City Public Schools

Mable T. George, a retired city public schools worker and soup kitchen volunteer, died of heart failure May 25 at her Sutton Place apartment. The former longtime resident of Reservoir Hill was 86. Born in Lee County, S.C., she moved to South Baltimore with her family in 1930. She attended St. Monica's parochial school, and during World War II was an administrator at the Curtis Bay Ordnance Depot. Miss George was a custodian and food worker in city schools for 30 years. She retired in 1983 from Edgecombe Circle Elementary, where she had spent most of her career, family members said.

Morton "Jerry" Baum, founder and executive director of the Fund for Educational Excellence and a retired clothing manufacturing executive who was a tireless champion of city public schools, died May 5 from complications of Parkinson's disease at his Roland Park home. He was 87. "I first met Jerry in the 1980s when he was executive director of the Fund for Educational Excellence," said Brian C. Rogers, chairman of T. Rowe Price, who had served as a member of the organization's board.

Vernon S. Vavrina, a retired city public schools deputy superintendent who helped establish Baltimore's first school for unwed mothers, died of cancer Sunday at Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. A resident of Oak Crest Village for the past eight years, he formerly lived in Pikesville. He was 90. Dr. Vavrina began teaching in 1931 and was paid $120 a month. Assigned to Westport Elementary School in the southern section of the city, where several glass factories had closed because of the Depression, he later recounted his early experiences: "I vividly recall the children coming to school in hunger," he said in a 1975 Sun interview.

Chris Dunn called the class to order with a simple instruction: "One, two, ready, strum. " A torrent of E minor chords - or close enough - from nearly a dozen guitars filled the room at the Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School near Patterson Park. The smallest kids could barely get their right arms around the body of the instrument, but they found a way to strum as energetically as the others. For the next 90 minutes, Dunn darted from student to student, making sure they had their fingers on the correct fret, offering words of encouragement.

Vera Welch Hall, a retired Baltimore City public school teacher and librarian, died of heart disease Oct. 6 at the Augsburg Lutheran Home. The West Baltimore resident was 86. Born in Baltimore and raised on Calhoun Street near Franklin Square, she was the daughter of Harry Allen Welch, a chauffeur, and Edna Brown Welch, a homemaker and an early cashier at the Carroll Park golf course. She was a 1943 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. As a young adult, she performed with the Arena Players . Her daughter, Patrice A. Hall of Brooklyn, N.Y., said her mother determined at age 5 to become a school teacher and graduated from Coppin State Teacher's College in 1947.

Morton "Jerry" Baum, founder and executive director of the Fund for Educational Excellence and a retired clothing manufacturing executive who was a tireless champion of city public schools, died May 5 from complications of Parkinson's disease at his Roland Park home. He was 87. "I first met Jerry in the 1980s when he was executive director of the Fund for Educational Excellence," said Brian C. Rogers, chairman of T. Rowe Price, who had served as a member of the organization's board.

One of the big advantages to the city public schools joining the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association this year was postseason play for the girls for the first time.After yesterday's introduction to the MPSSAA playoffs in girls soccer, the city schools might want to reconsider.Fourth seed Kenwood blistered supposed top seed City, 16-0, and Western, outshot 47-0 in the first half, was shut out, 11-0, at South Carroll.Of course, when basketball season rolls around . . .* See high school playoff coverage, 10-11D

Hugh T. Cropper Jr., a former Ocean City mayor and councilman who helped lead Ocean City's growth from a small resort village to Maryland's beachside mecca, died Thursday of heart failure at Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin. He was 88."If there's one person in my lifetime who I would call `Mr. Ocean City,' he was it," said Roland "Fish" Powell, a longtime confidant who served as mayor from 1985 to 1996. "He was my idol when I was a boy, and he remained very active until his final days."

YOUR SEPT. 22 editorial, "Taking chances with children's lives," accuses Baltimore City public schools administrators of "cutting corners" and ignoring school maintenance problems. The editorial concludes that children's safety cannot be a top priority for the city public schools because "the school system maintenance budget has been cut from $62 million to $42 milion since last year."This conclusion is inaccurate for two reasons.The safety of children and staff is our top priority. In the schools and in the central office, we will continue to do all we can to prevent accidents such as the one that occurred at Hazelwood.

Dr. Elizabeth A. "Betty" Edmonds, a longtime city public school principal who was fearless in her efforts to straighten out troubled schools and later joined the faculty of Coppin State University, died May 21 of pneumonia at Sinai Hospital. The longtime Ashburton resident was 87. "She was a great American story and that's why her life is so inspirational. She had the old-fashioned educational values and was an educator's educator," said Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, an old friend.

