Family And Friends

Family and friends celebrated the 95th birthday of Ralph Pitt at a surprise party in his honor Saturday, Jan. 7. The party was given at Beechtree at Waters Edge on Stepney Road. The party was arranged by his family. The birthday boy, who blew out his own candles, was genuinely surprised. Attending were 14 of his children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Editor: I read The Aegis of Dec. 21, and came across a letter written by Clarke Bowie, of Bel Air, in the Open Forum. I concur with him 100 percent because of the way Christmas is being distorted by political correctness. When I was a child, and while an adult, Christmas was the most beautiful time of the year for my family and friends. People would greet you every where you went and would wish everyone a "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. " Wishing people "Happy Holidays" is a sore spot with me. It is Christmas, plain and simple, and it is a day that is treasured by 80 percent to 85 percent of this nation.

The man convicted of killing a Towson gas station owner for money apologized Tuesday in Harford County Circuit Court to the victim's family and friends, saying "I'm sorry to the last fiber of my being. " The apology came shortly before a jury was to begin deliberating whether Walter P. Bishop Jr. will be sentenced to death or life in prison. Bishop, 29, of Baltimore County, stood at the defense table in a black suit and a lavender shirt open at the collar, his hands clasped before him, his face turning red as he told those close to William "Ray" Porter that he did not expect they would forgive him. But, he said, "I'm sorry you lost your son, your loved one because of what I did with my own hands.

Irene Logan's death leaves nearly 30 people without their family's matriarch. For three children, eight grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren, Logan was the family's bedrock. "She loved taking care of people," said Irene Ushry, Logan's daughter. Ushry found her 91-year-old mother, stabbed to death, on the floor of their small kitchen upon returning from work about 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. Family members gathered outside the house as police investigated into the evening.

He was supposed to be in Florida right now, prepping with his teammates for a weekend basketball showcase. Instead, the team flew south Thursday afternoon without their 6-foot 5-inch forward, who was a "beast" on the court, his brother said. "He had french fry fingers," Walter Rogers, 19, said of his little brother, Marcus Harvell. His fingers were so long and skinny, he could grip a basketball just with his fingertips, he said. Basketball was his life. Harvell, 18, was a city basketball standout.

At least I'm not the only one! Eileen described in her Sunday column about unclaimed property databases how a family acquaintance had spotted her husband's name on an Indiana attorney general website, reminding them to collect more than $1,200 in a long-forgotten bank account. Have any of you ever tipped off a friend or relative that they had some money coming to them? I've periodically checked my own name in the search engine on missingmoney.com with no hits, but in March I must have been bored, because I also ran my parents and sister through the system.

Even children 10 or 11 years old can make a difference that can change the world for others. Kate Douglas has been empowering students in her fifth-grade religion class at St. Louis School for the fourth year by giving them each $10 to donate to whatever charity they individually select. They can donate the $10 directly or do something to make it grow into a larger donation. Most picked the latter. John Reed and Matthew Matthai bought water and chips to sell for Japan earthquake assistance.

When Jon Sherbun laces up for the Maryland Half Marathon this weekend, he won't be just another runner pounding 13.1 miles of pavement. He'll be a pancreatic cancer patient racing in between chemotherapy treatments. That puts him in a growing category of patients and their families and friends who are running for physical and emotional therapy, as well as cash that can benefit others. The money from this race, in its third year, benefits the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center where Sherbun is being treated.

I am sad and sick to my stomach about the death of Phylicia Barnes ("Teen's family is left with a heartbreaking puzzle," April 25). Why did someone do this to her? Whoever committed this terrible crime knows that they did not have to take this young girl's life. My prayers go out to her family and friends. I know someone out there besides the killer knows what happened to this young lady, and I pray that this person will come forward soon. I really am tired of hearing about our young children losing their lives over nothing.

Sarah V. Moralis, a homemaker who was active in the affairs of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, died Friday of Alzheimer's disease at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The Hunt Valley resident was 80. The former Sarah Vrachalus, the daughter of Greek immigrant parents who owned and operated a restaurant, was born and raised in Mobile, Ala. After graduating in 1947 from Murphy High School in Mobile, she worked in the late 1940s for the Georgia Insurance Co. and Sears Roebuck & Co. Mrs. Moralis met her future husband, Peter J. Moralis, who was an Air Force radar technician assigned to Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Miss.