Mary J. Warfield, a retired bookkeeper who enjoyed reading, gardening and following the Orioles, died April 17 from complications of dementia at Lorien Mount Airy. The longtime Woodbine resident was 88.

Mary Jane Flaherty was born in Baltimore and raised on a farm in Carney. She was the daughter of Martin Edward Flaherty, a construction worker, and Margaret Steilper Flaherty, a homemaker,

She was a 1947 graduate of Towson High School and received a degree in the 1960s from what is now Notre Dame University of Maryland.

In 1950, she married Eldred Donald Warfield, a farmer. They moved to his family’s farm, Bite the Skinner, which was a land grant from Britain’s King George III.

“No one knows why it was called that,” said her daughter, Joan Carney of Woodbine.

Mrs. Warfield lived there the remainder of her life.

Until retiring in the 1990s, she had worked as a bookkeeper for a variety of businesses, including Woodbine National Bank, Lisbon Chrysler Plymouth, Bechtel, BioScience and Sykesville Eldercare.

Mrs. Warfield was a longtime communicant of St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Mount Airy, where she had been a member of the parish council and taught Sunday school.

She was an avid gardener and a lifetime member of the Cattail River Garden Club in Howard County. In addition to playing bridge she enjoyed reading and was a member of the Read ’Em and Eat Book Club.

She maintained a summer home in Duck, N.C., where she liked entertaining family and friends.

“Mary Jane will always be remembered by her family and friends as a warm, compassionate and gracious lady,” her daughter said.

A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 11 a.m. June 4 at her church, 1200 St. Michaels Road, Mount Airy.

In addition to her husband of 67 years and her daughter, Mrs. Warfield is survived by her son, Donald B. Warfield of Woodbine; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

—?Frederick N. Rasmussen