Obstetrician

Dr. Frederick Joseph Hatem, a retired Havre de Grace obstetrician who delivered thousands of babies in Harford and Cecil counties during his four-decade career, including baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. , died June 6 of heart failure at Harford Memorial Hospital. He was 84. Dr. Hatem, whose parents owned and operated a general store, was born in Havre de Grace, where he spent his entire life. He was a 1942 graduate of Havre de Grace High School and served in the Army stateside as an administrative assistant to a colonel until being discharged in 1946.

Dr. Theodore Kardash, an obstetrician-gynecologist who had been head of gynecologic services at Maryland General Hospital and whose accomplishments as a physician were the pride of his Russian immigrant parents, died April 9 at the Charlotte Hall Veterans Home in St. Mary's County after complications from leg surgery. He was 96. "He said he would make it to his 96th birthday, and he did," said his daughter, Linda Armiger of Solomons. "It was Easter weekend and we had all the family.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Karns, a retired Baltimore obstetrician and gynecologist, died Friday of a stroke at her home in Salem, N.J. She was 93. Elizabeth Acton, the daughter of an insurance executive and a homemaker, was born and raised in Salem, N.J. After graduating in 1935 from Centenary Collegiate Institute in Hackettstown, N.J., she earned her bachelor's from American University in Washington in 1939. Dr. Karns earned her medical degree in 1943 from the University of Maryland Medical School, where she completed an internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology.

Dr. Margaret P. "Peg" Brian, a retired Baltimore obstetrician-gynecologist, died Sunday of congestive heart failure at her home in Sacramento, Calif. The longtime Riderwood resident was 98. A daughter of a businessman and an artist, Margaret Paxson was born and raised in Philadelphia, where she graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1931. After graduating from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., in 1935, she earned her medical degree in 1939 from Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia.

Services for Dr. William Kenneth Mansfield, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist, will be held at 11 a.m. today at Trinity Episcopal Church-Long Green, 12400 Manor Road. Dr. Mansfield, who was 82 and a Towson resident, died of a heart attack Monday at St. Joseph Hospital.1979, after delivering many of his babies at Maryland General Hospital, he retired from his longtime downtown practice. He later took a civilian job with the National Security Agency.Dr. Mansfield was a 40-year member of the Medical and Chirurgical Society and a founding member of the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Christian Frederick Richter, a retired Baltimore County obstetrician and gynecologist who was an avid Civil War buff, died of leukemia Thursday at Edenwald Retirement Community in Towson. The former longtime Ruxton resident was 91. Dr. Richter, the son of a builder, was born in Baltimore and raised in Overlea. He was a 1932 graduate of Towson High School and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland in 1936. After earning his medical degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in 1941, Dr. Richter worked for the U.S. Public Health Service in New Orleans during World War II. He returned to Baltimore after the war and established an OB/GYN practice in Towson.

Dr. Zsigmund J. Toth, a Baltimore obstetrician and gynecologist who temporarily gave up his practice to sail the Atlantic Ocean, died Monday of heart failure at his Bolton Hill residence. He was 77.Against the advice of friends, Dr. Toth fulfilled a lifelong dream when he set sail in October 1971 with his family from Pier 4 in the Ishtar, a 42-foot ketch named for the goddess of fertility."This was something he wanted to do all of his life. So he gave his practice to a friend, and we were gone for nearly three years," said his wife, the former Helen Opuda of Girardville, Pa., whom he married in 1941.

Dr. Lawrence N. D'Elia, 71, who worked at hospitals and other institutions after leaving private practice as an obstetrician and gynecologist, died Monday at St. Agnes Hospital after a heart attack at his home on Forest Avenue in Catonsville.A mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m. tomorrow at St. Mark's Roman Catholic Church, 30 Melvin Ave. in Catonsville.Dr. D'Elia retired from private practice in 1971 after 25 years. He then worked 10 years in the emergency room at St. Agnes Hospital, where he had been a staff member and served as an intern and resident.

A former Columbia girl, born with cerebral palsy and delivered prematurely, has reached a $4.1 million out-of-court settlement in a medical malpractice suit..With cost-of-living increases from an annuity set up with that money, the settlement reached Monday could give Tracina Woods, now 13, up to $8.6 million during her lifetime, said her attorney, Kenneth C. Vogelstein of Baltimore."It's unusually large," said Mr. Vogelstein, who noted that many malpractice awards range between $200,000 to $2 million.

Dr. John A. Engers, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist, died of cancer Oct. 19 at his Phoenix home. He was 84. Born in Baltimore and raised on 37th Street in Ednor Gardens, he attended St. James the Less School and was a 1945 graduate of Mount St. Joseph High School, where he was class valedictorian. He received a bachelor of science degree from Georgetown University and a degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He was chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Bon Secours Hospital and was also the hospital's director of medical education.

Dr. Frederick Joseph Hatem, a retired Havre de Grace obstetrician who delivered thousands of babies in Harford and Cecil counties during his four-decade career, including baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. , died June 6 of heart failure at Harford Memorial Hospital. He was 84. Dr. Hatem, whose parents owned and operated a general store, was born in Havre de Grace, where he spent his entire life. He was a 1942 graduate of Havre de Grace High School and served in the Army as an administrative assistant stateside to a colonel, until being discharged in 1946.

Dr. Oscar Hartman, a retired Baltimore-area obstetrician and longtime Lutherville resident, died Oct. 28 of cancer at Heartland, a rehabilitation facility in Sarasota, Fla. He was 93. Dr. Hartman, the son of a baker and homemaker, was born and raised in Baltimore. He was a 1931 graduate of City College and earned a bachelor's degree in 1935 from the University of Maryland, College Park. After graduating in 1939 from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, he completed his internship and residency at Franklin Square Hospital, where he was chief of obstetrics and gynecology for two years.