Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Scott D. Wilton
Woodside resident
Services for Scott D. Wilton of Woodside were held October 18 at Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto. He was 46.
Mr. Wilton died October 10. He was born in Denver and lived in Woodside for the past 10 years.
A graduate of St. Francis High School in the Class of 1971, he was a service technician for Savin Corporation. He was a member of the National Rifle Association.
Mr. Wilton is survived by his parents, James and Ellen Wilton of Woodside, and two sisters, Shelley Surrence of Los Banos and Leslie Rose of Half Moon Bay.
Memorial donations may be made to the Mid-Peninsula Hospice Foundation, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Crippen & Flynn Chapel in Redwood City handled the arrangements.
Kiersten Johnson
Former Menlo Park resident
A celebration of the life of Kiersten Helene Johnson, who died December 8, will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, December 18, at the Springs of Life Fellowship Church in Sunnyvale. She was 17.
"She leaves behind a legacy of courage. Through her constant physical ailments, she maintained a positive attitude and a love for life that was contagious," says her cousin Clayton Hatfield.
Kiersten, a former Menlo Park resident, is survived by her mother, Marianne Johnson, and brother, Lawrence, of Mountain View; grandmother Jacquelyn John of Menlo Park; grandparents Kurt and Inger Olesen of Denmark; uncle John Olesen of Denmark; aunt and uncle Sharon and Michael Johnson of Woodside; and many cousins. Her father was the late Craig Johnson.
In her memory, donations may be sent to Camp OKIZU Foundation, 16 Digital Drive, P.O. Box 6115, Novato, CA 94948-6115.
James Ferguson
Horse trainer, teacher
Services for James Ferguson, a respected professional horse trainer and riding teacher in Portola Valley and Palo Alto, were held November 24 in Palo Alto. He was 82.
He died November 18 in his Sunnyvale home.
Mr. Ferguson moved from Texas to California in the late 1940s. He worked with gaited horses and taught riding at the Arastro Ranch and later on the ranch near the quarry off Los Trancos Road in Portola Valley where he also boarded horses. He assisted local veterinarians who were often in awe of his "sixth sense" when it came to horses, said family members.
He opened his home and stables to people of all ages. Anyone willing to work hard and show the necessary respect for people and animals could spend time working, riding and learning how to care for horses. For many years, any child willing to follow the rules and wear Mr. Ferguson's racing colors of turquoise and gold were welcome to join his award-winning Page Mill Riders in the annual Fourth of July parade in Redwood City.
A cement mason by trade, Mr. Ferguson talked of owning his own ranch some day. That day never came, but those who knew him and loved him were able to dream right along with him.
Mr. Ferguson is survived by seven children, Jim Ferguson Jr., Bonita Scott, Rachel Ferguson, Gloria Copas, Larry Ferguson, David Ferguson and Jennifer Foreman; nine grandchildren; and three great-granchildren.
Arrangements were under the direction of Roller & Hapgood & Tinney, Palo Alto.
Helen Clark Sherwin
Menlo Park resident
Helen Clark Sherwin died at her Menlo Park home December 3.
A homemaker, Mrs. Sherwin was a resident of San Mateo County for over 50 years. She was the widow of John Sherwin.
She is survived by her daughters, Joan Longman of Pleasanton and Helen Hill of Maryland; her five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
The family requests that memorial donations be made to the MidPeninsula Hospice Foundation, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Funeral arrangements were by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.
William R. Milburn
Dentist, horse breeder
William R. Milburn, a retired dentist and Woodside resident, died December 5 in Chico following a lengthy illness. He was 78.
Dr. Milburn was born in British Colombia and graduated from the University of British Colombia and the Portland Oregon Dental School. He served in the Canadian Army during World War II.
Dr. Milburn held a private dental practice in Redwood City for over 40 years, retiring in 1989. He bred thoroughbred horses for over 20 years in Woodside and loved racing horses. His other passions included jazz music and playing golf, according to family members. Dr. Milburn was a member of the San Mateo County Dental Association and the California Thoroughbred Association.
Dr. Milburn is survived by Phyllis, his wife of 49 years; his daughters Jean Weigand of Boston and Laurie Holt of Larkspur; his sons Patrick Milburn of Chico and Thomas Milburn of Redwood City; his brother Gerald Milburn of British Colombia; and seven grandchildren.
Private services are planned. Funeral arrangements were by the Neptune Society of Northern California. The family prefers that memorial donations be made to the American Diabetes Association or a favorite charity.
Bill Neylan
Active in community
Bill Neylan, a Menlo Park avertising executive who was very active in the community and with the Chamber of Commerce, died October 25 at Stanford Hospital after a battle with cancer. He was 74.
A Yale graduate and former Navy navigator, Mr. Neylan and his business partner of 25 years, the late Gary Williams, were mainstays in the local advertising scene.
They were co-owners of Wank, Williams and Neylan in Menlo Park, whose clients included many local businesses and government agencies. Among the clients were Round Table Pizza, the Valley Transportation Agency, and numerous restaurants and high-tech companies.
The ad agency worked with many cities and designed the logos for the cities of Menlo Park and Redwood City.
A native of East Orange in New Jersey, Mr. Neylan began his career in advertising sales at the New York Daily News before moving to California in 1950.
From 1950 to 1963, Mr. Neylan was the advertising manager at the Menlo Park Recorder, a weekly community newspaper.
Doug Dupen, former Menlo Park mayor and president of the Chamber of Commrce, said Mr. Neylan helped run Mr. Dupen's first campaign for city council in 1972.
"There was a big hunk of Menlo Park in Bill Neylan," said Mr. Dupen.
