Baltimore Chapter

Richard William Luckan, a retired banker and Vietnam War veteran who enjoyed gourmet cooking and dining, died of melanoma and leukemia Saturday at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air. He was 62. Mr. Luckan was born in Baltimore and raised in Towson. He attended Loyola High School and graduated from Parkville High School in 1963. He earned a degree in 1967 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and a bachelor's degree in economics from Loyola College in 1973. He earned a master's degree in banking and finance from the University of Maryland in 1979.

Jan. 12: A tribute to commemorate the 70th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. 7:30 p.m. Tickets are free, but must be reserved by calling 410-783-8024.Jan. 14: Rob Tregenza, local independent filmmaker whose "Inside 1/8 Out" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, will speak at a meeting of Women in Film and Video. Radisson 1/8 Cross Keys Inn. 6 p.m. Members free; nonmembers $10. Call 410-685-FILM.Jan. 16: The 13th annual Madhatters Ball. L'Hirondelle Club in Ruxton.

A blood drive to benefit Baltimore Police Department personnel and their families will be held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Southern District in the first block of Cherry Hill Road.The drive is sponsored by the Baltimore Chapter of the American Red Cross three days a year.

Arthur Hicks Jr., 61, captain in city Fire DepartmentArthur Hicks Jr., a retired city Fire Department captain, died of a heart ailment Saturday at Sinai Hospital. He was 61 and lived in Windsor Hills.Born in Baltimore, he was a 1956 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. He also attended what is now Morgan State University.He joined the Postal Service in 1957 and went to work for the city Fire Department in 1963. In 1969, he was promoted to lieutenant in the Fire Prevention Bureau. He was made a captain in 1972 and served at Engine 36, Edmondson Avenue and Bentalou Street.

Florence B. Allard, 79, secretary and lay ministerFlorence B. Allard, a retired secretary, died Saturday of a pulmonary embolism at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 79 and lived in the Campus Hills section of Towson.Mrs. Allard served 33 years in the English department of the Baltimore County Board of Education and retired in 1994.Born in Baltimore, the former Florence Beever was a graduate of Eastern High School.She was a longtime member of Joppa Gospel Tabernacle Church, where she was a lay minister and taught Sunday school.

The members of four black nursing organizations in Maryland -- Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc., Gamma Chapter; Provident Hospital Nurses Alumni Association; Black Nurses Association-Baltimore Chapter; and Coppin State College Nurses Alumni Association -- gathered recently to celebrate the rich legacy of black nurses in Maryland and the service that they have provided for more than 100 years.The program was held at Coppin State College, and it honored Gail D. Marshall, a registered nurse with Self Pride Inc., a residential program for developmentally disabled adults, and second vice president of the Maryland Nurses Association.

Five-year-old Marquis Ray seems normal -- except for his ears.They jut out from his head at a sharp angle, causing people to stare, laugh and call him "elephant ears," says his mother, Lisa Muse, a Baltimore cafeteria worker. "A lot of people -- adults and kids -- tease him."It is a cosmetic problem, one for which she could not afford to seek help -- until yesterday, when a nonprofit humanitarian organization, Operation Smile, which provides free medical care to indigent children with facial and hand deformities, held its first clinic in Baltimore.

JUST WHEN MEMBERS of the Baltimore Chapter of Chaine des Rotisseurs, a food and wine appreciation group, thought it couldn't get any better, it did. That's what the chapter's bailli (that's their equivalent of a president) Duke Goldberg and his wife, Marlene, had to say about the group's recent event at the beautifully renovated Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore Hotel.The occasion was the chapter's annual induction dinner, planned by members Mary Ann Cricchio, Sharon Goldstein, Bob White and Goldberg, who selected "The Orient Express" theme featuring foods and wines from countries of Europe.

More than 200 people gathered early Saturday morning in their Sunday best for the Baltimore NAACP's prayer breakfast, an annual fund-raiser focused this year on the local branch's efforts to recruit young people and guide them in successful lives."

A pivoting footbridge designed to span Piers 4 and 5 in Baltimore's Inner Harbor has won the Grand Award in the 1996 design program sponsored by the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects.The award was presented Friday to Gould Architects P.A., the designer, in a ceremony that was scheduled to take place at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church.Columbus Center, the client, wanted the bridge to be movable to allow ships and other maritime vessels to enter the inlet between Piers 4 and 5.The architects responded with a $300,000 structure that floats on pontoons and swings like a gate to let boats pass.

