Mildred Loud

Eastern Shore native and lifelong Maryland resident, Mildred Willis Loud died Thursday, December 13, 2007, in Baltimore at the age of 90. Mrs. Loud spent her childhood in Chestertown and Betterton, where she was born. Her mother, Ida Willis, ran a hotel at the seaside resort, and her father, Charles Willis, was a waterman. She often fondly remembered her years there, helping her mother in the hotel, enjoying the seafood her father caught and the fresh vegetables her mother grew, and spending time at the beach with her older sisters and brother. She married her childhood sweetheart, Edward C. Loud, Jr., and in 1942 they moved to Baltimore, where they did piecework at Western Electric supporting the war effort. Their only daughter, Lorraine Loud Wizda, was born in 1945. Mrs. Loud, known to her family and many friends as Millie, showed dogs professionally for many years with her husband, traveling throughout the East Coast and became known for showing many champions. Following that, she enjoyed several years managing the music department at the downtown Stewart’s department store on Howard Street. She was an active supporter of the Baltimore Colts through the Colts Corral No. 1, of which her husband was a co-founder. In the 1960s Mrs. Loud worked at a travel agency that her husband established, arranging out-of-town travel to sporting events, particularly Colts games. She also worked in real-estate accounting for more than 25 years, retiring at age 80. She enjoyed gardening and cooking, especially when baby-sitting her granddaughter, Sharyn Wizda Vane, making her French fries and ice-cream sandwiches from scratch and always watching the Miss America pageant together. She traveled regularly until just before her death, making many trips to Virginia Beach, VA, and the Eastern Shore with her daughter and also visiting her family in Texas. She was particularly devoted to her daughter, who cared for her in recent years. In addition to her daughter and granddaughter, she is survived by her grandson, Mark Vane of Austin, Texas; great-grandsons, Eddie and Sam Vane of Austin, Texas; her niece, Mary Phyllis Oehlke of Pipe Creek, Texas, and Mrs. Oehlke’s children, Fred Sorrell, Linda Russi and Karen Jolly, all of Texas, and Dwight Sorrell of Charleston, S.C., and their families. Mrs. Loud’s husband, sisters Marie Crew and Jessie Gooding and brother, Charles Willis preceded her in death. Graveside services will be held Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at 10am at Chester Cemetery in Chestertown, MD. Fellows, Helfenbein and Newnam Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent in Mrs. Loud’s memory to the American Heart Association, 4217 Park Place Ct., Glen Allen, Va., 23060, or the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Ave., Annapolis, MD, 21403.