Nurse

Joan L. Wilder, a retired operating room nurse, died of multiple organ failure Friday at the Jewish Convalescent and Nursing Home in Pikesville. The former Towson resident was 85. Born Joan Leberman in Baltimore, she was a Forest Park High School graduate. She met her future husband, Dr. Earle M. Wilder, while she was a student at Sinai Hospital's School of Nursing. Dr. Wilder was her physiology and anatomy instructor. She had to receive permission from hospital authorities to be married in 1944 before she finished the program.

Sister Mary Camillus Smith, a Sister of Mercy and a retired nurse, died of heart disease Wednesday at her order's retirement home in the Pinehurst section of Baltimore County. She was 88. Born Josephine Smith in Washington, she was raised in Columbia, Pa., and Emmitsburg, where she graduated from St. Joseph's College High School. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1940 and received the name Mary Camillus. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing at Mount St. Agnes College in Mount Washington.

Miyong Kim, who is a faculty member of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, was recently promoted to professor in the Department of Community and Public Health. Kim, a faculty member for seven years, has focused her nursing career on reducing health disparities among underserved ethnic minorities through community-based research projects. Her projects, which have been funded by the National Institutes of Health and other agencies, include research in hypertension, diabetes, mental health and cancer prevention.

Elizabeth Ann Cregon, a retired registered nurse and longtime volunteer, died from complications of diabetes Aug. 17 at the home of a daughter in Timonium. She was 71.Mrs. Cregon, who retired in the 1980s, had been an emergency room nurse at University of Maryland Medical Center, Mount Wilson State Hospital and Spring Grove Hospital Center.For several years, she was administrator of Calvert County Nursing Home in Prince Frederick.She was a charter member of the John Hanson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Frederick and, for 34 years, a member of the John Eager Howard Chapter in Baltimore.

Carroll Community College observed World AIDS Day yesterday listening to a woman who is battling the disease and a son inspired by his mother's struggle.Fifty students and teachers listened to Alice Brown recount her story of despair and hope. The 41-year-old diminutive woman stood before them offering a firm message on AIDS prevention and telling of her determination to live."Any chance to share my story is a privilege," said Brown, a registered nurse, who was diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome five years ago. "I consider myself a survivor.

Rose Bird, 63, the first woman to serve on California's Supreme Court and whose opposition to the death penalty prompted voters to remove her as chief justice, died Saturday from complications related to breast cancer at Stanford University Medical Center, said Sidney Feinberg, a retired appeals court judge and a longtime friend.She was appointed to the court's top job in 1977 by then-Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and became a figure of controversy, mainly because of her opposition to the death penalty.

MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- French investigators said yesterday that billionaire banker Edmond J. Safra died of smoke inhalation because -- even after the police and firefighters arrived at his penthouse -- he still believed that he was in danger from masked intruders and refused to leave the bathroom where he had barricaded himself with one of his nurses.The French prosecutor handling the case said Safra had a cellular phone with him when he took refuge in the bathroom and had several conversations with his wife before he died.

THIS IS THE THIRD annual Education Beat column about people who give of themselves in education. All five Baltimore-area residents below volunteer time and talent, asking nothing in return but the satisfaction of helping.Dorothy M. JonesCall the nursing suite at Govans Elementary School. The answer is brisk: "Nurse Jones here."Dorothy M. Jones, 68, is in her fourth year as the nurse at the North Baltimore school. Since city elementary schools can't afford full-time nurses, Jones works for lunch and car fare.

Helen E. Gumenick, 74, nurse, homemakerHelen E. Gumenick, a homemaker and former registered nurse, died of a heart attack Jan. 31 at Sinai Hospital. The Pikesville resident was 74.Mrs. Gumenick, who was a 1945 graduate of the Sinai Hospital School of Nursing, served in the Army Nurse Corps from 1945 until 1946 and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant.She worked for many years as a nurse at Sinai and retired in 1973.Services for the former Helen E. Rodgers, a native of Saluda, S.C., were held Feb. 3.She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Herman Gumenick; three sons, Sidney D. Gumenick of Pikesville, Eugene H. Gumenick of Randallstown and Michael D. Gumenick of Baltimore; a daughter, Jacqueline Gimbel of Guilford; three brothers, Victor Rodgers of Prosperity, S.C., Lester Rodgers of Hanahen, S.C., and R. B. Rodgers of Saluda; a sister, Marie Forest of Saluda; and five grandchildren.

Westminster Councilwoman Suzanne P. Albert was looking for a job closer to home when she saw the advertisement for one right down her alley at the other end of town.By late May, Albert expects to be working in Westminster for the nonprofit Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland Inc. after it moves into the renovated West End School building.Albert retired from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Jan. 6 after more than three decades working in government health programs.

Mary G. Thomas, a former operating room registered nurse and homemaker, died Wednesday of cancer at her Towson home. She was 80. Mary Marceline Groft, the daughter of a Western Maryland College groundskeeper father and seamstress mother, was born and raised in Westminster. She was a 1946 graduate of Westminster High School and was a graduate of the Union Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. Mrs. Thomas worked in the operating room at Union Memorial Hospital for several years and in Baltimore as a nurse.

