Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Vernon Older
Musician and teacher
Vernon Louis "Vern" Older, who was active in community theater during the 1960s and 1970s, died at his Menlo Park home on November 4. He was 78.
Mr. Older was born in Toledo, Ohio, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He was a music major at San Jose State University and taught guitar in Palo Alto.
He and his wife, Muriel, were active in local theater, including the Menlo Players Guild. He conducted and wrote arrangements for seven or eight productions in which his wife played the ingenue, according to his stepson, Greg Brown. Ms. Older later directed productions.
Mr. Older managed Draper's Music Center in Palo Alto for 15 years and sold real estate in Menlo Park and Palo Alto.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Muriel of Menlo Park; son Robert Older of North Carolina; daughter Virginia Older of Sunnyvale; stepsons Jeff Brown of Santa Barbara, Greg Brown of Palo Alto and Scott Brown of Monterey; brother Harry Older of Toledo; sister Bertha Nephew of Santa Monica; eight grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Mary Worrell
Longtime Menlo Park resident
Mary Elizabeth Worrell of Menlo Park died at home November 15. She was 92.
Ms. Worrell was an avid walker and took many bus trips to San Francisco, where she enjoyed going to tea and attending the San Francisco Ballet. She was proud of her Irish heritage, say family members.
She is survived by cousins Pauline Murphy of Los Altos and James Rapley of Redwood City. Her husband, Frederic "Ted" Worrell, preceded her in death.
Services for Ms. Worrell were held November 22 at St. Raymond Church in Menlo Park.
Althea Truitt
Former Woodside High teacher
A memorial service for Mary Althea Truitt will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 27, at Christ Church, 815 Portola Road in Portola Valley. Ms. Truitt died November 7 at The Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley. Her complete obituary will appear in the December 1 issue of The Almanac.
Marcy Harris Conley
Community volunteer, real estate career
A memorial service for Marcy Harris Conley, who combined a career in real estate with family and volunteer work, was held October 11 in Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.
Ms. Conley died in her sleep October 5 in her Menlo Park home.
She was the widow of Harry Conley, a master horseman, hands-on cattleman and decorated World War II bomber pilot, who died two years ago.
Her career in real estate spanned 25 years. She was an associate vice president with Cornish & Carey, which later merged with Coldwell Banker.
A daughter of an U.S. Naval officer, she spent many years in Hawaii and was there during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
She attended Punahou School in Honolulu and later studied at Connecticut College and Boston University, where she concentrated on English and journalism.
She settled in California and moved from San Francisco to Atherton in 1966.
Volunteer work was an important part of Ms. Conley's life, said her associates. She was active in Peninsula Volunteers, Atherton Dames, Menlo-Atherton Newcomers, Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation and the Menlo Park City School District. As a committee chair, she spearheaded the first annual "Day at the Park" at Holbrook-Palmer Park.
Her survivors include these children, Jill, Audrey and Becky Benschoof, and Lynn Harris of Southern California; Mark Harris and Bart Johnson-Harris of Rhode Island; and step-daughter Sue Conley of Menlo Park.
Arrangements were under the direction of Spangler Mortuaries in Menlo Park.
Bessie "Betsy" Bliss
Nurse, 50-year resident of Menlo Park
Betsy Bliss, a nurse and homemaker who lived for 40 years in a house built by Jane Stanford, died September 7 of natural causes at The Sequoias in Portola Valley. She was 84.
Bessie Mae Thrower -- she liked to be called "Betsy" -- was born and grew up in Minerva, Ohio. She graduated as a registered nurse from Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland in 1941.
Also in 1941, she marriage her hometown sweetheart, Claire N. Pieren, an Air Force pilot. She lost him "missing in action" during World War II. They had one daughter, the late Carolyn Sue Bliss Hendrich.
In 1948, Betsy Pieren marriage Paul Bliss, who ran a gas station in Palo Alto for years, and later worked at Smith's Sport Shop in Palo Alto and Shreve's Sport Shop in Menlo Park. They had four children. He died in 1988.
