Ruxton

Jerome Hamilton Watts, a retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives inspector and former longtime Ruxton resident, died March 15 of liver failure at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 65. Mr. Watts was born in Mineola, N.Y., and lived there for several years until moving to Greensboro, N.C., and then Towson. After graduating from Towson High School in 1961, he earned a bachelor's degree from Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., in 1965. After serving in the Navy for several years, his ATFE career spanned nearly 40 years, where in addition to being an inspector, he conducted training sessions.

When Nancy Valk found her dream house back in 1977 - a four-square design off a quiet, tree-lined street in Baltimore County's Ruxton - her architect husband, Arthur, was dubious about the choice. "I didn't know what we'd do with it," he remembered. "It was so plain, so unadorned." What a difference 30 years - and Arthur Valk's skill - has made. The 1918 cedar shake cottage has changed little from street level. The surprises lie beyond the front door and in a backyard that commands an acre of landscaped beauty.

Mary Windsor "Molly" Harris, a Calvert School second-grader who enjoyed ballet and spending time at the beach, died of pneumonia Sunday at Sinai Hospital. The 8-year-old Ruxton resident developed breathing problems after contracting what appeared to be a cold, her family said. Born in Denver, Molly was an infant when her family moved to Ruxton in 1999. "I've known Molly since kindergarten. She was an amazing child with a huge heart. Her contagious smile could brighten the gloomiest of days.

Hugh Benet Jr., a retired insurance company official, noted amateur historian and former curator of the Constellation, died Saturday of heart failure at his Ruxton home. He was 77.Mr. Benet joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland in 1948 and retired as vice president and director of operations in the early 1980s.An amateur historian of considerable reputation whose specialty was military history and weaponry, he was regarded as an expert on the Constellation's guns. He had a deep interest in the Civil War and collaborated on a book about Confederate handguns.

In 1977, Judith Banker-Barrett answered a small newspaper ad for the headmistress position at the Blue Bird School. With only five years' teaching experience, she got the job running the tiny, 40-pupil school in a rambling house on Berwick Road in Ruxton."

In Baltimore CountyProposed master plan is open for review, comment from publicTOWSON -- The county is inviting the public to read and comment on a draft of the proposed Master Plan 2010.The plan will be published today and will be available for reference in county libraries and on the Internet at www.co.ba.md.us. The planning board will hold a public hearing on the plan at 5: 30 p.m. July 8 in the County Council chambers, 400 Washington Ave.The public can comment at the hearing, by e-mail, or by writing to David Pinning, master plan coordinator, Office of Planning, 401 Bosley Ave., Towson 21204.

Robert Vincent Bates, 67, dentist in RuxtonRobert Vincent Bates, a retired dentist who practiced in Cockeysville and Ruxton for nearly 40 years, died Thursday from heart failure in his Lutherville home. He was 67.Born and raised in Baltimore, Dr. Bates graduated from the Gilman School in 1950. He attended Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and received his doctor of dentistry degree in 1956 from the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, University of Maryland Dental School. He later served in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps in Camp Lejeune, N.C.He began his dental career with his father, Dr. John O. Bates, and opened his own practice in 1960 in Cockeysville.

An unidentified woman was killed last night when the car she was driving north on Interstate 83 slammed into a tractor-trailer and overturned about a mile south of Ruxton Road.Maryland State Police said the woman lost control of her vehicle about 9: 30 p.m. Police said no passengers were in the car.It was not known whether anyone in the tractor-trailer was injured. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.The accident closed northbound I-83 between Northern Parkway and Ruxton Road for several hours and backed up traffic for about two miles.

A Baltimore nonprofit group that fights racial discrimination in housing has sued the owner of a Ruxton apartment complex, alleging that African-Americans posing as prospective renters were turned away, while whites were offered apartments.Baltimore Neighborhoods Inc. sued the owner of Ruxton Village Apartments in U.S. District Court in Baltimore Thursday, accusing the apartment owners of violating the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.The suit was filed after black and white Baltimore Neighborhoods "testers" requested apartments on the same day and were told different stories about their availability.

Anita L. Schley, 89, former social workerAnita L. Schley, a former social worker and Baltimorean, died Tuesday in her sleep at the United Methodist Health Care Center in East Providence, R.I. She was 89.Mrs. Schley moved to Baltimore in 1960 and was a social worker for the city Department of Public Welfare until the mid-1960s. She moved to East Providence in 1972.During the 1930s, she was a social worker in rural Alabama and later was employed by the Children's Aid Society in Danbury, Conn.