Katherine C. Turner, a former registered nurse and Towson neighborhood activist, died Monday of heart failure at Oak Lodge Senior Home in Pasadena. She was 85. Katherine Clemson, who was also known as "KC" or "Kitty," was born and raised in Westminster. She was a graduate of Westminster High School and attended what was then St. Mary's Female Seminary, now St. Mary's College, and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1944 from the old Western Maryland College, now McDaniel College.

M. Michele Hancock, a retired registered nurse who had worked at several area hospitals, died of adenoid cystic carcinoma June 12 at the Jewish Healthcare Center in Worcester, Mass. The former Cross Keys resident was 58. M. Michele Hendricks was born and raised in Reisterstown. She was a 1968 graduate of Western High School and earned an associate's degree in nursing from Baltimore Community College in 1970. Mrs. Hendricks worked at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she specialized in adult neurology, and later at South Baltimore General and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Blanche D. Hanson, a retired registered nurse and World War II veteran, died of complications from multiple sclerosis May 21 at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 86. Blanche Dorfler, a daughter of a carpenter and a nurse, was born and raised in Towson. After graduating from Towson High School, she earned a nursing degree from the Maryland General Hospital School of Nursing in 1944. She enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps and in early 1945, she joined 700 other nurses traveling aboard the SS Marigold, an Army Transport Service hospital ship, to Pearl Harbor.

Clementine Nagy Briganti, a former registered nurse and longtime volunteer, died Jan. 10 of natural causes at her Severna Park home. She was 85. An avid knitter, Mrs. Briganti volunteered at many schools and organizations, including T.O.P.S., a weight-management support group. She frequently traveled with her husband of 62 years, retired Marine Col. E. Briganti. Services were held Wednesday at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Severna Park, where she had been a member and volunteer since moving to the area 46 years ago. In addition to her husband, survivors include sons Joseph Briganti of Niceville, Fla., Frank Briganti of Severna Park and John Briganti of Chesapeake, Va.; daughters Terry Moorman of Chase and Nancy Briganti of Pasadena; 15 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Margaret K. Barnhill, a homemaker and former nurse, died of complications from a broken hip Monday at the Devonshire retirement community in Palm Beach, Fla. The former Baltimore resident was 92. Born Margaret Kathryn Hurd in Havre, Mont., she was a descendant of Swedish and Scots-Irish immigrants who obtained a 320-acre property under a homesteading act. She was raised in a cabin on the land, which remains in the family. She met her future husband, Robert B. Barnhill, while attending nursing school in Omaha, Neb. Mrs. Barnhill and her husband moved to Baltimore County in the early 1950s.

Eugenia M. "Jeanne" Kappler, a nurse-midwife who delivered many babies during nearly four decades in Maryland, died Tuesday of lung cancer at Brakeley Park Care Center in Phillipsburg, N.J. She was 83. Miss Kappler, a native of Oxford, N.J., was the youngest of seven children. She served in the Army Cadet Nursing Corps from 1943 to 1946 and graduated from St. Francis School of Nursing in Trenton, N.J., in 1946. A decade later, she received a nursing degree from Villanova University. Miss Kappler also studied to be a certified nurse-midwife at the Johns Hopkins University, graduating in 1958, and earned a master's degree from the University of Maryland in 1959, said her niece, Mary Alice Bockman.

Arlene E. Baybutt, a registered nurse who was active in Republican politics, died of a cerebral hemorrhage July 12 at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The longtime Easton resident was 86. Arlene Evans was born and raised in Utica, N.Y. After graduating from Clinton Central High School in 1939, she earned a bachelor's degree from Syracuse University Hospital School of Nursing in 1943. She worked as a private duty nurse in Rochester, N.Y., until 1943, when she married Dr. John E. Baybutt Sr., a pediatrician.

Carmelita M. Coolahan, a retired nurse, died Thursday of complications from old age at her Cambridge home. The former Wilkens Avenue resident was 91. Born Carmelita Lehman in Baltimore and raised in Westminster, she was a 1932 graduate of St. John's High School. She attended classes at what was then Western Maryland College and was a 1938 honors graduate of the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing. In 1940, she married Dr. John F. Coolahan Sr., a general practitioner. Mrs. Coolahan was a member of St. Agnes Hospital Auxiliary for several decades and was its president from 1960 to 1961 and from 1961 to 1963.

Donna M. Brister, a registered nurse and educator, died Thursday of disseminated intravascular coagulation, a blood disorder, at Sinai Hospital. The Winfield resident was 47. Donna Marie Cone was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., She earned her nursing degree from Nazareth College in Rochester, N.Y., in 1981. "She was a month away from getting her master's degree in nursing from Walden University," said her husband of 21 years, Lawrence Scott Brister Sr. For the past decade, Mrs. Brister had been an emergency education specialist at Sinai Hospital.