Bookkeeper

A 59-year-old Pasadena woman admitted Monday to stealing more than $86,000 from the Howard County produce business where she worked as a bookkeeper, police said. Joan Elizabeth Krempa, of the 8400 block of Miramar Road, pleaded guilty to a single count of theft of more than $500 in Howard County Circuit Court. Krempa said she forged the signature of the owner of Parade Produce in Jessup between February and November of 2008; police said she wrote checks amounting to $60,501 and deposited the money in her personal account.

Margaret Miller Ekin, a homemaker and bookkeeper who had lived in Catonsville, died Feb. 2 of heart failure at Austell Presbyterian Village in Austell, Ga. She was 98. The daughter of farmers, Anna Margaret Miller, who did not use her first name, was born and raised in Miller's Corner in Howard County. She was a graduate of Ellicott City High School. During the Depression, she worked as a bookkeeper for a decade at the old Miller Chevrolet in Ellicott City, which had been established by one of her brothers.

Jocelyn "Jo" Redmer, a former bookkeeper and volunteer, died Friday of complications from pneumonia at Franklin Square Hospital Center. The White Marsh resident was 87. Born Jocelyn Kennard in Baltimore and raised at Tinges Lane and 33rd Street in Waverly, she was a 1941 graduate of Eastern High School. As a young woman, she worked at a downtown Oriole Cafeteria and was a bookkeeper for the A&P supermarket chain. There she met her future husband, Alfred "Al" Redmer. Mrs. Redmer enjoyed horseback riding and kept a horse for many years in Waverly.

Emma F. Grzymski, a retired bookkeeper and longtime Essex resident, died Sunday of complications from dementia at Woodlands Assisted Living in Middle River. She was 91. The daughter of a sewage treatment plant worker and a homemaker, Emma Lillian Frank was born and raised in Essex, where she lived until 2007, when she moved to the assisted-living facility. After graduating in 1937 from Kenwood High School, Mrs. Grzymski began working as a bookkeeper at Anchor Post Products Inc. on Eastern Avenue.

Antoinette Louise "Weezie" Koch, longtime bookkeeper for a southeastern Baltimore County florist, died Monday of breast cancer at her Dundalk home. She was 75. Antoinette Louise Komornik, the daughter of a steelworker and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised on Vesper Avenue in Dundalk. She was a 1953 graduate of Dundalk High School. For the past 26 years, Mrs. Koch — who preferred to use A. Louise Koch — had owned and operated Dundalk Florist with her husband of 55 years, August H. "Augie" Koch Jr. Mrs. Koch was bookkeeper for the fourth generation-owned business that was founded in 1910 by her husband's family.

Funeral services will be held for Ferndale resident Barbara Brand at 11 a.m. today at Singleton Funeral Home.Mrs. Brand, 94, died on Sept. 11 at North Arundel Hospital.A resident of Ferndale for 26 years, she worked as a secretary and bookkeeper.She was a member of Edelweiss Club and the Pascal Center.Other interests included walking her dog, reading and spending time with her daughter and family.She is survived by a daughter, Lieselotte Kinat, and one grandchild.

Goldie C. Weisbecker, a retired bookkeeper and duckpin bowler, died Friday of respiratory failure at her daughter's Dundalk home, where she had lived for the past two years. She was 90. Goldie Cosser was born in Wheeling, W.Va., and moved to Dundalk with her family as a child. She was a graduate of Baltimore County public schools. Mrs. Weisbecker was the longtime head bookkeeper at J. J. Haines and Co., a Glen Burnie-based floor covering company, until her 1984 retirement.

A Carroll County bookkeeper accused of embezzling more than $185,000 - including a total of $50,000 from a Cub Scout troop and an elementary school PTA - pleaded guilty yesterday to bank fraud, federal officials said. Angela E. Hiltz, 43, bought Ravens tickets, paid bills and furnished a home in Little River, S.C., with the embezzled money, according to court documents. The Mount Airy resident could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release.

