Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Evelyn H. Johnston
Artist
Evelyn H. Johnston, a resident of Menlo Park since 1950, died at home August 14 after a long illness. She was 94.
A native of Altaville, California, Mrs. Johnston founded and operated the Johnston Colonial Mortuary in Menlo Park with her husband. The couple ran the mortuary until they retired in 1980.
Mrs. Johnston was a member of Little House in Menlo Park and a life member of the Pacific Art league of Palo Alto. Family members said she was active in the arts, painting in both water color and oils, and creating jewelry and pottery.
She is survived by her husband Howard V. Johnston; daughter Carol Ann Johnston; and several nieces and nephews.
Services were held in Altaville under the direction of the Spangler Mortuary in Menlo Park.
John T. Warner
Bechtel and Lockheed employee
John Thomas Warner Sr. died at his Menlo Park home August 24. Services were held August 30 at St. Raymond's Catholic Church in Menlo Park, where he had been a parishioner for 43 years. He was 78.
A native of Buffalo, New York, Mr. Warner served in the U.S. Army as an official photographer during World War II. His unit served in the Pacific, including Japan, where he met Simone Gallois, the daughter of a French diplomat.
The couple marriage in Japan and after the war lived for a short time in New Jersey. They moved to California, living in Glendale and Los Altos before settling in Menlo Park to raise their family.
Mr. Warner worked in the engineering departments of Lockheed and Bechtel corporations, retiring in 1982. He was a director of the Optical Society of Northern California and a member of Palo Alto Elks Lodge #1471 for 18 years. In retirement he enjoyed playing golf, traveling, volunteering at Filoli, and being a member of Sons in Retirement (SIRS branch #35).
Mr. Warner is survived by his wife of 52 years, Simone; children Mary-Rose Trujillo, John Jr., Edward and Thomas of Menlo Park, and James of Daly City; and four grandchildren.
Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Menlo Park. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Robert W. Gitzen
AT&T executive
Robert W. Gitzen, a resident of Menlo Park since 1982, died of pneumonia July 21 at Stanford Medical Center.
Mr. Gitzen was born in New York City, graduated from Columbia College and received his MBA from Columbia University. He served in the U.S. Army in Hawaii during World War II. He was honored with a medal for his work with troop deployment in the South Pacific.
Mr. Gitzen worked for AT&T as an executive with Western Electric Co.
He is survived by his wife Louise.
Ward Law
Woodside
Ward Law, a longtime resident of Woodside, died August 28. He was 88.
An avid aviator and automobile enthusiast, Mr. Law was a third-generation Californian and descendant of a San Francisco pioneering family which played a major role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake.
Mr. Law is survived by his wife Jean; son Peter and daughter Joan Law Gamble; grandchildren Launce Law Gamble, Mark Dresser Gamble, and Sydney Gamble; and grandchild Launce Augustus Gamble.
No funeral services are planned. Memorial donations may be made to the Midpeninsula Hospice Foundation, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, 94025.
Shari C. Mayer
Poet and book reviewer
A celebration of life is being planned for Shari Conway Mayer of Atherton, who died of a heart attack August 31 at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View.
One of seven children, Mrs. Mayer was born in Billings, Montana. She grew up in Long Beach and studied dramatic arts as a young woman. When living in Santa Barbara, she was active in the Santa Barbara Community theater.
In 1942 she marriage Herbert J. Mayer in Los Angeles. They moved to Redwood City in 1945 and built their home in Atherton in 1952. The couple enjoyed traveling in the United States, Europe and Asia. Mr. Mayer died in 1990.
Mrs. Mayer was a member of the Atherton Dames and the Atherlons. She wrote a book of poetry, "Jewels Beyond the Sword," and gave book review programs.
Mrs. Mayer is survived by her daughter Sharelle R. Mayer of Atherton. Cremation arrangements were made by Roller Hapgood & Tinney of Palo Alto. Donations may be made to St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room, 3500 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, 94025.
Jeanne Rones Kramer
Volunteer
A memorial service will be held Friday, September 24, for Jeanne Rones Kramer, who died September 19 after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. She was 75.
