Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Virginia Shenk
Longtime Menlo Park resident
Virginia Shenk, a resident of Menlo Park for 49 years, died May 15. She was 83 years old.
Mrs. Shenk was born in Los Angeles and attended Marlborough School. She later graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. In 1940 she marriage Jay Lewis Shenk.
For many years she was active in the Allied Arts Guild as a hostess, family members said.
She is survived by her daughters, Barbara Shenk of Seattle and Margaret Head of San Jose; and grandchildren Marcia and Ryan Cheney. Her husband, Jay, preceded her in death in 1993.
Family services were held May 20. Memorial contributions may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, 121 2nd Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, 94105.
Gale Albert Arnold
Retired machinist
Gale Albert Arnold, a longtime resident of Menlo Park, died June 10. He was 79.
A retired machinist, Mr. Arnold was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Redwood City. Family members said he was an avid fisher and gardener.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Caroline H. Arnold; daughter Patricia Costa; sons Steven, John, and Robert Arnold; sister Beverley Amoort; and 10 grandchildren.
Services have been held under the auspices of the Neptune Society of Northern California. Memorial donations may be made to St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 178 Clinton St., in Redwood City.
Douglas N. Jenks, family doctor
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 8, at Peninsula Covenant Church, Redwood City, for Douglas N. Jenks of Menlo Park, who died July 1. He was 73.
Dr. Jenks was born in Sacramento and moved to Palo Alto with his family while in junior high school. He attended Palo Alto schools and graduated from Stanford University and School of Medicine. Following internships and residencies in Stockholm, Sweden, and Modesto, he served in the U.S. Navy as a medical officer with a destroyer division during the Korean War.
A family physician for 18 years, Dr. Jenks practiced as a family doctor on Cambridge Avenue in south Palo Alto before joining the Palo Alto Medical Clinic in its family practice department. After 18 years with the clinic, he retired in 1989.
For 45 years he was active in the Peninsula Covenant Church, serving in many leadership roles and leading a Bible class for many years.
Dr. Jenks is survived by his wife of 48 years, Charlotte of Menlo Park; children, John W. Jenks of Washington, Marilyn Nelson of Santa Barbara, and Elizabeth Hammer of Santa Monica; brother, John H. Jenks of Atherton; stepmother B. Jenks of Los Altos; and seven grandchildren.
Memorials may be given to Peninsula Covenant Church, 3560 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City; or Mount Hermon Association Book of Remembrance, P.O. Box 413, Mount Hermon, California, 95041. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller, Hapgood & Tinney, Palo Alto.
Rosalee 'Bloxie' Davies, former high school teacher
Rosalee "Bloxie" Davies, a former Woodside High School teacher and longtime resident of Atherton, died June 26 at the age of 95.
Ms. Davies grew up in the mountains near Red Bluff, California, and attended the University of California at Berkeley. She began teaching in 1928, and taught in the Sequoia Union High School District at Menlo-Atherton High School and later Woodside High School until 1969. After retiring, she worked with the Atherton City Library for five years.
She is survived by her sister, Mary Hubbard of Vallejo; and niece Norma Rice and nephew Edward Hubbard, both of Atherton.
Funeral services were held July 2 at Woodside Chapel of Crippen & Flynn in Redwood City.
Jo Anne Short
Innovative educator
Jo Anne L. Short, a former juvenile probation officer and 25-year Menlo Park resident, died June 16 of lung cancer. She was 71.
Mrs. Short was born in Medford, Oregon, and attended Reed College in Portland, where she majored in sociology and minored in education. She then moved to California with her family, where she earned teaching credentials in San Luis Obispo and Fresno.
In 1973, she marriage Ernest L. Short, who died in 1976. Although Mrs. Short, who practiced Theravadin-vipassana meditation, worked throughout her life for the well-being and education of children, she had none of her own.
Mrs. Short worked in the San Mateo County Juvenile Division from 1953 to 1959, supervising the Boys' Delinquency Unit, teaching new employees, and establishing the first inter-communication network for the community, schools, police and probation departments.
From 1962 to 1965, she worked as an elementary school teacher in the San Luis Obispo and East Palo Alto school districts. She designed a program for a teaching team in an experimental school that was at first strongly resisted by parents but by the end of one year in demand for transfer students, according to her friend, Virginia Forbes.
From 1965 to 1969, Mrs. Short acted as a research assistant at the Stanford University Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, where she composed stories, rhymes and computer-generated audio accompaniment, wrote curriculum and used computers to teach first-grade students.
Then Mrs. Short worked until her retirement in 1988 with the San Mateo County Domestic Relations Unit as a mediator and investigator.
A memorial service was held at Mrs. Short's home on June 26. She has no survivors.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Sanghapala Foundation, 16201 Tomki Road, Redwood Valley, CA 95470.
Dolores Ramirez
52-year resident of Menlo Park
Dolores Ramirez, a resident of Menlo Park for 52 years, died June 24 at the age of 82.
