Mary "Bobbie" Rasin

Mary Rice Rasin, known as "Bobbie" to her friends and family, died from complications of an infection at St. Joseph Hospital in Towson on November 2. The Towson resident was 93.

"She always looked on the good side of things and gave people the benefit of the doubt," said her only surviving sibling, William Rice. "Her warmth and kind heart put everyone she met at ease."

Born in Baltimore, she was the second of six children of Mary Kennedy Rice (nee Cromwell) and John Hubner Rice. Growing up in Ruxton, she tried her best to keep her younger siblings in line but was always up for an adventure or practical joke.

A graduate of the Bryn Mawr School where she excelled at athletics, Bobbie went on to Church Home and Hospital School of Nursing. After graduation, she became a nurse at Johns Hopkins where she met her beloved husband, the late Carroll Rasin, who was one of her patients. Bobbie and Carroll enjoyed many happy years together and traveled extensively. Bobbie's love of travel continued after Carroll's death and she went on many treks that people half her age would be reluctant to embark upon, including a trip to the Galapagos Islands at the age of 80.

Always drawn to the sports field and basketball court, Bobbie left nursing and became an educator and coach at St. Timothy's School in Stevenson, MD. At St. Tim's, Bobbie not only coached field hockey and basketball, but she also was an integral part of St. Tim's outreach "Sharing and Caring" program.

A lover of the outdoors, up until her death you could find Bobbie walking her dachshund, watching the birds, or shooing away (sometimes with a BB gun) pesky squirrels.

Bobbie had a wide circle of friends and loved to entertain; she was known for her crab cakes and blueberry muffins. No one could turn down an invitation to lunch or dinner at Bobbie's as they knew they would enjoy lively, and at times irreverent, conversation, as well as stories that would give you a glimpse into an earlier generation. If it was a holiday, a guest might find one of Bobbie's dachshunds, Penny or Inky, dressed in costume. "I will never forget Bobbie opening the door with Penny dressed in her spring finest complete with fashionable Easter bonnet. She even made it on to the local news where the rest of the metro area was privy to the most fashionable dachshund in town!" recalls her nephew Harry Bond.

Although Bobbie had no children of her own, her nieces, nephews, cousins, and second cousins, all considered her "their" Aunt Bobbie. "She was my mentor," describes Bobbie's nephew Douglas Rice, a sentiment shared by Bobbie's extended family. "She was a great listener," says her niece Jorie Rice Cogguillo, "she took such an interest in all of us and her great-nephews and nieces. She will be greatly missed."

Bobbie is survived by her brother William Rice (Bill) and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

A funeral will be held Monday November 8th at 10 am at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Mt. Washington.