Dominic Gantt, aka Nick Breed, a rising Baltimore rapper whose lyrics often reflected the pain and trauma he'd seen in the city, died in October at age 24 of gunshot wounds.

Suzanne F. Cohen, a former board chair of the Baltimore Museum of Art who championed its free admissions policy and in 2005 donated $2 million to the museum, died of cancer at her North Baltimore home. She was 83.

Dr. J. Alex Haller Jr., Johns Hopkins pediatric surgeon who gained fame in separating conjoined twins and was known as the “father of pediatric trauma care,” died of respiratory arrest at his Glencoe home. He was 91.

Kingdon Gould Jr., who served as an ambassador to The Netherlands and Luxembourg and was a noted developer and Republican donor, died of complications from pneumonia at his North Laurel home. He was 94.

Dr. Moody DeW. Wharam Jr., a pioneering Johns Hopkins Hospital radiation oncologist whose life’s work focused on helping children stricken with cancers, died at age 77 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, at Franklin Square Medical Center.

Alice J.W. “Ajax” Eastman, a Cockeysville resident and outspoken advocate for Maryland environmental issues who was dubbed “everybody’s environmental conscience,” died from complications of pneumonia at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center at age 84.

Charles Lester “Les” Kinsolving, a retired WCBM-AM conservative talk radio personality and political gadfly who hosted the show “Uninhibited Radio” for 28 years, died of heart disease and dementia at his home in Vienna, Va., at age 90.

Michael H. “Mike” Bowler, a veteran Baltimore Sun reporter and editor who covered the education beat for decades and later served as a member of the Baltimore County Board of Education, died at his Catonsville home from pancreatic cancer at age 77.

William Melbourne Smith, a longtime Arnold resident whose attraction to ships and the sea led him to become a driving force behind the design and construction of the original Pride of Baltimore, died from pneumonia at a West Palm Beach, Fla., assisted-living facility. He was 87.

Ruth Elma Cummings, founder of the city’s Victory Prayer Chapel and mother of U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, died from complications of a stroke at her Edmondson Village home. She was 91.

William C. Jimeson, who for decades was known as “Mr. Track in Baltimore” for his knowledge of track and field and was the founder of the Baltimore Olympic Club, died at in Palm Isle, Fla., of complications from melanoma.

Norman K. Carlberg, a noted sculptor who was director of the Maryland Institute College of Art’s Rinehart School of Sculpture for nearly four decades, died from colon cancer at Gilchrist Center Towson at age 90.

Jack Gale, a popular morning host with the old WITH-AM radio station and a record company owner and producer, died at his home in Sebring, Fla. He was 92.

John Taylor, a popular song-and-dance man who created the role of the Kinderman as he performed in a derby and bow tie for children, died of heart disease. The Columbia resident was 82.

John C. Guerriero, founder of Continental Foods and a leader in the Little Italy neighborhood, died of pneumonia at Mercy Medical Center. He was 86.

Roy L. Pope, a retired Baltimore City schools principal who stressed academics and advocated for school uniforms, died of congestive heart failure at age 89 at his Columbia home.

Bernard Siegel, who served as the first president of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc. and guided its philanthropic efforts locally and around the world, died at age 88 from cancer.

Glbert Sandler, whose nostalgic stories of old Baltimore were told in The Sun and on WYPR-FM, died in December of cancer at Roland Park Place. He was 95 and formerly lived in Mount Washington.