Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Madeleine Haas Russell
Madeleine Haas Russell
San Francisco civic leader
Madeleine Haas Russell, a San Francisco philanthropist who also maintained a summer home in Atherton, died April 2 on her 84th birthday.
Mrs. Haas, a great grandniece of Levi Strauss, was active in causes ranging from abolition of the death penalty to prevention of war. She was one of San Francisco's biggest supporters of arts and culture.
Born in San Francisco, Mrs. Russell attended Smith College in 1937 and marriage Leon B. Russell in 1946. Heir to large fortunes from both sides of the family, Mrs. Russell began her philanthropic work while still in her 20s. She and her brother, William, founded the Columbia Foundation in 1940, one of California's earliest foundations to support environmental, cultural and social causes.
An ardent supporter of the Democratic party, she served on many of the party's councils and was co-chairman of the host committee for the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco. She maintained a strong connection to the Jewish community, supporting the state of Israel and local Jewish institutions. She also served on the boards of the Asia Foundation, the San Francisco Opera Association, Brandeis University, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Columbia Foundation.
Mrs. Russell enjoyed gardening, fishing, horseback riding and swimming. She liked to give friends eggs and produce raised on her Atherton estate. She also entertained guests from diverse cultures and points of view at Sunday afternoon get-togethers during her Atherton summers.
Mrs. Russell is survived by three children and their families: Alice and Bill Russell-Shapiro of San Francisco; Christine H. Russell and Mark Schlesinger of San Francisco; Charles P. Russell and Soujata Devaris of London; and five grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to charitable institutions of special interest to Mrs. Russell.
Anthony A. D'Attilio
M-A teacher, coach
Anthony A. "Tony" D'Attilio, Menlo-Atherton teacher and coach for 26 years, was remembered by his colleagues, friends and family at an informal gathering March 26 outside his former classroom, B-4. A Japanese green maple was planted there in his memory.
"Mr. D," as he was called by his students, died March 3 at age 68 after suffering a severe stroke. He retired from the Sequoia district in 1997 after teaching social studies at M-A and coaching frosh-soph football and later varsity football since 1971. His began his teaching career in the district in 1966 at San Carlos High School.
Speaking at the gathering was Frank Moura, who said they became "best friends through coaching." Mr. Moura and his M-A Jazz Band played "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" at the gathering and also "April in Paris," which, Mr. Moura, said was the only piece Mr. D'Attilio would dance to when the band played at his wedding.
Other speakers were Ben Parks, retired M-A football coach; teacher Alan Ida, who shared an interest in fishing with Mr. D'Attilo; and M-A Principal Eric Hartwig. The M-A PTSA served refreshments.
Mr. D'Attilio was born in Italy and came to the United States at age 5, already a U.S. citizen because his father was an American. He grew up in western Pennsylvania, served in the Korean War, and came to Southern California to teach in 1955.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy D'Attilio of San Jose, and his four children, Deborah DePetris of Turlock, Anthony J. D'Attilio of Huntington Beach, Kimberly Armstrong of Oxnard, and David D'Attilio of Milpitas.
Contributions may be made to a tree memorial in Santa Cruz or to a charity of the donor's choice. People may contact Nancy D'Attilio at 5648 Prospect Road, San Jose 95129 for details about the tree memorial.
Alex N. Carr
Woodside High School freshman
Alex N. Carr, an 11-year resident of Woodside, died March 22. He was 14 years old.
Alex was a freshman at Woodside High School and a native of Omaha, Nebraska.
He is survived by his foster mother, Pam Sullivan of Woodside; his foster grandmother, Alma Sullivan of Woodside; his mother, Kim Carr; and aunt, Jodi Randolph Carr. Funeral services have been held.
Memorial contributions may be made to Kara, 457 Kingsley Ave., in Palo Alto, or Catholic Youth Organization, 1 St. Vincent Drive, in San Rafael.
Marcel Behr
Operated pastry shop in Menlo
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, for Marcel Behr, who operated Marcel's Pastry Shop on Santa Cruz Aveune in Menlo Park for many years in the 1950s and 1960s. He died March 9 at his home in Cupertino.