Lynn Taylor Hebden, a Baltimore-born lyric soprano who headed the Peabody Preparatory Department for more than two decades and was also a member of the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory, died Sunday from complications of breast cancer at her Roland Park home. She was 84. "I always sought her advice and historical perspective. She always was very interested and wanted to know how people on the faculty she had known were doing," said Carolee Stewart, the preparatory school's dean.

Charles H. Burkhardt Jr., a former Anne Arundel County construction worker, died Friday from complications of diabetes at his Pasadena home. He was 66. Born and raised in South Baltimore, Mr. Burkhardt attended city public schools. For more than 40 years until retiring in 2004 on a medical disability, he worked as a construction worker. "He retired from Danella Corp.," said his daughter, Kelly Latham Pizarro of Pasadena. "His nickname was 'Good Time Charlie.'" Mr. Burkhardt was an avid Ravens fan. He also enjoyed fishing and crabbing.

Vera Welch Hall, a retired Baltimore City public school teacher and librarian, died of heart disease Oct. 6 at the Augsburg Lutheran Home. The West Baltimore resident was 86. Born in Baltimore and raised on Calhoun Street near Franklin Square, she was the daughter of Harry Allen Welch, a chauffeur, and Edna Brown Welch, a homemaker and an early cashier at the Carroll Park golf course. She was a 1943 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. As a young adult, she performed with the Arena Players . Her daughter, Patrice A. Hall of Brooklyn, N.Y., said her mother determined at age 5 to become a school teacher and graduated from Coppin State Teacher's College in 1947.

Esther "Penny" Love, a Baltimore public school guidance counselor for nearly 40 years who was an outspoken advocate for emotionally challenged and dyslexic students, died Monday of lung cancer at Sinai Hospital. She was 89. Esther Shulman, whose parents owned a dry-goods store in the 2900 block of O'Donnell St., was born and raised in Canton. She graduated from Patterson High School in 1941. The summer after graduating from high school, she took a job washing test tubes in the detection laboratory at Edgewood Arsenal, under the direction of Solomon "Sol" Love, and earned his ire when she dipped the wrong end of a pipette in bleach.

Ann McAllister Hughes, an artist who taught art in Baltimore's public schools and had chaired the art department at Forest Park High School, died July 27 of pulmonary failure at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson. The longtime Randallstown resident was 83. The daughter of Dr. Singleton Bernard Hughes Sr., a physician, and Blanche Hughes, an educator, Ms. Hughes was born in Baltimore. She was raised on Druid Hill Avenue and graduated in 1946 from Frederick Douglass High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in 1950 from Howard University and did graduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University and what is now Towson University.

Harry E. Sisk, a retired accountant and Vietnam War veteran, died Saturday of complications from an aneurysm at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The Brooklyn Park resident was 66. Mr. Sisk was born in Baltimore and raised near Patterson Park. He attended city public schools and after enlisting in the Army in 1964, her earned his General Educational Development certificate. Mr. Sisk completed two tours of duty in Vietnam, where he worked in communications. He was discharged in 1968.

The Woodbourne Center, one of Maryland's oldest nonprofit agencies, has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, in a continuing attempt to grapple with $2 million in red ink. In April, the center and its supporting foundation laid off 66 employees - about a fifth of the staff - and closed eight programs to deal with the debt. For a time last fall, employees did not receive distributions to their 403(b) retirement plans, which operate like 401(k) plans. The Woodbourne Center Inc. started as an orphanage two centuries ago and is the fifth-oldest child-care agency in the country.

Charles H. Burkhardt Jr., a former Anne Arundel County construction worker, died Friday from complications of diabetes at his Pasadena home. He was 66. Born and raised in South Baltimore, Mr. Burkhardt attended city public schools. For more than 40 years until retiring in 2004 on a medical disability, he worked as a construction worker. "He retired from Danella Corp.," said his daughter, Kelly Latham Pizarro of Pasadena. "His nickname was 'Good Time Charlie.'" Mr. Burkhardt was an avid Ravens fan. He also enjoyed fishing and crabbing.

Dr. Elizabeth A. "Betty" Edmonds, a longtime city public school principal who was fearless in her efforts to straighten out troubled schools and later joined the faculty of Coppin State University, died May 21 of pneumonia at Sinai Hospital. The longtime Ashburton resident was 87. "She was a great American story and that's why her life is so inspirational. She had the old-fashioned educational values and was an educator's educator," said Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, an old friend.

Michael Penny Carter, a longtime public schools and community activist who had been director of family and community engagement for the Baltimore school system, died Tuesday of prostate cancer at a sister's home in West Baltimore. The Harlem Park resident was 63. "Michael's death is both a personal and professional loss. He meant a great deal to me," said Baltimore schools CEO Andrés Alonso. "He was a great man who cared so much about neighborhoods and schools, and he brought his own vision to his work.