As the holiday season envelops us in its warm embrace, the image of Santa Claus soaring through the night sky, his sleigh expertly guided by a team of reindeer, fills our hearts with joy and wonder.

Gertrude Theresa Hodges, the first African American Johns Hopkins School of Nursing graduate, died of stroke complications March 28 at her East Baltimore home. She was 88. Mrs. Hodges also headed ...