saying goodbye
Helen Delich Bentley
When it came time to give Helen Delich Bentley a formal send-off, there was only one fitting place: the Cruise Maryland Terminal in the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore.
Hundreds gathered there in November to pay tribute to the colorful and often cantankerous former congresswoman, reporter and entrepreneur who died Aug. 6 of brain cancer at age 92.
When she came to Baltimore as a young reporter for The Baltimore Sun, she had never seen a ship or even an ocean, but embraced the waterfront and fought through a male-dominated environment. “I had to be as mean and as tough as I could be. And I was,” she once said.
In 1950 she launched a WMAR television show, “The Port that Built the City and State.” It caught the attention of President Lyndon B. Johnson and later of President Richard M. Nixon, and she was appointed chair of the Federal Maritime Administration.
She ran three times for Congress, winning in 1984, and “worked like hell” on maritime and trade issues for four terms — famously smashing a Toshiba radio with a sledgehammer outside the U.S. Capitol for news cameras. She advocated for preservation of the World War II-era Liberty ship John W. Brown and crossed party lines to get things done. After leaving Congress, she worked as a lobbyist for maritime and defense industries, and lost a comeback bid for Congress in 2002. She was inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame in New York in 2004, and in 2006 then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. named the port in her honor as part of its 300th anniversary celebration. She declared herself speechless — “It was the first time I ever shut her up,” Mr. Ehrlich said. Gov. Larry Hogan said at her memorial service that Mrs. Bentley had smashed through glass ceilings “like a wrecking ball.” Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said her former colleague in Congress “fought for jobs and she fought for the little people,” and at the memorial service added, “She was the Helen that launched a thousand ships.”
Jack Bowden, longtime television anchorman and reporter for WMAR and other stations, died of leukemia Jan. 20 at age 82.
With boyish looks and an easygoing style, he achieved top ratings with his wife, Susan White-Bowden, a fellow reporter who appeared with him on air.
“He was a household word in the mid-1960s,” said Richard Sher, a friend who is moderator of “Square-Off” on WMAR-TV.
Born in Baltimore and raised in Walbrook, he served in the Army's Finance Corps during the Korean War. Early in his career, he worked at WFMD radio in Frederick and WBAL-FM, then worked a year at WBAL-TV before joining WMAR in 1967.
He recalled the March 1976 kidnapping of 10-year-old Billy Arthes of Towson as the “most important” story of his career. In a memoir, he wrote that despite police objections, he broadcast the identity of the suspected kidnapper. “A woman in Virginia saw it, recognized [the man and] called police,” Mr. Bowden wrote. The man was arrested and the boy was rescued.
Mr. Bowden left WMAR in 1988, and in December 1989 joined WBAL radio to host an afternoon news journal. He retired in 1998 as a reporter and anchor at WJLA-TV in Washington. He also had minor roles in films including “Forrest Gump,” “Cry-Baby” and “The Distinguished Gentleman.”
At his death, his wife said: “It was like he was getting off the stage. He seemed to be at peace.”
Gwen Ifill
Gwen Ifill, the first African-American woman to co-anchor a national newscast, died of cancer Nov. 14 at age 61. A former Baltimore Evening Sun reporter, she was co-anchor and co-managing editor of PBS' “NewsHour.” Born in New York City, she covered government for The Evening Sun from 1981 to 1984, when she left for a position at The Washington Post. “I learned so much about journalism at The Evening Sun,” she wrote in 2012. “I learned how to dictate a story from a pay phone on the fly. ... I learned how to wake up from a dead sleep and file on deadline.” City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke described Ms. Ifill as “a model for us women all over Baltimore City and eventually all over the nation.” Ms. Ifill worked as a White House correspondent for The New York Times and chief congressional correspondent for NBC News before joining PBS in 1999, taking over as moderator and managing editor of the network's Friday night political roundtable “Washington Week.” In 2013, she and co-anchor Judy Woodruff became TV's first national female anchor team. She moderated debates between vice presidential candidates in 2004 and 2008. In 2009, she published “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” President Barack Obama paid tribute to her during a news conference after her death, saying, “I always appreciated [her] reporting, even when I was at the receiving end of one of her tough interviews. … She was an extraordinary journalist.” Ms. Ifill appreciated the history she made, saying once in a CNN interview: “When I was a little girl watching programs like this … I would look up and not see anyone who looked like me in any way. No women. No people of color. I'm very keen about the fact that a little girl now, watching the news, when they see me and Judy sitting side by side, it will occur to them that that's perfectly normal.”
Reginald ‘DJ Reggie Reg' Calhoun
DJ Reggie Reg, who gained fame on Baltimore radio station 92Q and was in demand as a disc jockey on the city's club music scene, died Feb. 6 at age 50 of congestive heart failure.
Then-mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said he had “a personality bigger than life” and was “one of the best DJs of my generation.”
Born Reginald Calhoun, his grandparents bought him his first set of turntables as a child, and he would spin records in the basement of his grandmother's brick rowhouse on North Payson Street. He drew a crowd, even though guests would hit their heads on the low ceiling, said his sister, Betty Covington.
