As a child growing up near Shea Stadium, she became a devoted New York Mets fan; her interest in baseball continued throughout her life. At an early age, she also was taken to the theater by her parents, an experience that strongly influenced her, said family members.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 16 at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium.
She is survived by a brother, Stuart Weinberg of Merrick, N.Y.; two sisters, Sandy DuBois of Morrison, Colo., and Susan Margulis of Chicago; and four nieces and two nephews.
