Yacht Club

JOHN WILLIAM GRILL, JR., 61, of Salisbury, died Thursday, April 2, 2009 at Beebe Medical Center in Lewes. He was born in Baltimore, a son of Margaret (Zink) Grill of Baltimore and the late John William Grill, Sr. A visitation for family and friends will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Short Funeral Home, 13 E. Grove Street, Delmar, where a memorial service will be held at 7:00. A second memorial service will be held on Friday, April 10, 2009 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Baltimore Yacht Club, 800 Yacht Club Rd, Essex, MD 21221.

Thomas A. Gorman III, a mechanical contractor whose work included Oriole Park at Camden Yards, died Tuesday of complications from surgery at the Brightwood Rehabilitation Center. The Timonium resident was 80. Born in Johnstown, Pa., he lost his left arm in a high school bus accident at 16. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and then the Johns Hopkins University after moving to Baltimore in the early 1950s to work as a draftsman and project manager for the Lloyd E. Mitchell Co. In 1964, he founded his own business, T.A. Gorman Inc., in Towson.

Morton Gibbons-Neff Jr., a world-class sailor who oversaw a successful cattle-feeding operation and grain farm on the Eastern Shore, died Dec. 17 of complications from old age at Chester River Hospital Center. The Chestertown resident was 94. Born in Philadelphia, he attended Montgomery School and grew up sailing sneak boxes and E-Scows along New Jersey's Barnegat Bay. He attended the University of Pennsylvania before entering the Navy at the beginning of World War II, commanding submarine chasers along the East Coast and the Hawaiian islands.

Allan G. Kenzie, a retired senior vice president and Merrill Lynch branch manager who was active in conservation efforts, died of Alzheimer's disease Friday at Chesapeake Woods Center Genesis Eldercare in Cambridge. The former Ruxton resident was 73. Mr. Kenzie was born in Prattsburgh, N.Y., and raised in Hemlock, N.Y., and Livonia, N.Y., where he graduated from high school in 1952. He attended North Carolina State University for a year, then transferred to Bucknell University, where he played varsity basketball and football.

Rachel Holmes Cruzan's ascension to Queen of the Chesapeake in 1948 was anything but smooth sailing. Because her entry was flubbed in the Maryland Yacht Club's inaugural pageant, the 17-year-old had no place to stay and spent the night before the contest sleeping on the floor of a sailboat. After a night enduring mosquitoes and noisy partyers, she awoke with little enthusiasm for the contest. "I was ready to go home," said Cruzan, who lived in Bel Air at the time. But to her surprise, Cruzan was picked as queen over five other contestants.

Rachel Holmes Cruzan's ascension to Queen of the Chesapeake in 1948 was anything but smooth sailing. Because her entry was flubbed in the Maryland Yacht Club's pageant, the 17-year-old had no place to stay and spent the night before the contest sleeping on the floor of a sailboat. After a night enduring mosquitoes and noisy partyers, she awoke with little enthusiasm for the contest. "I was ready to go home," said Cruzan, who lived in Bel Air at the time. But to her surprise, Cruzan was picked as queen over five other contestants.

In time for a public hearing tomorrow, the Eastport Civic Association and the Annapolis Yacht Club have come to an agreement on preserving Eastport's view of the historic downtown waterfront. Both groups support the goals of the ordinance before the City Council: to preserve an unobstructed view of downtown from Sixth Street. But that could restrict the building and redevelopment abilities of property owners. Bill Chambers, commodore of the club, said the initial proposal for an Eastport Gateway Conservation Overlay District would have impinged on the yacht club's property, and limited construction options in the future.

Richard G. Carter Jr., a builder and shopping center developer, died of a stroke Tuesday at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care. He was 74 and lived in Cockeysville. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Maryland in the early 1940s. He graduated from Kenwood High School in 1948 and attended night school at the former Baltimore Junior College. He later started Richard Carter Concrete with his father. He married Jean Matherly in 1950 and a few years later entered the Naval Reserves, where he served for five years as a dental assistant.

On a dark and stormy Friday, six hardy sailors gathered in Galesville to race tiny, one-sail dinghies called Lasers. The skippers waited out a downpour and then, as the clouds parted around 6 p.m., rigged their boats and headed out. Laser sailing isn't for the smart set. The coat-and-tie yacht club types buy bigger, more expensive boats. And it's not really for families - the tiny cockpit fits only one person. "The Laser is a sailor's sailboat," said Carl Berninger, 72, the oldest member of the Galesville fleet.

On Thursday, May 25, 2006, at his home, FRANK C. TUTTLE, age 75, of Naples, FL. Mr. Tuttle had lived in Joppa, MD before moving to Naples in 1997. He was born in L'Anse, MI on September 6, 1930. He graduated from L'Anse High School. After graduation Frank and his buddy Vern Brown joined the army. After his service he worked at many sales jobs, Frank was transferred to Baltimore by the CNA Insurance Co. He ultimately founded along with his partner Mickey Darrell, Association Insureres Agency, Inc., in Baltimore, MD. Frank worked in the insurance industry for over 40 years, was a member of Apiga and a founding member of Pima, both professional insurance marketing associations.