Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Eugene V. Basegio
Retired plumbing contractor
Eugene V. Basegio, a resident of Menlo Park for 48 years, died October 24. He was 76.
A native of Joliet, Illinois, Mr. Basegio was a decorated World War II veteran. He worked as a plumbing contractor until his retirement.
He is survived by his wife Helen of 48 years; his daughter Mary DiSibio of Redwood City; his brother Guido Basegio of Redwood City; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Services have been held. Arrangements were made by Crippen & Flynn Chapel in Redwood City.
Eugene V. Basegio
Retired plumbing contractor
Eugene V. Basegio, a resident of Menlo Park for 48 years, died October 24. He was 76.
A native of Joliet, Illinois, Mr. Basegio was a decorated World War II veteran. He worked as a plumbing contractor until his retirement.
He is survived by his wife Helen of 48 years; his daughter Mary DiSibio of Redwood City; his brother Guido Basegio of Redwood City; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Services have been held. Arrangements were made by Crippen & Flynn Chapel in Redwood City.
Joseph Michael Lazzerini
Music teacher
Joseph Michael Lazzerini, an Atherton resident for 30 years, died October 26. He was 81 years old.
Mr. Lazzerini taught music in the Hayward School District for 33 years until his retirement.
He is survived by daughter Lorna Scholl of El Dorado Hills; sisters Ilda Barbieri of Atherton and Melba Puccetti of Santa Clara; three nephews; one niece; three grand-nephews; and two grand-nieces.
Funeral services have been held.
Carmel Blakely
Retired assembling technician
Carmel Blakely, a retired assembling technician with Hewlett-Packard, died October 27. She was 78.
She is survived by her husband Andrew, of Atherton; daughters Cheryl Ryerson Levine of Rancho Mirage and Carol Smithson of Michigan; brother Phil Traina of Santa Clara; and two grandchildren.
Services have been held. Arrangements were made under the direction of Spangler Mortuaries in Los Altos.
Geraldine Azzopardi
Longtime Atherton resident
Geraldine J. Azzopardi, a longtime resident of Atherton, died November 1 in Newark. She lived in Atherton for many years before moving to Newark a year ago.
She is survived by her son Joseph Azzopardi, daughters Barbara McDonnell and Mary Azzopardi, and brother Ray Buffington.
Services were held at the Queen of Apostles Church in San Jose with Burial at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto. Arrangements were handled by Crippen and Flynn Chapel of Redwood City.
Memorial donations may be made to the Mid-Peninsula Hospice Foundation, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Gene M. Kronberg
Devoted horseman
Gene M. Kronberg, self-employed in the insurance business for over 40 years, died October 30 at age 79 in Palo Alto.
Mr. Kronberg was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, and was a 1941 graduate of Penn State University.
He served in the Army during World War II; he was based in San Francisco and stayed in the Bay Area, living in Woodside for the last 27 years.
A devoted horseman, Mr. Kronberg was active in the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo County, a board member of the Friends of Woodside Library, and active with the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT) in Woodside.
He is survived by his wife, June Kronberg; children Rhonda Kronberg, Brad (and Cerese) Jacobs and Loribeth Jacobs (and Oris "Herb" Miller); and three grandchildren.
Private services were arranged by the Neptune Society in Belmont. Memorial contributions may be made to NCEFT, 5001 Woodside Road, Woodside, CA 94062.
Bill Hilborn
'Mr. Music' for Portola Valley schools
A memorial gathering for Bill Hilborn, "Mr. Music" in the Portola Valley School District for 20 years, will be held on Sunday, November 22, in the multi-use room at Portola Valley Town Center.
Friends are invited to bring fond memories of Mr. Hilborn and a pot-luck dish to the gathering, to be held from noon to 3 p.m.
Mr. Hilborn, 69, died October 28 in his Palo Alto home. A former Woodside resident, he was the instrumental and vocal music specialist in the Portola Valley district for 20 years until his early retirement in 1984.
Mr. Hilborn's contagious love of music goes back a long way. His mother, a classical concert pianist and a ragtime pianist, gave him his first music lesson at the age of 4 in his native Cedar Rapids, Iowa. When he was 13, he joined the union -- the American Federation of Musicians -- playing for schools, ballrooms and clubs throughout the area.
When he graduated from high school, he went off to New York to work professionally as a jazz piano player and arranger. "My dad cried, my mother thought it was fantastic," he recalled during an interview.
He was a pianist and arranger for the Tommy Dorsey Band and a singer in the Harry James Band. He worked in every state as he traveled with swing bands.
Mr. Hilborn got into teaching in Oregon, Missouri, and loved working with kids. Earning his way through college playing in jazz groups and dance bands, he received a bachelor's degree in music composition and a master's in music history from the University of Missouri. Then he moved to California to attend graduate school at Stanford University.