Mrs. Bliss's daughter, Barbara Bishop of Los Gatos, remembers moving into the old-fashioned house at the corner of Santa Cruz Avenue and Sand Hill Road when she was 6. "It was beautiful," she said. "Sand Hill was a little country road with a couple of stop signs."
That was the house that Jane Stanford built in 1902 for her devoted secretary Bertha Behrens. Mrs. Bliss lived there and raised five children, until she moved to The Sequoias in 1998. The old house at 2104 Sand Hill Road has now been restored and redeveloped as part of an office complex.
Her daughters remember Mrs. Bliss as a wonderful homemaker and gardener as well as a wonderful nurse. She was a fine cook and preferred natural and organic foods before they were fashionable, wrote her daughter, Virginia Bliss of Santa Cruz. She also enjoyed golf, tennis and fly-fishing. She loved music and played the piano.
"She had an affinity for textiles, and became an accomplished seamstress, knitter, and maker of braided rugs," Virginia Bliss wrote. "She tolerated a rambunctious household which included rock collections, musical instruments, tree forts, many pets, and five children who loved freedom."
In 1963, Mrs. Bliss resumed her nursing career at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, where she had worked during the 1940s. She later worked at Stanford Hospital, and retired in 1983. She was a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, then St. Bede's, then Christ Church in Portola Valley.
Mrs. Bliss is survived by a sister, Hilda Shaw, of Fort Myers, Florida; two daughters, Barbara Bishop of Los Gatos and Vrginia Bliss of Santa Cruz; two sons, Robert Bliss of Corralitos and William Bliss of Chico; 12 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and two great-great granchildren.
The family suggests donations to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, 725 Welch Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
Alice Carlson
Pink Lady volunteer
Alice Carlson died September 25 at Canyon House assisted- living facility in Menlo Park after a long illness. She was 95.
Mrs. Carlson, who lived in Menlo Park for the last five years to be near her family, grew up in Oroville, where she worked as a secretary at the county courthouse and the olive plant.
She marriage Ralph Carlson, and they moved to Richvale, near Chico, where they were rice farmers for many years.
Her son Jerry Carlson of Lakeport said she enjoyed playing golf, gardening and bridge. She was active with the Pink Lady hospital volunteers for 27 years.
In addition to her son, she is survived by five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Services were held in Oroville on October 2.
The family prefers donations to the Teacher's Fund, Selby Educational Foundation, 50 Woodside Plaza #513, Redwood City, CA 94061; or a favorite charity.
Carolyn Elizabeth Carder,
Menlo Park resident, psychologist
Carolyn Elizabeth Carder, a Menlo Park resident, died September 23 after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 57.
Ms. Carder was active in the Community Breast Health Project of Palo Alto, and provided professional and personal support to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.
A native of St. Louis, she was educated there in the Ladue School System, and in 1969 graduated from Duke University in North Carolina with honors in psychology. She also completed her master's degree from the University of Delaware and her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from Ohio State University in 1977.
Ms. Carder worked as an executive in organizational development, initially with Digital Equipment Co. in Boston and later at Bank of Boston, Phillips, and e-Stamp, a Silicon Valley start-up. A licensed psychologist, she owned her own consulting practice and traveled extensively in the United States, Europe and Asia as an adviser.
She and her late husband, James D. Mills, shared an interest in gourmet cooking, travels to Europe, and fine wines.
Ms. Carder is survived by her father, Homer C. Carder of Columbus, North Carolina; step-mother Wendy Carder; brother Stephen Carder of Sarasota, Florida; step-brothers Greg Bowcott of Poway and Randy Bowcott of Waukegan, Illinois; and step-daughters Cate Mills and Monica Devroude, both of Boise, Idaho.
A private family memorial service will be held. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Community Breast Health Project, or the Pathways Hospice in Mountain View.
Roller Hapgood & Tinney Funeral Home handled the arrangements.
