Cathedral Of Mary

On May 2, 2007, W. THOMAS GISRIEL; beloved husband of Mary Helen Gisriel (nee Link); devoted father of Michael U. Gisriel and his wife Brenda, Thomas J. Gisriel and his wife, Anna Jeffers, Robert R. Gisriel and his wife, Karen Stabley and Dr. Deborah G. Bittar and her husband, George; dear brother of Mary Lou Hearn; loving grandfather of eight. Friends may call at the family owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Road (beltway exit 26) on Saturday and Sunday, 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 PM. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Monday, at 11 AM. Interment private.

George Louis Dickey, a Baltimore native and former stockbroker for BT Alex. Brown Inc., died Oct. 13 of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in Sausalito, Calif., where he had lived for the past year. He was 29.Although he had a somewhat strait-laced career, Mr. Dickey was known for his sense of adventure.He scuba dived whenever possible and dabbled in sky diving. He tried his hand at bungee jumping and preferred skiing on the advanced slopes. He also enjoyed mountain climbing and mountain biking.He took any dare, friends and relatives said.

Jane F. Choras, 67, book dealerJane F. Choras, a book dealer and former Pikesville resident, died of cancer Saturday at Lahey Hitchcock Clinic in Boston.She was 67 and lived in Weston, Mass.After earning a bachelor's degree in nursing from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and working at Hopkins Hospital, she moved to Boston during the late 1950s and was head emergency room nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.In 1962, she became an antiquarian book dealer, specializing in children's books and science fiction first editions.

Charles G. Mortale, a retired ceramic tile and terrazzo contractor who was known for his high-quality workmanship, died Friday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Towson of complications from diabetes and renal failure. He was 78.After World War II, the Timonium resident joined Pete Profili & Co. Inc., a Baltimore commercial marble, ceramic tile and terrazzo flooring contractor.Mr. Mortale retired as co-owner, vice president and treasurer in 1986.The company was founded in 1934 and sold in 1992.

Jennalee Braswell Suder, who received widespread church and community support during a two-year struggle with neuroblastoma, died of the rare cancer Sunday at her home on Witherspoon Road in Homeland. She was 12.Born in Baltimore, Jennalee lived with her parents, attorneys Robert Braswell Suder and Joanne Lynch Suder. Mr. Suder undertook full-time care of his daughter after she became ill.But Jennalee continued her studies as a sixth-grade honor student at the Cathedral School. She also loved dance and music, and had studied ballet at the Peabody Conservatory since she was a toddler.

On the morning after, Robert Twynham still reverberates from the excitement of hearing the first brass rehearsal of his "meditations" on the Te Deum, the medieval hymn of praise sung for a millennium in Christian churches."

AS HE LAY ON his deathbed, J.S. Bach summed up his life's accomplishment in a few humble words: "I worked hard."The phrase could serve as epitaph for generations of dedicated church musicians who devoted their lives to realizing the biblical injunction, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord."And so it is that the spirit of the indefatigable old master has been re-created in Baltimore in the form of two remarkable church-sponsored musical events. The first is today'sopening concert of the Cathedral Concert Series' 30th-anniversary season, presented by the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on North Charles Street at 5: 30 this afternoon.

Beulah Deford Downing, 94, outdoors enthusiastBeulah Deford Downing, an outdoorswoman who wielded fly rods and shotguns with perfection until she was in her 70s, died Saturday of a stroke at her daughter's home in Roland Park. She was 94 and lived at Oakdene, her Green Spring Valley home.The former Beulah Deford was raised in the Green Spring Valley and was taught by her father to shoot, fish and ride to the hounds.At 76, she went goose hunting for the last time with her favorite shotgun, a custom-made French Francotte 12-gauge.

It once was the case that the great cathedrals were the musical -- as well as the intellectual -- centers of Europe. That has been an ideal that has always motivated Robert Twynham, who has been the director of music and organist at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen since 1961.For this Sunday's concert, Twynham has assembled an orchestra of 50 players and will conduct (with the cathedral's chorus) Bach's Cantata No. 150 ("Nach, dir, Herr, verlanget mich"). He will also conduct his own "Magnificat" and Samuel Barber's popular "Adagio for Strings."