He had read about Portola Valley music teacher Mary Helen Richards adapting the Kodaly method of teaching vocal music for the early grades. When Mrs. Richards went to Europe to study and learn more about the famous Hungarian composer and vocal music teacher, Mr. Hilborn was the choice as her substitute.
In 1964, his first year in the school district, he developed a vocal music program for fifth grade, and added a grade each year through eighth grade. He adapted the Kodaly method, using American folk songs, for the upper grades, attributing the development of the district's very good sight readers to this approach.
He also is credited with developing an excellent instrumental music program in the Portola Valley district. The annual "Spring Sing" at Ormondale and concerts at Corte Madera became community events.
Mr. Hilborn was choir director for the Ladera Community Church for several years, which gained a reputation for its outstanding music program.
Mr. Hilborn is survived by his two sons, Will Hilborn of Woodside, a foreman for Langley Quarry; and Tim Hilborn, an instrumental music teacher at Abbott School in the San Mateo-Foster City School District; a sister, Elizabeth Knoll of Milwaukee; and Mary Hilborn of Woodside, to whom he was marriage from 1952 to 1976.
The family prefers that memorial contributions to celebrate his life be sent to the American Diabetes Association or to a music fund for Portola Valley school children, in care of the Portola Valley School District, 4575 Alpine Road, Portola Valley 94028.
Jean Scrimger Michelsen
Woodside Village Church member
Jean Scrimger Michelsen, a longtime member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Norwegian Club of San Francisco and the Woodside Village Church, died October 31. She was 75.
She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Harry "Mike" Michelsen; children Terry Jarvi and Scott Michelsen; and grandchildren Erik and Kristen Jarvi, and J.P. and Bria Michelsen.
Memorial donations may be made to the Woodside Village Church, 3154 Woodside Road, Woodside CA, 94062.
John Dinkelspiel, Atherton civic leader, dies at 94
Longtime Atherton resident and civic leader John W. Dinkelspiel died on November 13, following a recent illness. He was 94.
A former Atherton mayor and councilman, and the town's only judge (from 1948 to 1955), Mr. Dinkelspiel lived at the Sequoias retirement community in recent years with his wife, Clara.
For several decades, he was a partner with his brother in the San Francisco law firm of Dinkelspiel & Dinkelspiel, which his father founded.
Born in San Francisco on October 31, 1904, Mr. Dinkelspiel received a bachelor's degree at the University of California at Berkeley, and a law degree from Harvard University.
He and Clara were marriage at Clara's mother's home in Atherton in September 1931.
During World War II, he served as a Naval officer, as flag secretary for Admiral John Hoover aboard the flag ship USS Curtis. His roommate aboard the USS Curtis was screen actor Henry Fonda. Mr. Dinkelspiel was decorated with the Navy Bronze Medal.
After the war, he returned to Atherton, where he and Clara lived for 44 years, from 1946 to 1990.
Mr. Dinkelspiel served on the Atherton City Council from 1976 to 1990, including four years as mayor. He was also Atherton's representative to the San Mateo County Criminal Justice Council from 1979 to 1990.
He served on the Atherton Civic Interest League board of directors for many years, including one year as chairman, 1955-56. He was a member of SIRS (Seniors in Retirement) and the Shack (a social club).
Upon his retirement from the Atherton City Council in 1990, Mr. Dinkelspiel received many awards in recognition of his years of community service. These awards included: Recognition from the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for 50 years of distinguished service; Horseman Achievement Award from the Woodside Mounted Patrol; the Atherton Civic Interest League's Good Neighbor Award; and a proclamation from the town of Atherton. The City Council renamed Station Lane "Dinkelspiel Station Lane."
Though Mr. Dinkelspiel could not be present at Atherton's 75th anniversary celebration on October 17 this year, the band played "Anchors Aweigh" in honor of his distinguished Naval service. The residents joined the band in singing "Happy Birthday" for his 94th birthday.
"John truly loved Atherton," said Atherton Mayor Malcolm Dudley. "Even after John and Clara moved to the Sequoias, John closely followed Atherton's activities."
Survivors include his wife Clara Dinkelspiel, daughter Jean Chaitin, and three grandchildren.
There will be no memorial services. The family requests that any remembrances be in the form of donations to Friends of the Atherton Library; Atherton Heritage Committee; or Northern California Presbyterian Homes (Health Center) at the Sequoias in Portola Valley.
Milton Marshall Becker
Longtime Menlo Park resident
Milton Marshall Becker, a longtime resident of Menlo Park, died November 12. He was 86.
Born in Baltimore, Mr. Becker moved to Skaneateles, New York, and lived there with his wife and two daughters before moving to Menlo Park in 1956.