The service will be held at Peninsula Covenant Church, 3650 Farm Hill Blvd. in Redwood City.
Mr. Behr also operated a bakery-snack concession in Tresidder Union on the Stanford campus.
Born near Strasbourg in the Alsace region of France in 1906, Mr. Behr was apprenticed as a pastry chef at age 13, earning his master designation in Paris. At age 20 he emigrated to the United States, became a citizen and worked as the executive pastry chef for the Lurline Cruise Lines before becoming the executive pastry chef at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco.
After many years at the hotel, he began his own business in San Mateo (the Baywood pantry) and moved to Menlo Park.
Mr. Behr was very active in the Menlo Park Host Lions Club, served Lions International as a district governor and held many offices at the local level.
He is survived by his daughter Margo Atkinson of Capitola; his son and daughter-in-law, Douglas and Eileen Behr of Redwood City; and grandchildren David Atkinson and Jon and Shelley Atkinson and Christopher Behr.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent to Lion's Eye Foundation, c/o Menlo Park Host Lions Club, P.O. Box 275, Menlo Park, CA 94026-0275.
Peter L. Raugi
Realtor
Peter L. Raugi, a resident of Menlo Park for 56 years, died April 6. He was 81.
A real estate broker with Wright & Company and an employee of Swift & Company for 28 years, Mr. Raugi was a past president of the Menlo Park Board of Realtors.
He was a 50-year member of Palo Alto Elks Lodge #1471; a member of the Italian American Social Club of Menlo Park and Little House of Menlo Park; and a member/organizer of the Shoreline Golf Club.
He is survived by his wife, Victorine Raugi of Menlo Park; Gregory Raugi M.D., PhD. of Woodway, Washington; brother Elio Raugi of South San Francisco; grandchildren Dana and Brandon Raugi of Woodway, Washington; and many nieces and nephews.
Services have been held. Memorial contributions may be made to the Mid-Peninsula Hospice, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025-5232; or to the American Cancer Society of San Mateo County, 1720 S. Amphlett Blvd., Suite 120, San Mateo, CA 94306.
Donald Eugene Williams
Lifelong Menlo resident
Services were held April 7 at Bethany Lutheran Church in Menlo Park for Donald Eugene Williams, a lifelong resident of Menlo Park, who died April 2. He was 49.
Mr. Williams was a graduate of Ravenswood High School and worked at various local McDonald's restaurants for 20 years. He is survived by his parents, Isaac and Lavergne Williams of Menlo Park, and sister Gladys Joyet of Denver.
Interment was at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo. Memorials may be made to Kidney Research, Stanford Medical Center, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, California, 94303. Arrangements were directed by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.
Everett E. Carlton
Retired electrical engineer
Everett E. (Gene) Carlton, a resident of Menlo Park for 47 years, died April 2. He was 87.
Mr. Carlton was born in Rogers, Arkansas, and moved to California in 1922. While attending the University of California at Berkeley, he met his wife, Ferna. He graduated in 1933 with a degree in electrical engineering and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
He served in World War II in the South Pacific as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Mr. Carlton worked for the state of California for 33 years as a supervisory electrical safety engineer for the Division of Industrial Safety. He also served as a member of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and was a longtime member of the Electrical Council of Underwriters Laboratory.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Ferna of Menlo Park; his son Bob of Soquel; his daughter Mary Anne of Sequoia National Park; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His son Stephen preceded him in death.
Theodora L. Johnson
Retired librarian
Theodora L. Johnson, a retired librarian and resident of Menlo Park for four years, died March 10 at the home of a friend. She had been city librarian in Richmond, California, from 1971 to 1981.
A graduate of George Washington University, Miss Johnson was a reporter on the Bethesda, Maryland, Journal and the San Jose Mercury News. In the 1950s she began her career in the Palo Alto City Library after getting her library credential at the San Jose School of Librarianship.
She is survived by her brother Lucius Johnson of Palo Alto, a retired architect; three nieces; a grand-nephew; and a grand-niece.
