Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Robert V. Lapham
World War II veteran
Services will be held Tuesday, February 9, at 2 p.m. for Robert V. Lapham, who died February 5 at his Menlo Park home. He was 86.
A native of San Francisco, Mr. Lapham lived in Mnelo Park for 51 years. Family members said he fought in the South Pacific theater during World War II. He was a member of the Menlo Park Peninsula Lodge #651, of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church since 1948, a retired captain of the U.S. Army Ordinance Department, and a member of the Knights of Dunamis Eagle Scout Fraternity's San Francisco Chapter.
He is survived by his son, Scott R. Lapham of Harrisburg, Oregon; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His wife, E. Lillian Lapham, and daughter Judy Wolfinger, preceded him in death.
The service will be held at Redwood Chapel, 847 Woodside Road, in Redwood City. Burial will be Thursday, February 11, at Riverside National Cemetery, in Riverside, California. Donations to a charity of the donor's choice may be made in lieu of flowers.
Frank Ambrozic
Professor
Frank J. Ambrozic died February 28 at his Menlo Park home. He was 62.
Born in Garfield Heights, Ohio, Mr. Ambrozic moved to San Francisco after graduating from Kent State University. He spent more than 25 years in the hospitality industry before joining the faculty of the Hotel and Restaurant School at City College of San Francisco. Family members said he delighted in sharing his knowledge with students.
He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Ramona; his mother Kate Ambrozic; and his aunt Helen Dellis. His father, Frank, and brother Fred preceded him in death.
Friends and family celebrated Mr. Ambrozic's life at a party in his honor on March 7. In lieu of flowers, Mr. Ambrozic requested that a fund be established to support scholarships for women in the Hotel and Restaurant Department of City College. Donations may be made in his name to the Hotel and Restaurant Foundation, 50 Phelan, San Francisco, CA 94112.
Arthur Lumpkin
Building inspector
Arthur Lumpkin, retired building inspector for Menlo Park, died March 1. He was 81.
Originally from Arkansas, Mr. Lumpkin lived in Menlo Park for 30 years. He was a member of the Air Force, and was a Masonic member. Nine years ago, he moved to Stockton.
Mr. Lumpkin is survived by his daughter, Gloria Glascox; brother John Pulley; mother Izenner Lewis; three grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
A memorial service was held March 6 in Stockton.
Memorial donations can be made to the Alzheimer's Aid Society, 105 S. Washington St., Lodi, CA 95240.
Deryl Pratt Turner
Former Portola Valley resident
Deryl Pratt Turner, who attended Menlo Park and Portola Valley schools, died February 25 at her home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, of cancer. She was 50.
Born in Palo Alto, Mrs. Turner was a 1966 graduate of Woodside High School and a 1970 graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority. She was a special education teacher in the Sonora and Twain Harte schools for 25 years and was active with the National Organization of Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. She was also a substitute teacher in Steamboat Springs, where the family moved in 1997.
Mrs. Turner is survived by her husband Michael and son Jeffrey; her mother Doris Wilson of Murphys; sisters Candy Gutierrez of Murphys and Morgan Hill, and Carolyn Pratt of Palo Alto. A memorial ski run was held March 6 in Steamboat Springs for Mrs. Turner, who enjoyed skiing, hiking and mountain biking with her family.
Memorials may be made to the Hospice of Steamboat/ Visiting Nurse Association of Northern Colorado, Box 775816, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 80477, or the American Cancer Society.
Geraldine Black
Menlo Park volunteer
Geraldine (Gerry) Black, an active Menlo Park volunteer, died March 16 after a long bout with Alzheimer's Disease. She was 79.
Mrs. Black was born in Spokane, Washington, and grew up in Milton Freewater, Oregon. She attended Pacific University and Oregon State University, where she met and marriage her husband Gordon 58 years ago.
Mrs. Black and her husband moved to Menlo Park from France 25 years ago. In Menlo Park, Mrs. Black volunteered her time with several organizations, including the First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto, the Menlo Park Historical Society, and the Menlo Park Art League.
Mrs. Black served every Wednesday afternoon as a volunteer receptionist at Lytton Gardens and chaired the Menlo Park Garden Club's annual plant sale for many years. She also took up tennis when she was 55 years old and played with the Little House tennis club.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two daughters, Diane Hamill and Laurie Mount; a son, Taylor Black; and six grandchildren.
Private family services were handled by Neptune Society in Belmont.
Edward M. Smith
Railroad enthusiast
Memorial services will be held Sunday, April 11, for Edward M. Smith, who died March 10. He was 92.
The service will be held at the First Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, at 10:30 a.m.