C. Nelson Crusse, a longtime cosmetologist and owner of the Ruxton Hair Gallery, died Monday of cancer at his Pikesville home. He was 69. Mr. Crusse, who was known as John, was born in Baltimore and raised in Essex. He was a 1957 graduate of Kenwood High School and attended beauty school in Baltimore. Mr. Crusse, who worked as a beautician for nearly 50 years, established the Ruxton Hair Gallery on Bellona Avenue in the early 1980s. An accomplished gourmet cook, Mr. Crusse enjoyed entertaining family and friends.

Margaret S. Doub, a homemaker who enjoyed sailing the Chesapeake Bay for 40 years, died in her sleep Monday at her home in the Murray Hill section of Baltimore County. She was 91. Margaret Simmons, the daughter of a businessman and homemaker, was born in Hagerstown and raised near Oklahoma City. While living in Oklahoma, Mrs. Doub acquired a lifelong interest in American Indian cultures. When she was 18, family members said, she was inducted into the Kiowa tribe and given the Indian name of Dor-chi-um-gee, which means "Kneel and Pray."

Ruxton Country School in Owings Mills will be closing its doors at the end of this week because of financial problems and will relinquish its property to Jemicy School, which purchased it in March. The original agreement between the schools stated that Jemicy, a Baltimore County private school serving children with language-based learning challenges, would operate Ruxton through the 2009-2010 school year on the condition that Ruxton was able to fill an enrollment requirement of 85 students.

Susan B. Fritz, a longtime volunteer and sportswoman, died at her Ruxton home Sunday after an eight-month battle with lymphoma. She was 82. She was born Susan Baker in Baltimore and lived in Guilford until she was 12, when, because of her family's interest in fox hunting, they moved to Manor Hill Farm on My Lady's Manor in Monkton. Mrs. Fritz attended the Bryn Mawr School and graduated in 1945 from the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. She made her debut at the Bachelors Cotillon and graduated in 1949 from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.

The Baltimore County school board approved about $8 million in contracts last night for the new West Towson Elementary School. Among those approved were contracts for electrical and mechanical work, including lighting and wiring, as well as plumbing, ventilation and air conditioning. Other items involved athletic equipment and classroom items such as projection screens and chalkboards. The board voted in favor of two contracts tied to West Towson, dealing with site testing and improvements, at its last meeting.

When Cynthia Sothern bought the rundown white house next door to her home at a foreclosure auction in 1993, she wasn't sure what she was getting other than four apartments. When a tenant moved out, she moved into a sliver of it, then eventually took back the entire house. After more than four years of rebuilding, restoring and modernizing, she had a renovated, seven-bedroom, five-fireplace, 4 1/2-bathroom house steeped in Ruxton history. The property is part of the 100-acre Martinten grant in 1704 by the king of England to John Martin, according to Sothern.

Jerome Hamilton Watts, a retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives inspector and former longtime Ruxton resident, died March 15 of liver failure at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 65. Mr. Watts was born in Mineola, N.Y., and lived there for several years until moving to Greensboro, N.C., and then Towson. After graduating from Towson High School in 1961, he earned a bachelor's degree from Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., in 1965. After serving in the Navy for several years, his ATFE career spanned nearly 40 years, where in addition to being an inspector, he conducted training sessions.

A Baltimore County private school said yesterday it plans to acquire Ruxton Country School in Owings Mills. Jemicy School, which has campuses in Towson and Owings Mills and owns land adjacent to Ruxton, was approached by Ruxton school officials in late January, according to a message that Head of School Ben Shifrin sent to Jemicy families. "The current economic climate has forced Ruxton to make financial changes in order to maintain day-to-day operations," Shifrin wrote. Jemicy, which serves children ages 6 to 18 with language-based learning challenges, will run Ruxton as a separate entity through the 2009-2010 school year, said Barb Clapp, president of Barb Clapp Advertising and Marketing.

Margaret B. "Peggy" Krebs, a longtime Ruxton resident who was known for her homemade jams and chocolate sauce, died Friday of a stroke at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. She was 91. Margaret Lillington Boyden was born in Washington and raised near Glendale Heights in Prince George's County. She was educated in public and private schools, including St. Catherine's School in Richmond, Va. She attended American University and worked in the offices of the Washington National Cathedral before her 1941 marriage to Leon A. "Krebbie" Krebs.

Charlotte S. Wright, a homemaker and volunteer, died of pneumonia Nov. 1 at her Stevenson home. She was 78. Charlotte Simpson was born and raised in Milwaukee. She was a 1947 graduate of Downer Seminary, now The University School, and earned a bachelor's degree from Smith College in 1951. She was married in 1951 to E. Hilton Wright, who worked for the A.H. Bull Steamship Co., a family-owned business. The couple lived in Montclair, N.J., Bryn Mawr, Pa., and La Jolla, Calif., before moving to Baltimore in 1957.