Raised in Burlingame, and a Burlingame High School graduate, Mrs. Kramer was a longtime resident of Menlo Park. She spent 27 years as an active member of the Woodside-Atherton Auxiliary, which runs the Traditional Shop at the Allied Arts Guild. She was also a member of the auxiliary that runs the Gift Shop at the Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, and recently was honored as the organization's volunteer of the decade.
She is survived by her brother Donald Elmer Rones; son Gordon Edward Kramer; daughters JoAnn Foster and Bobette Grasty; four nieces and nephews; and five grandchildren.
The September 24 services will be held at 2 p.m. at Roller, Hapgood and Tinney, 980 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Jeanne Kramer's name be made to: Fund for Children's Health, attn: Victoria Applegate, 770 Welch Rd. #350, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
George Stewart
Food processing executive
George Todd Stewart, a resident of Atherton and Menlo Park for 44 years, died September 11. He was 78.
Born in Chicago and raised in Ft. Madison, Iowa, he attended the University of Arizona and went on to farm tomatoes in Arizona, only to succumb to the first frost in 50 years.
He then moved to California and was employed by Matson Navigational Lines, sailing aboard the S.S. Lurline between San Francisco, Honolulu and Sydney, Australia. It was aboard the Lurline he met Shirley Cooter, who was traveling with her parents to Honolulu. He marriage her on November 11, 1950, in Kenilworth, Illinois. They resided in Atherton and Menlo Park since 1955.
Mr. Stewart went to work for the Cooter-Kay Co. and began his apprenticeship in the wholesale grocery business. He went on to found his own company, the Stuart-Tucker Company, which grew into a pioneering and innovative leader in the food service industry, family members said. He retired from the food business in 1995.
Mr. Stewart was a member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco, The Menlo Country Club of Woodside, The Guardsman of San Francisco, the John Miller Oratory Society, and Fathers Against Penniless Children.
Survivors include his wife Shirley; two sons, Todd and Bill; a daughter Carol; and seven grandchildren.
"George was a charmer of highest degree," said a family member. "His pleasure always outweighed his pain, his levity his sorrow."
James M. Campbell
James Malcolm Campbell, the first Santa Clara County planning director, died at his Menlo Park home on September 5. He was 90.
Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Campbell attended UCLA, where he took the first urban planning courses offered by the university. In 1933 he moved to San Jose, and worked as Santa Clara County's first planning director. At that time Highway 101 was under construction; the original plan was to build it through downtown San Jose. Seeing this would destroy the heart of downtown, Mr. Campbell diverted the highway to run around the city. He also proposed the then-novel idea of dividing a highway near Los Gatos to preserve a large, unusual rock formation.
Mr. Campbell served four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was lieutenant commander on the destroyer U.S.S. Porterfield on duty in the Pacific.
In 1946 Mr. Campbell began private practice as a planning consultant in Menlo Park. By his retirement in 1977, he had worked with 28 of California's 58 counties and more than 80 cities. Among his notable local projects were initial plans for the Town and Country Village shopping center in Palo Alto, Page Mill Road industrial park design, and the Stonestown shopping center in San Francisco.
Mr. Campbell's open space zoning plan for Palo Alto and flood plain zoning plans for Tehama County were the first in the United States. His plan for the Napa County Agricultural Preserve, which protected 33,000 acres of agricultural land from development, won the county the American Planning Association's highest award.
A resident of Woodside for 27 years, Mr. Campbell moved to Saratoga after his retirement, and returned to Menlo Park after the death of his wife, Mary Pabst Campbell, in 1992.
Mr. Campbell is survived by a son, James of Portola Valley; two daughters, Mimi Campbell of Menlo Park and Martha Johnstone of Keokuk, Iowa; and two grandchildren. No services are planned. The family suggests donations be made to the American Cancer Society.
Lydia Y. Sakurai
Lydia Y. Sakurai, a longtime resident of Menlo Park, died at her home on May 21 after having been diagnosed with leukemia two months earlier. She was 81.
Mrs. Sakurai was born in the central San Joaquin Valley, and completed her education at Modesto Junior College, attaining a degree in art.