Born in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, which was then the home of Westinghouse Electric Corp., Mr. Smith eventually joined Westinghouse and worked there as an administrator for 35 years. Upon retiring from Westinghouse, he owned and operated the Stanford Charles Agency, a Menlo Park employment agency specializing in domestic help, for many years. Family members said he was an avid railroad fan and loved to travel. He also loved his home in Menlo Park, where he lived for 44 years.
He is survived by a daughter, Carolyn Fagerhaugh of Hayward; two granddaughters; and a great-grandson. His wife, Helen, preceded him in death last June.
Arrangements were made by the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Robert Russell Erving
Former resident of Portola Valley
Robert Russell Erving, a resident of Portola Valley for the first 18 years of his life, died March 5 in a skiing accident near his home in Whitefish, Montana. He was 33 years old.
Mr. Erving graduated from Woodside High School and worked in Aspen, Colorado, for a year before entering college. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he competed on the ski team.
He moved to Redwood City, where he was an employee of Earth Metrics, and later earned a master's degree in geography from California State University at Chico.
He is survived by his mother, Susan M. Erving of Menlo Park; his father, Robert M. Erving of Bainbridge, Washington; his sister, Audrey E. Licari of Larkspur; a brother, James Erving of Bainbridge, Washington; his grandmother, Florence Minard of Palo Alto; and several nieces and nephews.
Private services have been held. Memorial donations may be made to environmental organizations, Habitat for Humanity, or Pets in Need.
Florence Wotila
Longtime Menlo resident
Services will be held Wednesday, March 31, at St. Denis Catholic Church, 2250 Avy Ave., in Menlo Park for longtime Menlo Park resident Florence Yates Wotila. Ms. Wotila died March 26. She was 83.
Mrs. Wotila moved to Menlo Park in 1950, where she was an active member of the Peninsula Story Guild. She founded a group of children's party entertainers, which performed throughout the Bay Area.
Mrs. Wotila also volunteered at the Veteran's Hospital in Menlo Park for several years and was affiliated with St. Denis Church, Sacred Heart Schools and Oakwood.
Ms. Wotila leaves behind her children, Jaqueline A. Smith and John, David and Happy Wotila; siblings Charlie and Gene Yates; 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
There will be a visitation and rosary at 10:30 a.m. March 31, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Contributions can be sent to Stanford Medical Research, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford. Arrangements are being handled by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel in Menlo Park.
Elizabeth McCann Lawry
Volunteer
Services will be held Saturday, March 20, at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Menlo Park for Elizabeth McCann Lawry, who died March 11. She was 86 years old.
Born in San Francisco in 1912 to Mark McCann and Gertrude Vandre McCann, she moved with her family to Menlo Park in the early 1920s. She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Castilleja School and San Mateo College.
She was a charter member of the Menlo Circus Club, a member of the San Francisco Spinsters, and a society photographer for the Examiner and Town and Country Magazine.
She marriage Dr. Edwin Lawry in 1942, and raised her family primarily in Atherton. Mrs. Lawry was a member of the Junior League of Palo Alto, the Century Club of California, the Atherton Dames, Little House, the Friends of Filoli, and the board of the Menlo Park Historical Association. Family members said she was skilled at interior decorating, needlepoint, cooking, and gardening, and that she loved taking walks with her friends.
Mrs. Lawry is survived by her daughter, Donna; two sons, Mark and Vance; granddaughter Barbara Hutchinson; and great granddaughter Sarah Hutchinson. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1981.
Memorial gifts may be sent to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, 300 Homer Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94301. In addition, the Menlo Park Historical Association is accepting donations for a memorial to be built on the former grounds of Mrs. Lawry's childhood home, now the rectory of Saint Raymond's Catholic Church.
Robert C. Connell
Longtime resident of Portola Valley
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, March 23, for Robert C. Connell, a 40-year resident of Portola Valley, who died March 6 at age 80.
The service starts at 3 p.m. at Peninsula Bible Church, 3505 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.
A graduate of Stanford University in 1940, Mr. Connell earned his master's degree from the same institution in 1947. He was a veteran of World War II, serving as an infantry captain in Europe with the 42nd (Rainbow) Division.
Mr. Connell worked in advertising and public relations agencies in San Francisco and on the Peninsula during his long career.
He was a retired elder of the Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, a member of the Press Club of San Francisco, the Society of Professional Journalists, Phi Kappa Sigma, the Commonwealth Club of California, and the Stanford Golf Club.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Audrey Steele Connell; three sons and daughters-in-law; three granddaughters; and one grandson.
Memorial donations may be made to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, 6400 Schroeder Road, P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895.
Edmonia Baker
Midwesterner at heart
A memorial service is planned for Tuesday, March 16, for Edmonia Baker, a 25 year resident of Portola Valley, who died peacefully after a short illness on March 10. She was 85.
The service will start at 4 p.m. at Christ Church in Portola Valley.