An Odenton woman was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday for stealing more than $350,000 from the Ellicott City architectural firm where she worked as an office manager and bookkeeper. Jacqueline Gatton, 40, had pleaded guilty to theft for stealing checks from Architectural Collaborative during a five-year period. Howard County Circuit Judge Timothy J. McCrone sentenced her to 15 years, but suspended all but eight. The money was discovered missing after Gatton was fired in July 2008 for "work-related issues" such as showing up late or not showing up at all. When co-owner Tom Hager examined bank statements and books left by Gatton, prosecutors said, he noticed checks made out to Gatton and signed by his business partner, Dave Robbins, with a stamp.

Audria L. Walcutt, a former bookkeeper and artist, died in her sleep Monday at Arden Courts in Pikesville. She was 86. Audria Lee Griffith was born and raised in Grayson, Ky. During World War II, she moved to Baltimore and went to work as a bookkeeper at Glenn L. Martin Co. in Middle River. In 1966, she married Charles Carroll Walcutt, a former Martin Marietta official who had been head of accounting, and later was an auditor with the U.S. Department of Defense. He died in 2005. Because of his work, the couple lived in Stamford, Conn.

Ruth J. DePoitiers, a former Hecht Co. worker and a volunteer, died Jan. 13 of a stroke at Stella Maris Hospice. The longtime Lutherville resident was 88. Ruth Jennetta Schilling, the daughter of a postal worker and a factory worker, was born and raised in Westmont, N.J. After graduating in 1941 from Collingswood High School in New Jersey, she went to work as a bookkeeper for Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Philadelphia. She moved to Lake Worth, Fla., in 1951, where she worked as a bookkeeper for a Buick automobile dealership.

Antoinette Louise "Weezie" Koch, longtime bookkeeper for a southeastern Baltimore County florist, died Monday of breast cancer at her Dundalk home. She was 75. Antoinette Louise Komornik, the daughter of a steelworker and a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised on Vesper Avenue in Dundalk. She was a 1953 graduate of Dundalk High School. For the past 26 years, Mrs. Koch — who preferred to use A. Louise Koch — had owned and operated Dundalk Florist with her husband of 55 years, August H. "Augie" Koch Jr. Mrs. Koch was bookkeeper for the fourth generation-owned business that was founded in 1910 by her husband's family.

Jocelyn "Jo" Redmer, a former bookkeeper and volunteer, died Friday of complications from pneumonia at Franklin Square Hospital Center. The White Marsh resident was 87. Born Jocelyn Kennard in Baltimore and raised at Tinges Lane and 33rd Street in Waverly, she was a 1941 graduate of Eastern High School. As a young woman, she worked at a downtown Oriole Cafeteria and was a bookkeeper for the A&P supermarket chain. There she met her future husband, Alfred "Al" Redmer. Mrs. Redmer enjoyed horseback riding and kept a horse for many years in Waverly.

A 59-year-old Pasadena woman who spent some of the nearly $86,000 she stole from her employer on the Italian greyhounds she bred and trained was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison. Joan Elizabeth Krempa of the 8400 block of Miramar Road in Pasadena pleaded guilty in March to one count of theft from Parade Produce in Jessup. Howard County prosecutors say Krempa committed "102 acts of theft" over a nine-month period while working as a bookkeeper for the business. Senior Assistant State's Attorney Colleen McGuinn said Krempa forged her name on company checks, depositing 17 of them totaling about $60,500.

An Odenton woman was sentenced to eight years in prison Thursday for stealing more than $350,000 from the Ellicott City architectural firm where she worked as an office manager and bookkeeper. Jacqueline Gatton, 40, had pleaded guilty to theft for stealing checks from Architectural Collaborative during a five-year period. Howard County Circuit Judge Timothy J. McCrone sentenced her to 15 years, but suspended all but eight. The money was discovered missing after Gatton was fired in July 2008 for "work-related issues" such as showing up late or not showing up at all. When co-owner Tom Hager examined bank statements and books left by Gatton, prosecutors said, he noticed checks made out to Gatton and signed by his business partner, Dave Robbins, with a stamp.

Mildred S. Harris, a retired bookkeeper and community volunteer who raised five foster children, died of heart failure April 7 at her Pikesville home. She was 90. Born Mildred Shall in West Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Eastern European immigrants. Her father ran a candy store and was a garment worker. She was a graduate of Overbrook High School in Philadelphia. During World War II, she worked as a Philadelphia Navy Yard bookkeeper and later planned events for a caterer.