During World War II, she was interned out of the Western Command area, as were 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry, and sent to Amache Colorado Relocation Center. There, she became involved in the school system and taught art.
Following internment, Mrs. Sakurai relocated to Philadelphia and worked for a silk screen company. She marriage Frank Sakurai in New York City, and they moved to California after he completed his duty with the United States MIS. They lived for a short time in the Alexander Isenberg family's cottage in Portola Valley until the Sakurais purchased a home in Menlo Park in 1948.
Mrs. Sakurai's first working position was as an office assistant to the then-mayor of Menlo Park, Michael Belangie. Later, she worked both at Allied Arts Guild and at home, maintaining a home-based sewing business for many years. Her volunteer interests included helping at her church, the public library, local elementary schools, Menlo-Atherton High School and Little House senior center.
After retirement, Mr. and Mrs. Sakurai became members of Little House, where she taught sewing, chaired a reading group, worked on group crafts projects and enjoyed the company of her friends.
Peninsula Volunteers' Little House and friends recently honored her by placing her name on a gold leaf on the Tree of Life plaque at the center.
Mrs. Sakurai is survived by her husband of 55 years, Frank; children Mary of Canada and Carol Aebi of Menlo Park; four grandchildren; and two grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be sent to MidPeninsula Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 135, Mountain View, CA 94040-9868.
William 'Bill' Marques
Menlo Park resident William "Bill" M. Marques died September 6 at Stanford Hospital after a long illness. He was 51 years old.
A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Marques was a member of the Teamsters Union, Palo Alto Golf Club and NCGA Golf.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Pat; daughter Jeanette Marques; mother Helen Marques; two brothers and a sister.
A rosary was recited on September 8, immediately followed by a funeral Mass of Christian burial. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery in Menlo Park.
Donations in Mr. Marques' memory may be made to the Polycytic Kidney Research Foundation, 4901 Main St., Suite 700, Kansas City, MO 64112-2634.
Donald Roudebush
Donald A. Roudebush died at his home in Woodside on September 3 at the age of 72.
A resident of Woodside for 38 years, Mr. Roudebush worked for Ampex for 18 years and retired from GTE Wesgo after 18 years. Mr. Roudebush was very active with Stanford baseball and football, and with the Redwood City Elks Club Golf Course.
Mr. Roudebush is survived by his wife of 50 years, Virginia; sons Stephen of Pennsylvania and David of Redwood City; daughters Lisa of Fremont and Linda of Woodside; his mother Lela of Redwood City; a brother, Jack, of Belmont; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service was held on September 8 at Messiah Lutheran Church in Redwood City. Donations in Mr. Roudebush's memory may be made to Mission Hospice, 151 W. 20th Ave., San Mateo, CA 94403.
John Thomson
John Thomson, an Atherton resident and native of Scotland, died September 4 at the age of 71.
Mr. Thomson was a sales representative for 17 years with the California State Automobile Association. Hewas a member of the First Baptist Church of Menlo Park.
Mr. Thomas is survived by his wife Charlotte; a son, John, of Redwood City; a daughter, Julie Kurylak, of Scotland; and four grandchildren.
A visitation was held on September 10 at the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries, immediately followed by a graveside service at Alta Mesa Memorial Park. Memorial services were held September 11 at the First Baptist Church of Menlo Park.
Donations may be made to the Midpeninsula Hospice, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025; the First Baptist Church of Menlo Park Music Department, 1100 Middle Ave., Menlo Park; or the Rock Church Youth Department, 263 Escuela Ave., Mountain View, CA 94040.
Jane Carter Osborn
Jane Carter Osborn died September 1 at her home in Menlo Park.
A native of Sacramento, Mrs. Carter Osborn attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.
After college, she marriage Clyde Hull Osborn in Carmel. Mr. Osborn died in 1995.
Mrs. Carter Osborn was a longtime resident of the Peninsula, having lived in both Palo Alto and Menlo Park. She was also a member of the Woodside-Atherton Auxiliary to Children's Hospital of Stanford.
Although Mrs. Carter Osborn spent most of her marriage life as a homemaker, caring for her family, she later went to work at Stanford University on an "on-call" basis.
