Agnes C. Rawa, 88, known as 'Cake Lady'Agnes C. Rawa, who...

Agnes C. Rawa, 88, known as 'Cake Lady'

Agnes C. Rawa, who was known in her Northeast Baltimore neighborhood as the "Cake Lady," died of pulmonary illness Monday at Good Samaritan Hospital. She was 88.

Mrs. Rawa kept busy in the kitchen of the East Lake Avenue home where she had lived for more than 40 years, baking her much-in-demand pineapple upside-down cakes and pound cakes.

"If she heard someone was having a shindig, she'd make a cake and take it over to them, and when she went to the doctor she always took a cake to give to him," said her daughter, Katherine Koning of Mayfield.

Born Agnes Czernikowski on Castle Street, near Butchers Hill in East Baltimore, she attended St. Stanislaus Parochial School until the eighth grade, when she left to help support her family.

During the 1920s, she worked at Tastykorn, a well-known Eutaw Street popcorn and nut store that was popular with several generations of Baltimore moviegoers who attended the famed Hippodrome theater next door.

During the 1940s and 1950s, she was a part-time waitress at Wagner & Wagner Drugstore at Eutaw and Baltimore streets.

She and Edmund Rawa were married 48 years. He died in 1974.

"She was a fiercely independent person who loved gardening, raising roses and cut her own grass until she was 87. The last present she requested was a chain saw so she could do her own tree trimming," her daughter said.

A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. today at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, Harford Road and Pelham Avenue, Baltimore, where she was a communicant.

She also is survived by a son, Robert E. Rawa of Maitland, Fla.; and a sister, Catherine Fingleton of Baltimore.

Thomas R. Caltrider, 90, furniture store founder

Thomas R. Caltrider, who founded and then operated a Pikesville furniture and hardware store for four decades, died of cancer Tuesday at his home in Worton. He was 90.

Mr. Caltrider retired in 1965 from T. R. Caltrider Furniture and Hardware, which he established in 1924 on Main Street in Pikesville. He then went to work selling paint for the Bruning Paint Co. and retired a second time in 1985, moving to Kent County.

Mr. Caltrider, known as "Si," was born and raised in Upperco and was educated in Baltimore County schools. He graduated from the old Franklin Academy, now Franklin High School.

He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a member of the Boumi Temple and the Scottish Rite. He also was a member of the Rotary Club of Pikesville, Elks Lodge No. 2277 and Ionic Lodge No. 145 A.F. & A.M.

He was married to the former Clara G. Miller and the former Thelma Kraft, both deceased.

Services are planned for 11 a.m. today at Eline Funeral Home, 11824 Reisterstown Road, Reisterstown.

He is survived by a daughter, Lynda Kraft Grubb of Worton; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Ramona Churchill P. Albert, 89, a homemaker, churchwoman and longtime dog trainer, was remembered at services Monday at St. David's Episcopal Church in Baltimore. She died of heart failure Nov. 19 in Mitchellville.

Mrs. Albert, who taught dog obedience classes at the 5th Regiment Armory, wrote "Living Your Dog's Life," which Harper ZTC Bros. published in 1953. Before moving to a Prince George's County retirement community in 1990, she had lived for many years in Roland Park and had been active in St. David's Church, UNICEF and the Girl Scouts.

The former Ramona C. Penn was born in Troy, Ohio, and graduated in 1929 from the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing.

She is survived by two daughters, Ramona Albert Harvey of University Park and Taylor Albert Parisotti of Rome; a stepson, J. Hollis B. Albert of Cedarcroft; a stepdaughter, Kewpie Benet of Ruxton; 12 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren. She and J. Hollis B. Albert, who died in 1980, were married for 50 years.