What should be two fine (and free) piano recitals take place in houses of worship Sunday afternoon. The first features Mark Markham in a dazzling program in Dalsheimer Auditorium at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation. Markham is a virtuoso who is also a redoubtable vocal coach. Little wonder, then, that he will play music that demands a singing touch -- the 24 Preludes of Chopin, the "Harmonies du Soir" and the Fantasy on themes from Gounod's "Faust" by Liszt, Leonard Bernsten's "Touches" and Mozart's Fantasy in D minor.

William F. White He requested that his body be donated to the State Anatomy Board. A Memorial Mass is scheduled for August 20 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen.

J. Paul Melanson, former chief financial officer and vice president of administration and finance at Loyola College, died May 22 of congestive heart failure at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The former longtime Homeland resident was 82. Mr. Melanson was born in Manchester, N.H., and was raised there and in Providence, R.I. During World War II, he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1949 from what is now St. Francis University in Loretto, Pa. He also held two master's degrees, one in higher-education administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a second in business administration from Loyola.

Walter Andrew Romans Sr., a retired golf professional who worked at the Baltimore County Club for nearly four decades, died in his sleep April 16 at St. Joseph Medical Center. The Homeland resident was 93. Born in Warren, Mass., and raised in Utica, N.Y., he became a caddie as a teen to help support his family after his father's death. "He kept coming back, working hard and asking questions. He learned the importance of yardage, how to read the greens and, most important of all, friendly customer service," said his son, Walter Andrew Romans Jr. of Brookeville.

On April 17, 2009, DONALD B. RATCLIFFE; beloved husband of Joan Ratcliffe (nee Fallon); devoted father of Kate Ratcliffe Hoch, Tricia Davis, Nancy Ferrell, Anne Hawkins, Sally Ratcliffe, and Peter Ratcliffe; loving grandfather "Grumpy" of 11. The family will receive friends at Stevenson University, Greenspring Campus, St. Paul Companies Pavilion on Monday from 4:30 - 8:00 PM. A Memorial Mass will be held at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday at...

The Rev. Charles K. Riepe, former principal and president of the John Carroll School in Bel Air who had also been rector of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, died in his sleep Saturday at his Bel Air home. He was 75. Father Riepe was born in Baltimore and raised on Lake Avenue. He attended Gilman School and graduated in 1951 from the Cooperstown Academy in Cooperstown, N.Y. A former Episcopalian who converted to Roman Catholicism, Father Riepe began his religious studies at St. Charles College in Catonsville.

Graham Bernard Harrison, a Friends School freshman who acted, danced and sang, died of acute lymphocytic leukemia Sunday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The North Baltimore resident was 15. Born in Baltimore, he was the son of Patricia Ragusa Harrison, an actress, and Michael Harrison, artistic director of the Baltimore Opera Company. He was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at the age of 18 months. Family members said he was treated at Hopkins for three years and remained in remission for another decade.

On January 25, 2009, GRAHAM BERNARD HARRISON, at the age of 15, beloved son of Michael Harrison and Patricia Ragusa Harrison. Friends may call at the Lady Chapel, Old St. Pauls Episcopal Church, Charles St., on Friday, January 30th, from 5:30-8:30 p.m., where a Requiem Mass will be held Saturday, January 31st, 10:00 a.m. A Funeral Mass will also be celebrated on Saturday, at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, 1:30 p.m. Entombment will take place in Louisiana....

Frances Johnson, a retired educator and university administrator, died of a heart attack Monday at her Roland Park home. She was 75. Born Frances Wilcox in Torrington, Conn., she earned a bachelor's degree from Connecticut College and a master's degree from Colorado College. She met her future husband, Dr. Richard T. Johnson, professor of neurology, microbiology and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and former director of neurology at Hopkins Hospital, while they were attending a Rocky Mountain Writers Conference in the 1950s.

A funeral Mass for Jim McKay is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. A memorial tribute will begin 30 minutes before the service. WMAR will broadcast a news special, including funeral coverage, starting at 10:25 a.m.

On January 21, 2008 John "Jack" Seeger Kerns, Jr The family will receive friends in the Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley, Inc. 10 W. Padonia Rd. (at York Road) Timonium, MD 21093 on Thursday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 PM. A funeral mass will be celebrated in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Friday, January 25 at 11:00 AM. Interment Druid Ridge Cemetery. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in John's name to the Boys Latin Alumni Association, 822 W. Lake Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210.