“Reggie hung out with everybody,” said Frank “Ski” Rodriguez, a radio and television personality. “He hung out at beauty shops and at record stores. Everybody gravitated to him.”
He was well established in the club music scene by the time he joined the staff of 92Q radio as a disc jockey in the mid-1990s. He remained on the air for a decade.
Mr. Calhoun was the house DJ at O'Dell's and also worked events at Gatsby's on Charles Street in Station North and at the 32nd Street Plaza in Waverly, as well as the Paradox in downtown Baltimore and Volcano's in East Baltimore.
In July, a street sign was dedicated on the block where he lived, renaming it DJ Reggie Reg Way. “Reggie would say, ‘It's not a party until everybody's dancing,'?” recalled a friend, Howard “Hi-Def” Dabney. “Once his voice came through the microphone, it was time to party.”
Ted Marchibroda, who coached both NFL franchises in Baltimore — the Colts and Ravens — died Jan. 16 in Weems, Va., at age 84.
He was the first Ravens' head coach in 1996 and previously coached the Baltimore Colts from 1975 through 1979.
“Ted is a founding father of the Ravens,” said Ozzie Newsome, the team's general manager and executive vice president. Former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis called Mr. Marchibroda a “staple in my life,” adding, “he wanted to make us better men before anything else.”
As an NFL head coach, Mr. Marchibroda had an 87-98-1 career record. Born in Franklin, Pa., he played quarterback at St. Bonaventure and Detroit Mercy and, after an Army hitch, joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 and beat out then-rookie Johnny Unitas — who was cut by the team and signed by the Colts.
When his playing days were over, he coached with the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams; in 1975, the Colts named him head coach. “I want to give Baltimore fans a winner,” he told the media.
The Colts went from 2-12 to 10-4 and won three straight AFC East titles, though losing in the first round of the playoffs each year. In 1979, he was let go and kicked around the NFL as an assistant coach.
When the Ravens came calling, he returned to Baltimore. “In a way, he set the Ravens' path,” said Mr. Newsome. “He wanted players … who love all aspects of the game — the mental part, lifting weights, practice and the physicality. That eventually became what we now call ‘playing like a Raven.'”
Louis J. Grasmick
Louis J. Grasmick, a lumber company executive, former professional baseball player, philanthropist and political confidant, died May 26 of multiple organ failure at age 91. He was a figure in Maryland politics for more than 50 years. He helped develop the Canton waterfront, raised money to open the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture and became involved with stem cell research for cardiac conditions.
“He was truly a Renaissance man, a real asset to the larger community and to his family,” said his wife, former state schools superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick.
After his father died when he was 13, the Baltimore native dropped out of school to help support his mother. As a youngster, he played baseball for sandlot teams, and signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 1944. He played eight seasons, reaching the majors in 1948 and pitching five innings.
He eventually became president of his own firm, Louis J. Grasmick Lumber Co. Inc. in East Baltimore. In 1964 then-Mayor Theodore McKeldin appointed him to the Civic Center Commission when that building — now Royal Farms Arena — was being built.
Mr. Grasmick played a role in the 1966 gubernatorial bid of segregationist Democratic nominee George P. Mahoney, but in 1971 backed George L. Russell Jr., the first black Circuit Court judge in Maryland and Baltimore's first black city solicitor, in his mayoral bid against William Donald Schaefer. Yet Mr. Grasmick and Mr. Schaefer grew close, consulting on projects including development of waterfront homes and boating piers in Canton.
He stayed close to Mr. Russell, too, and they paired up for ventures including raising money for Harbor Bank of Maryland and Provident Hospital, which catered to the black community. The Grasmicks donated $2 million to the Johns Hopkins Heart Institute and worked with the Capricor Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company involved in cardiovascular research.
“He said, ‘This could save lives,' ” his wife recalled. “ ‘We have to do it.' ”
Donald Ainslie Henderson
Dr. Donald Ainslie “D.A.” Henderson, who led the World Health Organization's successful effort to eradicate smallpox, died Aug. 19 at age 87 of complications after a hip fracture.
Dr. Henderson served at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, became the eighth dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and worked for three presidents on health threats.
He was best known for leading the CDC's fight against smallpox, an infectious disease that was one of the world's greatest killers. The campaign was widely expected to fail, but he focused on stopping outbreaks at the source, vaccinating people who came in contact with the disease. The last-known natural case of smallpox occurred in 1977. Its eradication was “among the top five greatest achievements in the history of medicine,” said Karen Kruse Thomas, the Bloomberg School's historian.
After joining the Hopkins school of public health as its dean, he held the position until 1990. During his tenure, the school's enrollment grew and 13 new centers and institutes were established. He also directed resources to AIDS research. In 1998 he co-founded the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies to direct attention toward biological threats.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. He was married to the former Nana Bragg for 64 years.
His daughter, Leigh Henderson of Baltimore, said Dr. Henderson never felt that smallpox eradication was his own achievement. Instead, he credited it to “the rather remarkable people in the field and their dedication and ingenuity.”