Ms. Ramirez worked as a maid locally and enjoyed dancing, baking, sewing and reading. She was an active member of St. Raymond's Catholic Church of Menlo Park.
A native of Acambaro, Mexico, Ms. Ramirez is survived by her two sons, Gustavo Ramirez of Menlo Park and Anthony Ramirez of Guerneville; her sisters Gracia Colin and Esperanza Ramirez of Mexico; and niece Alicia Chavez of Mexico.
A memorial Mass was held July 1 at St. Raymond's Catholic Church. The family asks that donations be made to a charity of choice in honor of Ms. Ramirez.
Arrangements were handled by Spangler Mortuaries.
Henrietta Leichtle
Hairdresser
Henrietta Leichtle, a 40-year resident of Menlo Park, died on June 29 at the age of 82.
A retired hairdresser, Mrs. Leichtle had owned her own shop in various locations in Menlo Park for 25 years.
She is survived by her husband of 33 years, Eugene Leichtle of Menlo Park; her stepson Tom Leichtle of Menlo Park; brothers Frank and Tom Galdos and sisters Marie Vallejo, Louise Branum, Helen Garcia, Laura Baughman, Juanita Marcus and Carmen Vieira, all of Hollister; and three grandchildren.
A memorial service was held July 3 at John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel in Menlo Park.
Anne Bronson Wurts
Nurse
Anne Bronson Wurts, a resident of Menlo Park for 28 years, died June 20 at the age of 96.
Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Ms. Wurts was a direct descendant of Bishop William White, the first American Episcopal bishop and chaplain of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
After graduating from St. Barnabas Hospital Nursing School in Newark, New Jersey, Ms. Wurts dedicated her life to nursing. She enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1941, and was stationed in Manila when the Japanese invaded the Philippines. She was held prisoner in Santo Tomas Internment Camp, where she continued to nurse other prisoners until their release in 1945.
From 1945 to 1962 she practiced nursing and rehabilitation in various places in the United States until she retired to care for her father, Edward V. Wurts, who died in 1971 at the age of 101.
An active member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park, Ms. Wurts served on the vestry, worked on rummage sales, sewed and embroidered linens and vestments. She enjoyed storytelling with the younger children of Trinity School.
Ms. Wurts visited South Africa, England, Norway, Switzerland, the Philippines, Australia and most of the United States during her lifetime.
She is survived by a brother, Edward V. Wurts Jr. of Jensen Beach, Florida, and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held at Holy Trinity on June 26.
LaVon Garner Pollei
Longtime resident of Menlo Park
LaVon Garner Pollei, a resident of Menlo Park for 30 years, died June 24. She was 84 years old.
A native of Ogden, Utah, Mrs. Pollei attended Weber College and Business School in Salt Lake City. She marriage Charles Pollei in 1958. Family members said she was a talented seamstress and interior decorator.
She is survived by her husband, Charles, of Menlo Park; daughters Kay Croxford Ginn, Carolyn Croxford, and Kristine Croxford Houle, all of California; six grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and siblings Ruth Kimball and Keith E. Garner . She was preceded in death by her first husband, Vaughn Croxford.
Services were held July 1 in Utah.
Mae Bancroft
World Travel owner
Mae Godwin Bancroft, 76, of Menlo Park died July 3 after a long struggle with emphysema. Services will be held at Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 31.
Mrs. Bancroft was born in Georgia and raised in Quincy, Florida. She worked for the State Department in Washington, D.C., for several years, also in both Germany and Korea.
In 1955 she marriage Paul Bancroft III of Hillsborough. After their wedding in Japan, the couple moved to New York City. The family moved to Atherton in 1962, then to Greenwich, Connecticut in 1968.
Mrs. Bancroft moved to Menlo Park in 1975 and, after working there a few years, bought the European World Travel Agency in Menlo Park in 1979.
After retiring in 1992, she continued to enjoy travel. Family members said she took great pride in her garden and in helping families awaiting surgery results in the intensive care unit of Stanford Hospital.
Mrs. Bancroft is survived by her four children, Bradford of Los Angeles, Kimberly of Berkeley, Stephen of Barcelona, Spain, and Gregory of Winchester, Virginia; a brother, James Godwin of Panama City, Florida; and five grandchildren. Memorial donations in her honor may be made to the Stanford University Medical Center Auxiliary, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305.
Jonas Herman Bernelov
Master builder
Services have been held for Jonas Herman Bernelov, a 32-year resident of Menlo Park who died July 7. He was 103 years old.
A native of Sweden, Mr. Bernelov was a self-employed master builder who worked in the Bay Area for many years.
He is survived by his children, Ingrid De La Torre of Menlo Park, Elsa Bernelov of San Jose, and Lennart Bernelov of Sweden; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, One Almaden Boulevard, Suite 500, San Jose, CA 95113-2214. Arrangements were made under the direction of Spangler Mortuaries in Menlo Park.
