Obituaries

James Earl Jones, known as Darth Vader and the voice of CNN, died at 93.

The lessons of Marian Wockenfuss echo for generations of her candy store employees across Baltimore.

“I always called her the connector,” Maggie Flanigan’s mother said. “She always put people together.”

Warren M. Branch, a former city inspector who represented East Baltimore on City Council from 2007 to 2016, died last week at age 63.

Matthew Jochmans, a teacher at Towson High School, is remembered for his sense of humor, intelligence and love for people.

Rodney Little, Maryland State Historic Preservation Officer and Director of the Maryland Historical Trust, died in late June.

“She had a lot of charm, and she inspired a lot of loyalty," said "The Wire" creator David Simon about Laura Schweigman, who worked her way up from a TV writer's office assistant to producer positions.

Greg Kihn was born on July 10, 1949, in Baltimore and moved to the San Francisco area in the 1970s. He was signed to Beserkley Records. With a songwriting style that blended folk, classic rock, blues and pop, his Greg Kihn Band had its first hit with “The Breakup Song,” released in 1981.

While working as an apprentice for a local jewelry maker, Cooke found her unique minimalist style, utilizing lines and geometrical shapes.

For decades, Michael Clarke treated Claddagh Pub in Canton like his home — investing a lifetime of work and family sacrifices.

Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. Vila J. “Bobbi” Hovis of Annapolis was a pioneering Navy nurse, working in medevac flights in Korea and triage at the hospital she helped set up in Saigon, South Vietnam. She died May 5 at age 98.

Aneil Mishra, who was named the dean of the College of Business & Economics at Towson University last year, died earlier this month.

Damien Haussling co-founded the nonprofit after experiencing homelessness himself.

Kermit Travers was among only a handful that could be counted as a Black skipjack captain, a fading profession with historic roots. Travers died July 22 in hospice care at age 86, almost certainly the last of his peers.

Fitzsimmons-Peters died July 9 from post-delivery complications, just days after giving birth to Josie, her second child and only daughter. She was 34. Josie is healthy, her family said.

Carroll J. “Fitz” Fitzgerald, a former Baltimore City Council member who survived a 1976 shooting rampage at a temporary City Hall office, has died. He was 89. Fitzgerald died July 8.

Walker was also the youngest pitcher to ever start in the exhibition, doing so at age 20 during the second All-Star Game of 1959.

Jones, who played for the Ravens from 2012 to 2014, had a memorable debut season in Baltimore.

Social Security Administration executive Randolph “Randy” Edwin Abrams died at 74 of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. A public viewing will be held July 11, while a graveside service will take place July 12.

Carlton R. Smith, a fixture in the city who advocated for Black and brown members of the LGBTQ community and was currently fighting to decriminalize HIV in the state, died in his sleep May 29 in his Mount Vernon condominium. He was 61.