Counselor

John F. Muller, an addictions counselor who earlier had been co-owner of a wholesale seafood business, died Nov. 24 from colon cancer at his Middle River home. He was 78. The son of a Methodist minister and a homemaker, John Frederick Muller was born and raised in Baltimore and graduated in 1951 from City College. Mr. Muller enlisted in the Army, where he served as a military policeman during the Korean War, and in 1976 earned a bachelor's degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Ruth M. Land, a retired Baltimore public schools guidance counselor, died April 26 of complications from dementia at Union Memorial Hospital. She was 93. The daughter of farmers, Ruth Margaret Williams was born and raised in Ocala, Fla. After graduating in 1935 from Howard Academy in Ocala, she attended Florida A&M University and earned a bachelor's degree in 1939 from West Virginia State University. In 1940, she entered Howard University to study for a master's degree in education, but withdrew on the eve of World War II to take a job as a residence hall director at what is now Hampton University.

Mary Lacy Fetting, a retired psychotherapist who counseled the homeless at the Franciscan Center as a volunteer, died of cancer Wednesday at her Guilford home. She was 82. Born Mary Lacy in Baltimore, she was the daughter of James J. Lacy, an iron foundry owner and state comptroller from 1947 to 1950, and the former Rose Daily. She was raised on Oakenshaw Place and Fenchurch Road and was a 1945 Mount Saint Agnes High School graduate. She was the valedictorian and president of her class.

Mildred E. "Millie" Banwell, an artist who was a longtime supporter of the Light House shelter and an active member of Calvary United Methodist Church, died Sunday of pulmonary fibrosis at Hospice of the Chesapeake in Pasadena. The longtime Annapolis resident was 75. "I have a very high regard for her and we will miss her terribly. She was a great Christian lady and a leader at Calvary," said the Rev. Byron P. Brought, who pastored Calvary in Annapolis from 1992 until 2010, when he retired.

Miriam B. Stokes, a retired job placement counselor who was a longtime active member of Faith Baptist Church, died Saturday of renal failure at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. She was 91. Miriam Lorraine Burns, the daughter of a Canton Railroad crane operator and an educator, was born in Baltimore and raised on Chester Street. In 1936, she left high school to help support her family. "She returned to school and graduated from Douglass High School in 1953 and then went on to Coppin State University, where she earned a degree in 1957 in education," said her granddaughter, Miriam M. Stokes of Abingdon.

Bertha L. Motter, a retired Baltimore County public school educator and counselor who was an active centenarian, died May 28 of complications from anemia and pneumonia at Northwest Hospital. She was 100. Bertha Leon Lockley was born and raised in Lumberton, N.C., where she graduated from public schools. She moved to Philadelphia after high school and married Thomas Maurice Motter, a machinist, in 1935. The couple lived in Waynesboro, Pa., where she worked as a cosmetologist and hair stylist.

Baltimore County police reported no new leads yesterday in their search for a man who reportedly attacked a guidance counselor at Mars Estates Elementary School Wednesday and left her bound and gagged in her office.Investigators were awaiting the results of tests on fingerprints found in Elizabeth Tourangeau's office and the duct tape used to bind her hands, mouth and legs.Ms. Tourangeau, 35, told police it was the second time she had been attacked by the same man -- a 6-foot white male weighing 200 pounds.

The Anne Arundel County attorney's opinion about the legality of the "Crofton counselor" has less to do with the merits of the position than it does with Crofton's excessively broad budgetary powers.The counselor, a taxpayer-supported psychologist who provides free services to anyone living in the special tax district, has been a source of controversy for 20 years. Some civic leaders argue -- persuasively --that if residents of the county's fifth richest neighborhood need a couch to lie on or a shoulder to cry on, they ought to foot the bill themselves.

Who is Shawn Nowlin? Or perhaps we should be asking: Why can't the Baltimore school system answer that question? It's been almost two weeks since Nowlin, who worked in some still-undetermined capacity at a Baltimore elementary and middle school, was charged in the rape of a 15-year-old girl he supposedly was counseling but instead impregnated. Prosecutors in Harford County, where the 27-year-old Nowlin lives, said he identified himself as a vice principal or "dean of students" at Hazelwood Elementary/Middle School in Northeast Baltimore — an obviously ludicrous title unless you believe there are also provosts of the playground at this level of the education system.

John F. Muller, an addictions counselor who earlier had been co-owner of a wholesale seafood business, died Nov. 24 from colon cancer at his Middle River home. He was 78. The son of a Methodist minister and a homemaker, John Frederick Muller was born and raised in Baltimore and graduated in 1951 from City College. Mr. Muller enlisted in the Army, where he served as a military policeman during the Korean War, and in 1976 earned a bachelor's degree from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Tonight's Ceremonial First Pitch will be thrown by Perry Hall guidance counselor Jesse Wasmer, who will be accompanied by Perry Hall student Daniel Borowy. On Aug. 27, after Borowy was shot in the back by another student in the school cafeteria, Wasmer responded quickly and bravely to tackle the gunman, preventing further injury to anyone else.

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.

Anne Arundel County police and school officials have thwarted a child abduction across state lines. Anonymous information related to a middle-school counselor on Sept. 6 detailed a 12-year-old girl's plans to run away from home with a boyfriend in a stolen vehicle. School personnel, including the resource officer, contacted the student's guardian and received permission to access the child's social media account and cellular phone data. Information discovered in those accounts convinced officials the boyfriend was an adult male, who likely knew the age of the child.

Cigna's behavioral health unit is offering free telephone counseling to Baltimore County residents in wake of the school shooting at Perry Hall High on Monday. The counseling is for those having a hard time coping with the shooting and will be offered for a week. Fifteen-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. has been charged with shooting a classmate on the first day of school Monday.  Cigna said the counselors are qualified clinicians trained in helping people deal with traumatic events.

Calyl Robinson, 20, of Annapolis is a sophomore at Limestone College. He volunteered for Box of Rain in 2007 and was asked to become an official counselor just three weeks into his tenure. Since then, he has helped the campers with their activities and helped teach them the virtues Box of Rain aims to instill in its campers. How did you get involved with Box of Rain? Four or five summers ago I was actually working at Boatyard Bar and Grill in Eastport and I recently lost that job and my parents got tired of me sitting at home.

Dr. Gloria Lea Bledsoe, a retired Baltimore County guidance counselor who established an Oldfields School early-childhood education program, died of cancer May 30 at Glen Meadows Assisted Living. She was 85 and lived in Towson for many years. Born Gloria Lea Whittle in Baltimore and raised on LaPaix Lane, she was a 1945 graduate of Notre Dame Preparatory School. After raising her family, she began teaching at Oldfields School in 1979. She established a nursery school along with an early-childhood education program, family members said.