He began his career in air-conditioning with Carrier Corp. in New York, continuing in California with clients Morris Refrigeration, Stanford Hospital, Synex, and Xerox before he and his wife started Bay Air Conditioning, their own firm in Menlo Park.
Mr. Becker was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Janice, in 1990. He is survived by his daughters Jaye Carr, city clerk of Menlo Park, and Carol Rose of San Jose; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Services will be private.
Memorial donations may be made to the Peninsula Humane Society, 12 Airport Blvd., San Mateo 94401.
Arrangements were made by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel in Menlo Park.
Virginia Jellison, longtime resident of Menlo Park
Virginia Jellison, a Menlo Park resident for 44 years, died of a sudden illness November 25 at Stanford Medical Center. Memorial services were held November 30 at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Jellison grew up in Thompson, Iowa, and moved to Southern California with her family when she was 16. After graduating from high school, she attended business school for two years before going to work as a secretary for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She worked in FBI offices in Managua, Nicaragua; Washington, D.C.; and San Francisco.
After her marriage to Jerry Warner, the couple moved to the Peninsula, first to San Mateo, then Menlo Park. With their children, Jane and Tom, they were one of the first families to move into Sharon Heights in 1961. Mr. Warner died in 1972.
Mrs. Jellison was an active member of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, attending services every Sunday with her husband, Gene. Several years ago, she went to Sweden with other church members on a building project mission.
A former member of the Peninsula Volunteers, she was a member of the Mid Peninsula League of the San Francisco Symphony and the Palo Alto Auxiliary to Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. She was a server in Allied Arts Restaurant, operated by the auxiliary, each Monday.
An outgoing woman with many friends, Mrs. Jellison also enjoyed playing bridge and belonged to several bridge groups.
She is survived by her husband of eight years, Eugene (Gene); her son, Thomas Warner of Monterey; daughter, Jane McCullouch of Los Altos; a sister, Ruth Clark of Novato; and six grandchildren.
Contributions in her name may be made to the Palo Alto Auxiliary to Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford; attention: auxiliary office, 725 Welch Road, Palo Alto, 94304.
Mildred Gay, Realtor
Mildred "Micky" Gay of Menlo Park died November 24 at the Forum Healthcare Center in Cupertino after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. She was 78.
Mrs. Gay lived in Menlo Park from 1969 until 1998. She sold real estate in Menlo Park as a Realtor with Cornish and Carey from 1973 until 1984.
She also enjoyed tennis, and her children and grandchildren.
Mrs. Gay was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Mobile, Alabama. She marriage Donald Gay, then a junior officer in the Navy, in 1941, and followed him to posts around the world.
Mrs. Gay is survived by her husband, Rear Admiral Donald Gay Jr., USN (ret.); three children: Priscilla "Sunny" Scott of Stanford, Tracy Cowperthwaite of Portola Valley, and Donald Gay III of Stanford; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Arrangements were made by the Los Altos Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries. Private ceremonies have been held.
The family suggests donations to the Parkinson's Institute, 1170 Morse Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1605.
Virginia Engasser, resident of Menlo Park
Eleanor "Virginia" Engasser died November 21. She was 87 years old.
A native of Ohio, Mrs. Engasser moved to Los Angeles with her husband, Raymond, in 1939. The couple relocated to Menlo Park in 1977.
Mrs. Engasser is survived by her daughter, Patricia Gayle Engasser of Atherton; granddaughter Christina Rooke Jones of San Francisco; and brother Jack Frank of New York.
Services have been held. Memorial donations may be made to St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room, 3500 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park 94025.
Arrangements were made by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.
Clyde William Parker; Taught at Stanford
Clyde William Parker of Menlo Park died November 21 at Stanford Hospital at the age of 81.
During his more than 40 years as a Menlo Park resident, he was involved with Stanford University both as a graduate student and as an associate professor of English.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia; his children, Whitney of Sonoma, Thomas and William of Santa Cruz, and Amy Mangold of Virginia; his stepchildren, Michael Damsgaard of San Francisco, Peter Damsgaard of Sunnyvale, and Heidi Caudle of Saratoga; his brothers Jackson, Thomas, Robert and Richard; 15 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Arrangements were handled by the Neptune Society. Contributions in memory of Mr. Parker can be made to the Leukemia Society of America, 625 North First St. #790, San Jose, CA 95112-5112.
Penny Angell, Menlo Park volunteer
Memorial donation information for Virginia "Penny" Penington Angell, a 35-year Menlo Park resident and community volunteer, was not included in last week's obituary.
In lieu of flowers, her family prefers that donations be given in her name to Peninsula Volunteers, Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, or to the Peninsula Symphony, 1650 South Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402.
A "Celebration of Life" memorial service will be held at Little House at 4 p.m. on December 6, just prior to the Snowflake Ball.
