St. Francis Xavier Church in East Baltimore bade farewell July 28 to the scholar who made its rich history come alive.

William L. Gaudreau, a leading post-Vatican II architect who designed many churches, school buildings and other structures in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, died July 6 of heart failure at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care in Baltimore. He was 84.

Redemptorist Father Thomas Brendan Loftus, who served at Sacred Heart of Jesus-Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Highlandtown and Our Lady of Fatima in Baltimore, was remembered for the personal commitment behind his strident preaching.

Mark D. Pacione, a nationally respected leader in youth and young adult ministry, died suddenly Dec. 29.

Father Milton A. Hipsley Jr., a former longtime pastor and beloved Cumberland-area prison chaplain, died Dec. 17.

Sylvia “Cookie” Harris, one of the leading pro-life advocates in Maryland and a longtime parishioner of St. Joseph in Cockeysville, died suddenly Aug. 28, a few days before what would have been her 58th birthday.

Dundalk resident Bernadette Gietka was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and aspiring playwright working four part-time jobs in June 2003 when she won the $183 million jackpot from the Mega Millions interstate lottery game. She chose the cash payout option of $112.8 million, taking home $76 million after taxes. Her win was the fourth largest in state history, a windfall both for Gietka and the charitable causes she championed.

Bestselling novelist Tom Clancy died Oct. 1 at 66.

Bishop F. Joseph Gossman, a former auxiliary bishop of Baltimore who served as the archdiocese’s first urban vicar, died Aug. 12.

Father Christopher Whatley is convinced that believers around the world have a powerful new friend in heaven. Her name is Teresa Bartlinski.