Shirley Boeddiker
Community volunteer
Shirley P. Boeddiker, a resident of Menlo Park for 50 years, died July 13. Services were held July 19 at St. Denis Catholic Church in Menlo Park.
A third-generation San Franciscan, Mrs. Boeddiker attended Marin Junior College and San Francisco College for Women. She was employed as a dental nurse, as well as at I. Magnin and the Schilling Spice Company.
She was marriage to Robert Boeddiker in 1944. Mr. Boeddiker is a director of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District.
The mother of seven, Mrs. Boeddiker also found time for volunteer work for Stanford Hospital Auxiliary, the Children's Health Council, Kiwanis Club of Menlo Park, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Family members said she enjoyed gardening, family vacations and traveling around the world with her husband.
In addition to Robert, her husband of 55 years, Mrs. Boeddiker is survived by her sons, Bob of Hawaii, Jim of Elk Grove, Tom of Menlo Park, Bud of Hillsborough, and Bill of San Francisco; daughters Kitty Lorenz of Livermore, and Carol Boeddiker of Livermore; and seven grandchildren.
David Willis
Geophysicist and software company founder
David Grinnell Willis of Atherton, who in the 1960s founded the first software company in the Bay Area, died June 18 after a long illness. He was 72.
Mr. Willis was born in Palo Alto and raised in Pasadena. After graduating as an ensign from the Navy's V-12 program during World War II, and from Stanford University with a degree in engineering, he took part in geophysical exploration of Alaska's north slope. He obtained an MBA degree from Harvard and earned a master's degree in geology and a doctorate in geophysics from Stanford University.
As a research geologist for Shell Development Company in Houston in the 1950s, he was involved with some of the earliest uses of computers for commercial and research applications. He directed the design of special computers used in defense applications while working at Lockheed Missiles and Space Corp.
Believing in the computer as a new business and scientific tool, in the early 1960s he founded Systems Analysis, the first software company in the Bay Area, family members said. After selling the company, he devoted his time to his family, personal scientific research and publishing.
His scientific research developed new theories in both geophysics and computer design. His geophysical research covered several topics, including the role of groundwater movement in forming petroleum deposits. He also published on artificial intelligence, automata and switching theory in the Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery. He was a member of Sigma Xi, a scientific research society.
Mr. Willis was active in his family's educational, sports and community activities. He traveled extensively and was the enthusiastic leader of family expeditions. He enjoyed spending time at Rancho del Oso, the family's property near Davenport. He was buried
at the ranch, alongside his parents and grandparents.
Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Jean; three sons and their wives: Beau and Astrid of Davenport, Cornelius and Anne of Seattle, and Parker and Anne of Atherton; a sister, Anne Willis Briggs of Davenport; a brother, Theodore Hoover Willis of Sierra Madre; and five grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to a favorite educational or charitable cause.
Barbara Jones
Portola Valley music teacher
Barbara Bjornstrom Jones, who lived in Portola Valley for about 40 years and taught music in the school district, died June 28 after a 19-month illness with ovarian cancer.
At her request, there were no services.
Born in San Francisco in 1928, she moved at a young age to Mill Valley, where she lived with her parents until she went to Stanford University. She began studying violin at an early age, and took lessons from the well-known violinist Henri Temianka.
She graduated from Stanford, where she majored in political science and was concertmistress of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra.
Later, she studied the Zoltan Kodaly method of teaching vocal music under the late Mary Helen Richards of Portola Valley, who adapted the Hungarian composer's method to teaching classroom music.
Mrs. Jones taught mainly vocal music in the early years and stringed instruments up until the time she retired from the Portola Valley School District around 1991. She also played violin in the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra and other groups in the Bay Area.
She lived in Portola Valley for about 40 years in the house the family built on Stonegate Road before she moved to Cupertino in 1988.
She is survived by three children: twins, Ronald Jones of Mountain View and Alan Jones of Medford, Oregon; a daughter Ruth Jones; and three grandchildren.
Friends of Barbara Jones, who wish to contribute to a music memorial fund, may contact Ronald Jones at 968-3039.
William Cutter
Former Menlo resident
William J. Cutter of Folsom died July 9 at age 87. Memorial services will be held Saturday, July 31, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Folsom for the former Menlo Park resident.
Mr. Cutter was a native of Loveland, Ohio. During the years he lived in Menlo Park, he was employed by Foote, Cone & Belding advertising agency. Prior to moving to Folsom, he lived in Columbus, Ohio, where he retired as vice president of S.M. Flickinger Company.
Mr. Cutter was a world traveler, an ardent birder and a back yard gardener, family members said. He was a member of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, the Scottish Rite and Sertoma.
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Gertrude; daughter Judy Jones of Citrus Heights; sisters Gladys Swanson, Lois Doll, Elizabeth Nisbet, Jean Tracy and Ann Bell; and two grandsons.
Donations may be made to the Sacramento Audubon Society, P.O. Box 160694, Sacramento, CA 95816-0694.
