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.

Gaul, 72, died Oct. 18, after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer. He worked at the Catholic Review beginning as a writer in 1995 before becoming associate and then managing editor. He had also produced and hosted Catholic News Radio and Catholic Review TV.

Monsignor Damien Nalepa, pastor of St. Gregory the Great in West Baltimore for 30 years and a much-respected proponent of inner-city ministry, social justice and non-violence, died suddenly at St. Gregory Aug. 4 at age 70.