Fausto Zelaya
Funeral services will be held Tuesday, April 13, for Dr. Fausto Zelaya, a medical doctor and attorney who lived in Atherton for two years. Dr. Zelaya was a native of Nicaragua and represented several governmental agencies concerned with real estate and economics. Vigil services will be held at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, at the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries, 650 Live Oak Ave., Menlo Park. A Mass will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, at St. Denis Catholic Church, 225 Avy Ave., Menlo Park.
Fannie Shaftel
Stanford education professor
A memorial service for Fannie Shaftel, professor emeritus at Stanford University, will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 29, in the Ladera Community Church, 3300 Alpine Road, Ladera.
Dr. Shaftel, who developed theories and techniques for teaching values through social studies, died March 21 at Sharon Heights Convalescent Hospital only three miles from her home in Ladera.
Born September 30, 1908, in Los Angeles, she retired from the Stanford School of Education as a full professor in 1974 after teaching there for 27 consecutive years.
Her dedication to social studies as a core curriculum for elementary schools and as a vehicle for exploring social values and understanding diverse cultures began with her teaching in Los Angeles after receiving her teaching credentials from the University of California, Los Angeles.
She and her students built an adobe house in a Los Angeles arroyo during their study of Mexico, and prepared a feast in the fields while studying Egypt.
These experimental activities where whole classes were led to create "living" dioramas with students acting out parts were the seeds for her study of role-playing. These ideas were formalized in her Stanford doctoral dissertation, "Role Playing in Teaching American Ideals," in 1948, the same year she joined the School of Education faculty.
After earning a master of arts degree from Columbia University, she returned to California and worked as the elementary curriculum coordinator for Pasadena city schools for eight years.
Dr. Shaftel, a mentor for teachers, co-authored with her husband, George Shaftel, the textbook, "Role Playing for Social Values," that became a classsic in its field. Later they collaborated on other books and filmstrips, documenting role-playing techniques.
Dr. Shaftel worked on integration projects in the South with the Conference of Christians and Jews during summers in the 1960s and traveled to Spain with a team of Fulbright scholars to evaluate schools in Galicia. She received Stanford School of Education's first excellence in teaching award.
After her retirement, the Shaftels spent half of each year living in Honolulu where she worked with the Bishop Museum as an associate for the Hawaiian Homestead Project and consulted with the Hawaii Department of Education on guidance projects.
She is survived by her husband, George Shaftel of Ladera; son and daughter-in-law, David and Harriet Shaftel of Anchorage, Alaska; sister and brother-in-law, Dorothy and Hugo Nadaner of Ladera; and grandchildren, Douglas, Matthew and Rebecca Shaftel.
William Brazell
Retired sheet metal worker
A memorial service was to be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 27, at Church of the Nativity, Menlo Park, for William Daniel "Dan" Brazell who died April 20. A resident of Menlo Park for 36 years, he was 65.
Mr. Brazell was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, and moved to California in 1941. After serving in the U.S. Army, he began his career as a sheet metal worker at South City Sheet Metal in 1959, working there until his retirement in 1994.
After retiring, he attended daily Mass and rosary at Church of the Nativity. "After church, he would come over and visit his grandchildren and often helped me get them ready for school," recalls his daughter, Dori Britts of Atherton. He also spent time in his workshop doing custom copperwork, such as planter boxes and gutters. He restored a 1932 Ford to mint condition and enjoyed going to car shows.
Survivors include his wife, Beth Ann of Menlo Park; son, Paul of Redwood City; daughter and son-in-law, Dori and David Britts of Atherton; his mother, Amelia Brazell of Santa Cruz; brother David of Yorba Linda; a sister, Amy Dewar of Brookings, Oregon; and three grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Church of the Nativity. Arrangements were under the direction of Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Edward Charles Casey
Retired Army lieutenant
Edward Charles Casey, 76, died at his Woodside home April 15.
A native of San Francisco, Mr. Casey graduated from St. Ignatius High School and the University of San Francisco. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, a member of the Stanford Golf Club, and a resident of Los Altos Hills for 37 years.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia Casey of Woodside; children Frances von Schlegell, Carolyn Casey, Edward C. Casey Jr., and Suzanne Casey; siblings Dr. Donald Casey, Helen Fincutter, and Cecil Casey; and four grandchildren.