Mrs. Carter Osborn is survived by her daughter Laurie H. Osborn of Seattle.
Donations may be made to the MidPeninsula Pathways Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View, CA 94040; the American Lung Association, 1469 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128; or the charity of choice.
Kin S. Chuck lived 82 years in Menlo Park
Kin S. Chuck, a lifelong resident of Menlo Park, died August 11 at Stanford Hospital of pneumonia and a staphylococcus infection. He was 82.
Mr. Chuck's family settled on Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park in 1917 and he was the first American-born child in his family. As a young adult, Mr. Chuck attended San Jose State University and the University of California at Berkeley where he majored in electrical engineering.
In 1940, Mr. Chuck pursued an engineering career starting as a consulting engineer on Lyle Patton's staff in San Francisco. In that capacity, sister Sue Wong said he was proud to have worked on lights at Candlestick Park, the I. Magnin building in San Francisco, and Oakland's Pacific Telephone building in the 1950s, among other structures.
Although a quiet and reserved person, Mr. Chuck enjoyed people and the active siblings around him. His interests included chess, reading books, bowling, and playing cards on the train with a fellow commuter and neighbor.
Mr. Chuck also enjoyed reminiscing about the old Menlo of his childhood after World War I when sidewalks were wooden and the blacksmiths and stables made discarded horseshoes a good game to learn. Mr. Chuck especially enjoyed time he spent as a little boy on the grounds of the Menlo Park Hotel where his father, Wah Chung Chuck, was hired by Mr. Chuck's third-grade teacher, to cook.
"Kin was just a person who loved living in Menlo Park," said his sister Sue Wong, who now lives in Oakland.
Mr. Chuck is survived by a brother Robert S. Chuck and his wife Bettie of Palo Alto; sisters Gum Sue Wong of Oakland, Lai S. Lee of Sunnyvale and Mae S. Chan of Sacramento; and numerous devoted nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Memorial services were held on August 21 followed by a private interment. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice.
Marie K. Schelkoff
Stanford librarian
Marie K. Schelkoff, a 35-year resident of Menlo Park and native of St. Petersburg in the Soviet Union, died August 30. She was 88.
A former Stanford University librarian, Ms. Schelkoff is survived by a brother, Roman Kharitonov of Calgary, Canada; and a nephew, Igor Kharitonoff of Menlo Park.
Services were held at Nativity of the Holy Virgin Russian Orthodox Church in Menlo Park, with Burial at Serbian Cemetery in Colma.
John T. Crevelt
Community volunteer
John T. Crevelt, a Redwood City resident whose civic contributions included stints as a youth soccer organizer and Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce member, died September 19. He was 77.
Mr. Crevelt was raised in Jefferson City, Missouri, graduating from St. Peters High School. In 1940 he enrolled at Rockhurst College, but with World War II escalating, he entered the Naval Officer Training School at the University of Michigan. He went on to serve as a second lieutenant in the Atlantic and Pacific during the war.
In 1949, he returned to school, this time at UC Berkeley where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration. It was there that John met his future bride, Audrey Stanford, while playing volleyball.
The Crevelts settled in Redwood City in 1954 and Mr. Crevelt went to work for the Glastic Corp. By 1966, however, he was beckoned by another calling. With a growing family of athletic children, he soon became involved with youth sports -- and, recently, was honored by the AYSO for his pioneering efforts in bringing youth soccer to the area.
In local circles, Mr. Crevelt soon became known as "Trophy John" and his shop, which sat on the El Camino in Redwood City in the shadow of Gemco, soon became a stop for local youth coaches, as well as high school and some college coaches. The shop has since moved to another location and is run by his son, John.
Family members said Mr. Crevelt was also very active with the St. Pius Church, coaching midget basketball, baseball and track, and organizing the church's annual festival.
He is survived by his wife, Audrey; brothers James and Patrick; a sister, Mary Walton; sons John, Patrick, Michael, David and Richard; daughters Linda, Mary and Sharon; and 12 grandchildren.
Memorial contributions are preferred to Christian Encounter Ministries, P.O. Box 1022, Grass Valley, 95945; or to a donor's favorite charity.