Elena Venezia Klein
Organist at Portola Valley church
A memorial Mass for Elena Venezia Klein was held at Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Portola Valley, where she played the organ into her 80s. She was 91 when she died September 26.
Born in Berkeley, she became a mother, housewife, teacher, poet and lover of fine literature and languages, say family members. She lived in Redwood City and San Francisco.
She is survived by six children, 13 grandchildren and 17 great grandchildren. Arrangements were by the Woodside Chapel of Crippen & Flynn.
John Thomas Neylan
Longtime Menlo Park resident
Services for John Thomas Neylan, a Menlo Park resident and retired United Airlines employee, were held Friday, October 1, at Nativity Church in Menlo Park.
Mr. Neylan died September 29 after a long illness. He was 64.
He was the owner of Sweet Amy's Coffee and Ice Cream Shop on Wlllow Road in Menlo Park for about 13 years before selling the business.
Mr. Neylan was born in McGregor, Iowa, and spent most of his young life in Elkader, Iowa. He and his wife Bonnie moved to San Mateo in 1960 and lived in Menlo Park for the past 35-plus years. He retired after working 30 years for United Airlines in San Francisco.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Bonnie Neylan, and five children: Tom Neylan, Susie Foster and Amy Nieva, all of Menlo Park; Christine Hickey of Longmont, Colorado; and Cathi Mosbarger of Sacramento; and 14 grandchildren.
The family prefers donations in his name to Nativity School Endowment Fund, 1250 Laurel St., Menlo Park.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Frank S. Cerny
Nonagenarian, Menlo Park resident
Frank S. Cerny, a Menlo Park resident for 40 years, died September 8. He was 93.
Mr. Cerny served 20 years of active duty with the Air Force as a civil engineer. He was called up from the reserves, first with the outbreak of World War II and then with the Korean War.
He was active in gardening and ballroom dancing into his early 90s, and especially enjoyed doing the polka, said his daughter Catherine Cerny.
Born in 1911 in Cicero, Illinois, he graduated from Washington State University with a degree in botany. He worked seven years for the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska and Minnesota, where he met his wife Mary.
Living throughout the United States and in Japan, Mr. Cerny sustained his interest in travel that continued into his retirement with trips to Mexico, South America, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr. Cerny is survived by his daughter, Catherine Cerny of Menlo Park. His wife Mary and son John preceded him in death.
No memorial services were held.
Emilia Rathbun
Creative Initiative founder
Emilia Lindeman Rathbun, who devoted her adult life to leading seminars and discussion groups on the meaning and purpose of life, died at her home in Palo Alto on October 6. She was 98.
A memorial service will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, October 15, in the First Congregational Church at 1985 Louis Road in Palo Alto.
Mrs. Rathbun and her husband, the late Harry J. Rathbun, a professor of law at Stanford University, are best known as the leaders of Creative Initiative, a nonprofit educational foundation that was based in Palo Alto. At one time, several thousand members were involved throughout the United States.
The Rathbuns lived in Portola Valley from 1974 to 1979 at "Portola Green," built as a planned community off Portola Road for people in the leadership group of Creative Initiative.
In the 1980s, Creative Initiative became the Beyond War movement, a worldwide effort to communicate that nuclear weapons had made all war obsolete, and it was time to build a world beyond war.
The Beyond War Award was presented in a global televised ceremony each year to world leaders, such as Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia, Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union, Rajiv Gandhi of India, and Olaf Palme of Sweden.
Since 1992, the educational effort begun by the Rathbuns more than 50 years ago has been known as the Foundation for Global Community.
Mrs. Rathbun was born on New Year' Day of 1906 in Colima, Mexico. Her father, an American citizen, was a civil engineer who built railroads and harbors in Mexico and marriage the daughter of a wealthy Mexican family.
In a recent interview, Mrs. Rathbun said: "I've lived almost a century and what a marvelous, fulfilling, fast life it has been. I lived on a hacienda, had tutors, rode horseback and in carriages, and sailed on ships whenever we came to America."