Services have been held. Donations may be made to Stanford University Skin Cancer Research Center, 770 Welch Road, Suite 400, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
Eric Pederson
Woodside architect
Eric Walton Pederson of Woodside died April 19 after a 15-year struggle with multiple sclerosis. He was 49.
Mr. Pederson was a native of Southern California who moved to Atherton with his family when he was 15. He was a graduate of Menlo School where he was a gifted athlete playing varsity baskeball and baseball. "He held the record for the most points scored in a (basketball) game," his wife recalls, "and he was a great surfer." He was a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Architecture and Stanford's School of Engineering.
Before his illness, he owned his own architectural and construction business, specializing in custom residential design.
Mr. Pederson is survived by his wife, Tina, and sons Miles and Anders of Woodside. "I think he would like to be remembered as a devoted father to his two sons -- that was very important to him," said his wife.
He is also survived by his father and stepmother, Jack and Pearl Pederson of San Francisco; sisters Penny Falck of Rolling Hills, Clary Riskas of Atherton, and Grace Ann Graumann of Menlo Park; and brothers Jac of San Luis Obispo and Lars of Layfayette.
Memorials may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 150 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA 94612; or to Mid-Peninsula Home Care and Hospice, 201 San Antonio Drive, Suite 135, Mountain View CA 94040. A family gathering was held April 22 at the family home. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney.
Charlotte Barker
Appliance store owner
Services have been held for Charlotte H. Barker, who died April 20 at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. She was 85.
Mrs. Barker and her husband, the late Sherman Vaughn Barker, owned Anchor Appliance in San Carlos for 30 years. A native of Denver, she moved to the Bay Area as a young woman and marriage in 1946. They lived first in San Mateo, then moved to Menlo Park, where she resided for 48 years. Three years ago she moved to Pilgrim Haven in Los Altos.
Mrs. Barker is survived by her niece, Carole Galeridge, and many other nieces and nephews. Her son Charles "Rusty" Barker died in 1970. Memorials may be made to Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital, 725 Welch Road, Palo Alto.
Eleanor Hanson
A memorial service will be held Monday, May 3, at l p.m. at Valley Presbyterian Church, Portola Valley, for Eleanor Quandt Hanson, who died April 21. A reception will follow at the Sequoias, Portola Valley. Mrs. Hanson's obituary will appear in the next issue of the Almanac.
Eleanor Q. Hanson
Resident of Sequoias
Eleanor Quandt Hanson, who, with her husband, Raymond, spent a half century serving the Presbyterian Church, died April 21 at Stanford Medical Center. She was 86.
Mrs. Hanson was born in Oakland and earned a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley. In 1935 she marriage Raymond Hanson, who went on to establish the Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy law firm in San Francisco.
The couple was instrumental in founding the San Mateo Presbyterian Church in the 1940s and were later members of churches in Burlingame and Portola Valley. A talented singer, Mrs. Hanson took part in church music programs.
The Hansons moved to the Sequoias in the 1980s. As president of Northern California Presbyterian Homes Inc. in the 1950s, Mr. Hanson was instrumental in establishing a number of Presbyterian retirement communities, including The Sequoias.
The couple enjoyed travelling worldwide, making trips to their vineyard in Napa Valley, and visiting Ashland, Oregon, where Mr. Hanson served on the Shakespeare Festival's board of directors. Mrs. Hanson was dedicated to her eight grandchildren and sharing her Christian faith with them, her family says.
Mrs. Hanson is survived by her daughters Lynne Dilling and Christine Cabot, both of Los Altos; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Her husband, Raymond Hanson, died in 1996.
Donations to found a Eleanor Hanson memorial at the Sequoias may be sent to NCPHS Foundation, c/o The Sequoias, 501 Portola Road, Portola Valley, California 94028. Memorials may be made in Mrs. Hanson's name to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1300 Harmon Place, P.O. Box 779, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55440-0779.