William A. Pistell, a retired printing firm executive active in Chesapeake Bay conservation, died of cancer Sept. 24 at his Owings Mills home. He was 83. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., he earned a history degree at Princeton University after serving in the merchant marine during World War II. He had a master's degree from the New York University School of Business and was a certified public accountant. He moved to Baltimore in 1962 and was vice president of finance at Baltimore Business Forms and later served as treasurer of a federal agency, the Overseas Private Investment Corp.

Etta Rebecca Phifer, a retired Baltimore public schools English teacher who founded social organizations, died Tuesday of complications from a stroke at her Forest Park home. She was 104. Born Etta Rebecca Burwell in Baltimore and raised on Druid Hill Avenue, she was a 1922 graduate of the old Colored High School on Dolphin Street. She was a classmate of Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Supreme Court justice. She earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University. She taught seventh-grade English at Booker T. Washington Jr. Junior High School for many years and retired nearly 40 years ago from Frederick Douglass High School, where she taught French as well as English.

Betty Loretta Pruce, a former Kernan Hospital volunteer and homemaker, died of heart disease May 3 at her Northwest Baltimore home. She was 97. Born Betty Loretta Fox in Windham County, Conn., she moved to Baltimore in 1929 and soon met her future husband, Earl Pruce, who became librarian of the old News American. Friends said Mrs. Pruce was talented in arts and crafts. Over the years she donated much of her handiwork to charitable institutions for sale in their gift shops. She was also a gift wrapper for Hutzler's department stores in the 1960s and 1970s.

Rex A. Wright is chairman of the Baltimore chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit group that helps companies make their buildings environmentally friendly. The group has established a rating system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) that lists criteria buildings have to meet to be considered green. LEED is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of energy-efficient buildings. It is used by architects, engineers, interior designers, lenders and government officials, among others.

Awards The Leffler Agency received the Davey Award from the International Academy of Visual Arts for its "You at the Zoo" outdoor and logo campaign for the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Airport Councils International-North America presented Obrycki's Crab House in the air mall at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport with an honorable mention in its annual airport concessions contest for best new food and beverage concept in North America. Certifications Dr. Edgar E. Mallick, executive director of Ginger Cove life care retirement community, received a Certified Aging Services Professional designation from the Coalition for Leadership in Aging Services.

A group representing black firefighters and the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP called on the mayor yesterday to disclose the results of a months-long investigation into whether some firefighters cheated on city Fire Department promotional exams over the summer. Henry Burris, president of the Vulcan Blazers, said the investigation, which started in July, has affected the careers and reputations of at least six black firefighters who scored at the top of exams for new captain and lieutenant positions.

Richard William Luckan, a retired banker and Vietnam War veteran who enjoyed gourmet cooking and dining, died of melanoma and leukemia Saturday at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air. He was 62. Mr. Luckan was born in Baltimore and raised in Towson. He attended Loyola High School and graduated from Parkville High School in 1963. He earned a degree in 1967 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and a bachelor's degree in economics from Loyola College in 1973. He earned a master's degree in banking and finance from the University of Maryland in 1979.

Crime - particularly the chronic violent crime that has become synonymous with Baltimore -- is the No. 1 issue on voters' minds as they head to the polls for the primary election. With less than a week to go before Baltimoreans pick a new mayor and City Council, The Sun presents a conversation, moderated by columnist Dan Rodricks, with four people who have wrestled with crime and violence in different ways -- Paul Blair Jr., president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police and a 38-year veteran of the force; Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP, which recently launched an anti-violence effort that included posting a current citywide homicide toll in its front window and calling for residents and businesses to do the same; Haydee M. Rodriguez, executive director of the Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs, who agreed to take part in the discussion as a private citizen after her brother was beaten last month by robbers on a city street; and Hathaway Ferebee, executive director of Safe & Sound Campaign, an organization devoted to improving the health and safety of Baltimore children.

Avgerinos "Paul" Mavrophilipos, a retired painter who had owned a bar and restaurant, died of congestive heart failure June 25 at Good Samaritan Hospital. The Towson resident was 87. Born on the island of Ikaria, Greece, he left home at the age of 14 to find work and send money back to his family. He became a merchant marine seaman before World War II. Family members said he told of narrowly escaping the German U-boat sinkings of merchant marine vessels in ship convoys between Canada and England.

Harry W. "Bud" Shenton Jr., a retired real estate appraiser and a collector, died of cancer Thursday at St. Joseph Medical Center. The longtime resident of Phoenix in Baltimore County was 78. Mr. Shenton was born in Baltimore and raised on Sequoia Avenue and Gwynns Falls Parkway. As a teenager, he earned Eagle Scout status. After graduating from Polytechnic Institute in 1945, he enlisted in the Army and served for two years at Fort Knox, Ky., where he was a tank driving instructor. He earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1952 from the University of Maryland, College Park.