Her family moved to San Jose, California, in 1922. She received her teaching credential from San Jose State University, and was chosen Rose Queen of San Jose's "Fiesta de las Rosas" in 1928.
She marriage Professor Rathbun in 1931, and together they embarked on a life-long journey of helping others. In the early 1950s, they founded Sequoia Seminar, an educational retreat center in the Santa Cruz Mountains. For more than 40 years, they led seminars based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
Mrs. Rathbun is survived by her son, Richard Rathbun of Mountain View; daughter, Juana Mueller of Huntington Beach; and four grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Foundation for Global Community, 222 High St, Palo Alto, CA 94301.
Peter S. Hurlbut
Native of Canada
A memorial service for Peter S. Hurlbut of Woodside will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, October 23, in the chapel of Woodside Village Church at 3154 Woodside Road in Woodside.
Mr. Hurlbut, a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, died October 3 at his Woodside home, where he had lived since 1972. He was 89.
Mr. Hurlbut moved to the Bay Area with his family when he was 6 and grew up in Burlingame and San Mateo. During World War II he served as a weather forecaster with the U.S. Army Air Corp in India and Burma. A skilled cabinet maker, he founded P.S. Hurlbut Inc. of Santa Clara.
In 1954, he marriage Marguerite, a widow with three children. The couple had a fourth child, Leslie. Mr. Hurlbut was a devoted father to all the children, say family members.
Mr. Hurlbut loved the outdoors and enjoyed hiking around his property and in Wunderlich Park.
He is survived by his children, Alan Zeppa of Duluth, Minnesota, and Leslie Johnson of Woodside; and eight grandchildren. His wife, Marguerite Hurlbut and children, Robert and Joan Zeppa, preceded him in death.
Barbara Rosentrater
Longtime Menlo Park resident
Barbara Buell Rosentrater died at her Menlo Park home October 9. She was 82.
Ms. Rosentrater, a homemaker, was marriage for 42 years to Robert E. Rosentrater, who died in 1986. She is survived by her children, Robin Fine and Leslie Curtis; and three grandchildren.
At her request, no services were held. The family prefers donations to Pathways/Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 135, Mountain View, CA 94040. Arrangements were directed by the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Roger Ahlenius
Former Menlo Park resident
Roger Ahlenius of San Rafael, who was a member of Menlo-Atherton High School's first graduating class in 1952, died September 26 in San Francisco. He celebrated on campus with many of his classmates at his 50th reunion two years ago.
Mr. Ahlenius was a native of Cloquet, Minnesota, who moved to Menlo Park with his family in 1943 and lived here until 1960. He was an environmentalist who established the Santa Margarita Island in Santa Venetia (San Rafael, Marin County) as open space.
He was an inventor, golfer, and craftsmen, say family members. He was a member of the ski patrol during the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley. Later, he sailed to Hawaii with two friends in a trimaran.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Daphne Ahlenius; son, Dr. William Ahlenius of San Antonio; daughter, Anna Wilson of San Rafael; one grandson; sisters, Marlyn Johnson of Menlo Park and Julie Lancelle of Pacifica; and five nieces and nephews.
Services have been held.
Ann Tregoning
Willow Oaks School teacher
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, November 6, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 330 Ravenswood Ave. in Menlo Park, for Ann Lucile Tregoning, a longtime Menlo Park resident who died October 12 of brain cancer. She was 57.
Born in Fort Bragg, she taught at Willow Oaks School in Menlo Park for many years. Her love for music was shared with her students and friends, and she sang with several local bands, say family members.
Ms. Tregoning is survived by her son, Randall Tregoning, and her sister, Victoria Tregoning of Menlo Park.
Contributions in her name may be made to the Randall Tregoning College Fund, 630 Twelfth Ave., Menlo Park 94025.
Edward Bolton
Aviation and venture capital pioneer
Edward T. Bolton, one of the first venture capitalists supporting the high-tech industry, died October 18 in Menlo Park. He was 88.
