Daughter

Gretchen Crews, a retired librarian, teacher and club manager, died Dec. 27 at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center of injuries sustained in a fall at her Towson home. She was 83. Born Gretchen Matthews in Baltimore and raised in Wyman Park, she was the daughter of Howard Matthews, a state auditor, and his wife Gretchen, a home economics teacher and homemaker. She attended Margaret Brent School in Charles Village and was a 1947 Eastern High School graduate. She earned an English degree at Goucher College and later received a library science degree at Towson University She taught English in the city public school system and later was a librarian, both in the school system and at the old Bay College at Howard and Centre streets.

Calvert Hall College High School is mourning the loss of Josephine Grace Gay, 7, a victim in the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting whose father attended the Catholic preparatory school in Towson. Robert Gay graduated from Calvert Hall in 1978. In an email to alumni and others, school President Thomas Zoppo said Josephine died in Friday's massacre, three days after her seventh birthday. "Our particular thoughts and prayers go out to the Newtown ... community, most especially Bob, his wife Michele, and daughters Sophia and Marie," Zoppo said in a statement.

When Oprah Winfrey likes something, she makes no bones about letting the entire world know. Famous for being an ardent dog lover, the TV and magazine queen gave her blessing again this year for the art of a Howard County pet-portrait studio in the December issue of O the Oprah Magazine on her annual list of recommended gifts. Wagging Tail Portraits received Winfrey's nod for the second consecutive year, but with a twist: It was Natalie Kendall who created the digital art for the new line of greeting cards made from mom Sherry Kendall's hand-painted portraits, scoring the mother-daughter duo a shared spot on Oprah's Favorite Things 2012.

Nobody believed Liu Fang, born with half a heart and abandoned in a village west of Beijing, would survive long after being adopted by a Baltimore County family. Even the Bartlinskis, deeply religious Catholics, expected the girl's lungs would fail even if her heart could be repaired. Two years later, as the 5-year-old girl awaits a cardiac transplant, her parents, a Catonsville school and the family's parish are literally praying for a miracle. She is awaiting the procedure at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The boyfriend charged with killing his 25-year-old girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter, whose bodies were found in an apartment in Parkville in June 2011, plead guilty in Baltimore County court Monday evening. Brian Lamont Eggleston Jr., 29, plead guilty to two counts of murder in the deaths of Alicia Lee Avery and her daughter Darry'el Parker, who were found shot to death inside the Welcome Inn, where they had been staying under police protection as a result of an unrelated murder in Baltimore.

Betty B. Hill, a homemaker and orphanage volunteer, died of a pulmonary embolism Oct. 23 at St. Joseph Medical Center. The former Roland Park resident was 84. Born Betty Jane Bearry in Dundalk, she was the daughter of an electrician and a homemaker. She was a 1944 graduate of Sparrows Point High School. She attended the University of Maryland, College Park and what is now Towson University. While working at a summer job at Ocean City , she met her future husband, Samuel Dennis Hill, a lifeguard who was later an attorney practicing in Towson.

Patrick J. Mongeon, a retired construction superintendent and Vietnam veteran, died Oct. 20 from kidney failure at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis. He was 60. Mr. Mongeon was born in Baltimore and raised on Marshall Street. After graduating in 1970 from Mount St. Joseph High School in Irvington, he enlisted in the Air Force. "He served several tours of duty but never talked about it. He suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome," said his daughter, Rebecca Mongeon of Elkton.

Michael and Nicole Lawall, of Laurel, announce the birth of their daughter, Savannah Marie Lawall, on Sept. 18, 2012, at 8:32 a.m. She weighed 9 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long. Big brother Landon welcomed her with open arms. Maternal grandparents are Karen and Chris Walker, of Laurel. Paternal grandparents are Sue Mullinix, of Laurel, Chad Mullinix, of New Windsor and John Lawall Sr., of Elkridge.

Seih Dilys Chebe and Efon Mandong Epanty, of Laurel, announce the birth of their daughter, Jayne Mandop Epanty, on Oct. 4, 2012, at 11:33 p.m.

Sahar Raza and Syed Moeed Hussain, of Laurel, announce the birth of their daughter, Syeda Mahrosh Hussain, on Sept. 17, 2012. The baby weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and joins her sister, Syeda Parizeh Hussain. Maternal grandparents are Tallat and Naeem Raza, of Laurel, and paternal grandparents are Fizza and Tahir Hussain, of Dubai, U.A.E.