Mrs. Baker grew up on the Indiana side of the Ohio River in New Albany and Laconia. She graduated from Indiana University and taught school briefly until her marriage to her college sweetheart, Edmund Davis, who took her off to Chicago. There they raised three children in the suburb of Flossmoor.
Mrs. Baker came to California in 1970 as a new widow to be closer to her daughter, Stannye Llewellyn, also of Portola Valley. Mrs. Baker remarried and lived in Michigan for six years, before returning to California, again a widow. Although she lived on the Peninsula for nearly a third of her lifetime, family members said she always made it clear she remained a Midwesterner at heart.
For the last 14 years, Mrs. Baker had been a resident at The Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley, where she made many friends and loved the live concerts and a good game of bridge, say family members. She was a faithful member of Christ Church Episcopal in Portola Valley, where she served on the altar guild for 20 years.
Mrs. Baker is survived by her daughter, two sons, Charles and Craig Davis of Glenview, Illinois, and eight grandchildren.
David Brooks Holland
Investment adviser
Memorial services will be held Friday, March 19, for David Brooks Holland, who lived in Atherton for many years and was a prominent voice in Palo Alto politics. He died suddenly March 8 at age 64.
Services will be at 3 p.m. at the Palo Alto Women's Club, 475 Homer Ave., Palo Alto.
Born in West Virginia, Mr. Holland graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, where he played basketball. He majored in social sciences at Stanford University, from which he graduated in 1957.
He began an investment career as a stockbroker with Irving Lundborg in 1960, later becoming an investment adviser. At the time of his death, Mr. Holland was a partner in a private firm.
Family members said Mr. Holland was a dedicated volunteer throughout his life, and was deeply involved in many causes including moderate Republican politics. He was a founding member of the California Republican League and served as its president in the 1970s. In Palo Alto politics he advocated residentialist causes and was particularly proud of his role in the passage of Proposition 198, the open primary initiative.
An avid soccer fan, Mr. Holland coached many AYSO soccer teams and helped develop competitive youth soccer in Palo Alto.
He is survived by his mother, Mrs. R. Paul Holland of Atherton; his sister, Katherine Barics of Palo Alto; and sons, Peter and Craig Holland of Palo Alto.
Donations may be made to the Mid-Peninsula Hospice in Mountain View, the Peninsula Open Space Trust, or the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto.
Albertine Klumpp
Atherton homemaker
A memorial service for Albertine Klumpp, a 61-year resident of Atherton, will be held Saturday, April 17, at Bethany Lutheran Church, at the corner of Cloud and Avy avenues in Menlo Park.
Mrs. Klumpp, a homemaker, died March 19 in Menlo Park. She was 87.
Born in Germany, Mrs. Klumpp emigrated to America via France in 1937. For a few years, she and her husband, the late Karl Klumpp, worked for baseball great, Ty Cobb.
Mrs. Klumpp was always very gregarious and interested in diverse culture, said her son Ralph of Redwood City. She enjoyed hosting visitors from around the world; in recent years, many came from Africa.
Besides her son Ralph Klumpp, Mrs. Klumpp is survived by her daughter Margaret Wahl of Colorado, four grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and many relatives in the United States, Germany and Kenya.
The family suggests donations to Bethany Lutheran Church, 1095 Cloud Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
A. Thomas Murphy
Retired lieutenant colonel
A. Thomas Murphy, a resident of Atherton for 50 years, died in Menlo Park March 28. He was 91.
A native of Butte, Montana, Mr. Murphy served as a finance officer for the U.S. Army in Fiji during World War II and retired as a reserve lieutenant colonel.
He was a partner at Deloitte & Touche in San Francisco.
Mr. Murphy is survived by stepchildren Una Harman and Katherine Nickerson; five grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a brother, Philip Murphy. Mr. Murphy's wife, Mary Murphy, and stepdaughter, Maura Adamson, preceded him in death.
Memorial donations may be made to the A. Thomas Murphy Scholarship Fund, c/o Deloitte & Touche, Ten West Port Road, Wilton, Connecticut, 06897.
Services were held under the direction of John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel in Menlo Park.
Eva C. Stacy
Founding member of AARP
Eva C. Stacy, who had lived in Woodside and Portola Valley for over 30 years, died March 28. She was 83.
She spent the past year of her life at Redwood Villa in Mountain View.
A native of California, Mrs. Stacy was one of the founding members of the American Association of Retired Persons in Menlo Park. She had been an active member of the group for 20 years and served as its vice president and president.
She is survived by her children, Judy Stacy and Marilyn Howisey; son-in-law Chuck Howisey; and three grandchildren.
Services have been held. Memorial donations may be made to Pets in Need of Redwood City, or to the American Cancer Society.