Mr. Bolton, who lived in Sharon Heights for more than 30 years, was born in London, England. He joined the British Merchant Marines when he was 15 years old and rose in the ranks to become a master navigator.
During World War II, he volunteered for the U.S. Air Transport Command and was responsible for navigating several hundred B-17 bombers as they were ferried from the United States to Great Britain.
During the war he also served as a private navigator for aviation pioneer and billionaire Howard Hughes. Mr. Bolton flew many missions with important people aboard, including Winston Churchill, whom he flew to Yalta for a summit meeting with Josef Stalin and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, according to Mr. Bolton's Sharon Heights neighbor, Muriel Haegele.
After the war he joined TWA and became its European operations officer, stationed in Paris. He later moved to Manila to become chief operating officer of Philippine Airlines. He served in this position until moving to the Bay Area in 1962; here, he worked for 12 years as a Hiller Aircraft executive and became active in the electronic industry in Silicon Valley.
As a venture capitalist, he assisted many high-tech companies, and retired in 1984.
In retirement, Mr. Bolton took over the household cooking and shopping from his wife, Isabel, a native of Scotland. For a 1994 interview in the Almanac, Mr. Bolton was photographed preparing Cock-a-Leekie soup, a Scottish chicken soup made with leeks. He said he learned to cook when he went to sea. "On the ship I learned to cook and darn socks," he said.
Mr. Bolton moved to Auburn shortly after his wife, Isabel, died in 1999. He later returned to Menlo Park. His only son, Tom, died in 1985. He is survived by his brother-in-law, Charles F. Duncan of Santa Clara; daughter-in-law, Yasuko Bolton of San Carlos; and niece, Agnes Swakie of Scotland.
Private services were under the direction of the Woodside Chapel of Crippen & Flynn, Redwood City.
Remington Low
Attorney, bank president
Remington Low, who founded the law firm of Low, Ball & Lynch, died in his Atherton home on September 27, one month before his 93rd birthday.
Mr. Low was born in Nebraska and moved with his family to Portland, Oregon, where he spent most of his childhood. He graduated from Stanford University and Stanford University School of Law.
Mr. Remington was a pioneer in insurance defense law and in the 1950s started his own law firm, which later became Low, Ball & Lynch with offices in Menlo Park and San Francisco.
After retiring from the law firm, he served as president and CEO of B.M. Behrends Bank in Juneau, Alaska, commuting between Atherton and Juneau until his retirement at age 80.
An inspiration to co-workers, family and friends, he was ambitious in all his pursuits and endeavors in life, say family members. For many years, he made annual fishing trips to Canada or Alaska with a group of old friends. He also enjoyed gardening.
Mr. Low is survived by his son, Remington Low Jr., and three grandchildren, all of Menlo Park. He was preceded in death by his wife, Jean, in 2002, and daughter, Madeline Jean Low, in 1994.
Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney in Palo Alto.
Yolande Carter
Former Woodside resident
Yolande L. Carter, who lived in Woodside before moving to Clayton, California, died October 20. She was 79.
Ms. Carter lived in Woodside from 1962 until after the death of her husband, Joseph O. Carter, in 2000. In Clayton, she enjoyed living close to her son, Brad, but missed her life and friends in Woodside, say family members.
Ms. Carter was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and graduated from Teachers College of Connecticut. She taught elementary and middle school in Los Altos.
She was a dedicated Stanford Cardinal fan and never missed a football game for 30 years, says her son, David Carter. "She and my Dad used to put on monster tailgate parties," he said.
Ms. Carter was also interested in calligraphy, genealogy and collecting antiques, say family members.
She is survived by her children, Brad Carter of Clayton, Susan Currey of Williamsburg, Virginia, Cinthia daRoza of Saratoga and David Carter of Los Angeles; and 11 grandchildren.
Services were held October 23 at the Woodside Chapel of Crippen & Flynn, Redwood City.