Thomas A. “Tom” Marr, a radio host known not only for his conservative talk show on WCBM but also for his days as an Orioles announcer, died July 7 of a stroke following back surgery. The Timonium resident was 73. The Silver Spring native began his radio career in 1960 while a student at Montgomery Blair High School, hosting a sports show on WWDC-AM. After serving in the Marine Corps from 1960 to 1963, he worked at stations in Rhode Island, Virginia and Salisbury before joining WFBR-AM in 1967 as a newsman, anchor and panelist on “Conference Call,” a lunchtime current events show. In 1979, when WFBR acquired the rights to Orioles games, Mr. Marr joined the play-by-play team. He hosted a pregame and postgame show and was part of the “Oriole Magic” team that later included Jon Miller, Chuck Thompson and Bill O'Donnell. “He was a huge part of the Orioles of those days,” said former catcher Rick Dempsey. After WFBR stopped broadcasting Orioles games in 1987, Mr. Marr hosted a talk show until the station was sold in 1988 and he moved to WCBM. The worked there from 1988 to 1996, left for two years, then returned in 1998, hosting “The Tom Marr Show” in the key 9 a.m. to noon slot. “He helped build this news/talk radio station into the force that it is today,” WCBM program director Sean Casey said. Mr. Marr was named one of the 100 top talk-show hosts in the nation for seven straight years by Talkers Magazine, and made appearances on CNN, Fox and WSNBC. He also served on the Maryland Aviation Administration. City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke said Marr was “one of Baltimore's great radio personalities. He was larger than life, and his voice was one that we all knew. It felt like home.”
John Paterakis Sr.
John Paterakis Sr., known as “the bread man” not only for his baking acumen but his financial and political influence, died Oct. 16 at age 87 of complications from a bone marrow disorder. The multimillionaire built H&S Bakery into the largest privately owned bakery in the country and was the force behind redevelopment of what is now Harbor East. The Baltimore native graduated from Patterson Park High School and served in the Navy in the 1940s. He began running the bakery when his father became ill, working with partner Harry Tsakalos. He came up with a process to mass-produce specialty breads, and the old Food Fair chain began buying from him. He moved the business to Fells Point in the 1950s and opened an automated plant on Moravia Road in 1965.
“Everything we've ever done, we've done on chance,” Mr. Paterakis said. He donated to politicians including Republican Spiro T. Agnew and Democrats Marvin Mandel, Paul Sarbanes, William Donald Schaefer, Kurt L. Schmoke, Catherine E. Pugh and Sheila Dixon.
It was Mr. Schaefer who called on Mr. Paterakis to bail out a moribund 20-acre stretch of the harbor. Mr. Paterakis bought the land for $11 million, then pushed ahead with Harbor East, a collection of offices, shops and homes. He built Promenade Apartments with the Bozzuto Group, then the Marriott Waterfront Hotel and was one of the developers behind the Four Seasons Hotel. He was indicted in 2009 on alleged campaign finance violations, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges and receiving a fine of $26,000 and probation. He donated to causes around Baltimore, including Greek businesses and churches and the Ronald McDonald House. After his death, his funeral procession passed by H&S Bakery's corporate offices and longtime workers lined the path to place pink roses on the hearse. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski called him a “visionary,” and said he “dedicated himself to Baltimore, the city he loved.” Early this year when he was inducted into The Baltimore Sun's Business and Civic Hall of Fame, Mr. Paterakis had a different assessment of himself: “I'm just a little Greek baker that got lucky.”
Growing up in West Baltimore, Tyriece Watson would stay up late, working on rhymes and filling notebooks with lyrics. The slender boy who became known as Baltimore hip-hop artist Lor Scoota was shot and killed June 25 at age 23 as he drove from a youth event at Morgan State University. “He wanted to be a role model so [other youngsters] wouldn't have to go through what he went through as far as getting in trouble,” said his mother, Leta Person. His YouTube videos featured what he knew: dirt bikers and Pennsylvania Avenue rowhouses. His music spoke of the loss of friends to violence and the yearning for something better. His song “Bird Flu,” in which he wears an Orioles jersey and hat, became a hit in the city. “The honesty of the music … represented the youth of Baltimore. His music was such a microcosm of what's going on in Baltimore, for good or bad,” said rapper Ellis Hopkins Jr. of Randallstown. His stage name came from his mother — he said she called him Little Scooter after she put him in the crib as a child and he scooted around. A 2012 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, he had some troubles with the law — an assault charge that was not prosecuted, a drug possession charge for which he received probation before judgment, and more probation after agents at BWI Thurgood Marshal Airport found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag. He never served prison time. At the time of his death, he had met with record labels and his social media handle hinted at his aspirations: ScootaUpNext. Hundreds of people attended vigils and commemorations when he died, including a wake followed by rap performances. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake noted that her teenage daughter followed his work, and City Councilman Nick J. Mosby called him a “'hood poet.” Last year he took part in a panel discussion at Douglass High, and told students that growing up in West Baltimore “makes you feel like you can go through any situation and make it through.”
Others we lost
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