For many years, Mr. Neylan's partner Gary Williams was a popular master of ceremonies at the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce annual Golden Acorn Awards dinner, when the Chamber recognizes service to the community and the chamber. Mr. Neylan wrote the script while Mr. Williams ad-libbed the jokes, Mr. Dupen recalls.
In a eulogy at a memorial Mass last week for Mr. Neylan at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Los Altos, longtime Menlo Park appliance dealer Lee Boucher recalled first meeting Mr. Neylan in 1960, when he was advertising manager of the Menlo Park Recorder. Mr. Neylan came up with a unique promotion for the grand opening of Boucher's Appliance store in Menlo Park: Mr. Boucher bought a 3-month-old puppy, and placed it in the display window with a banner that read: "You can win this doggey in the window -- come in and register." The response, said Mr. Boucher, wsas "terrific."
A Los Altos resident, Mr. Neylan was a member of the Menlo Town Club, a men's lunch club.
Family members said he was an avid pilot, sports car racer and enthusiast, and, most recently, a water color artist.
Mr. Neylan met his wife of 51 years, Peggy, while serving in the Navy at the Alameda Naval Air Station in the late 1940s.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Wayne Neylan of Los Altos, Linda Kinoshita of Santa Rosa, and Nancy Christenson of Campbell; a sister, Mary Lou Lucas of Ashland, Oregon; and seven grandchildren.
Arrangements were by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.
@1/2colcap:Joyce Fulton
Joyce Fulton
Woodside High School teacher
Joyce Fulton, a teacher in the Sequoia High School district for 36 years, died at her Los Altos home on October 26 of complications related to a brain tumor. She was 66.
A dynamic teacher of social studies and government, who won many awards, including San Mateo County Teacher of the Year in 1993-94, she instilled a respect for democracy, diversity and human rights into generations of students, said her friend Jeanne DuPrau.
Born in Panama, Ms. Fulton came to California in 1959 after earning degrees at Smith College and Harvard University. She received a master's degree in history from the University of California at Berkeley and began teaching at Woodside High School in 1959.
This was the era of the civil rights movement, in which she was deeply involved, both in marching with organizations such as CORE and NAACP and in working toward desegregation of her school district. She was one of the key players in the development of the New School at Ravenswood in East Palo Alto and taught at that school for five years. After Ravenswood High School closed, she returned to Woodside High School where she taught until her retirement in 1993. Along with government and social studies, she taught psychology and acted as a work experience counselor, outdoor education counselor and as adopt-a-school coordinator.
In 1964, she won first place in a statewide contest -- and $1,000 -- for teaching the Bill of Rights. In the years that followed, she spoke on the Bill of Rights at conferences and workshops around the state.
She was active in the women's movement and the anti-war movement, and after her retirement was involved with PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). She was the co-founder and co-chair of the San Mateo Country chapter of OLSEN (Gay-Lesbian-Straight Educators Network).
In 1994, California Assembly District 21 chose her for its Woman of the Year Award.
During the nearly two years of her last illness, she was cared for by at least 100 friends who provided day-to-day care, help with cooking, gardening, transportation, and errands, as well as emotional support.
Ms. Fulton is survived by her partner of 20 years, Anne Prescott; step-mother Phyllis Marcy of Thetford Hill, Vermont; three sisters, Eleanor Carpenter of Washington, D.C., Diana Fulton-Manders of Eugene, Oregon, and Barbara Reese of Santa Rosa; brother Barry Fulton of Laguna Beach; step-sister Daisy Lewis of Portland, Oregon; and step-brother Duncan Lewis of Washington, D.C.
Memorials may be sent to The Joyce Fulton Scholarship, sponsored by OLSEN, c/o Steffens, 7 Creekside Dr., Half Moon Bay, CA 94019. A memorial celebrating Ms. Fulton's life will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, November 18. Call 968-7751 for further details.
Mihaly "Mike" Barics
Scientist and photographer
A memorial service will be held November 4 for Mihaly "Mike" Barics, who died October 8 at his home in Atherton. He was 63. The service, arranged by Roller, Hapgood & Tinney in Palo Alto, will take place at Mr. Barics' home.
Mr. Barics was born in Felsoszentmarten, Hungary, and received advanced degrees in math and physics before fleeing his native land after the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
Mr. Barics taught in a refugee camp in the former Yugoslavia Republic before being sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences to come to the United States. Mr. Barics received his U.S. citizenship November 22, 1963, one of his proudest days, family members said.
In the United States, Mr. Barics was on a team that developed the heart-lung machine at the Presbyterian Medical Center in San Francisco.
Later, Mr. Barics and his wife Katherine started Mihaly Barics Photography in Menlo Park's Allied Arts Guild.
Family members said Mr. Barics combined his love of his native soccer with his commitment to children when he established the Palo Alto Hawks AYSO soccer team, for several years piloting them to Northern California playoff berths while instilling a sense of sportsmanship, family members said.
Later in life, Mr. Barics pursued a passion for music and taught himself to play the string bass, said family members. He has performed with a local banjo band and the Silicon Gulch Jazz Band for the past several years.
Mr. Barics will be remembered for his love of the simple things in life and his humor, family members said. He is survived by his wife, Katherine; children Paul in Sunnyvale, Sarah in Palo Alto, Katie in Oklahoma, and Robert in Palo Alto; and a grandson Colton in Oklahoma.
Rose Guarnieri
St. Anthony's volunteer
Rose M. Guarnieri, a 20-year resident of Menlo Park, died October 18 at Kaiser Hospital, Redwood City. She was 81 years old.
A native of Detroit, Miss Guarnieri worked as a secretary with the National Labor Relations Board for 34 years before retiring.
She was a volunteer at St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room in Menlo Park for 15 years.
Miss Guarnieri is survived by a brother, Victor Guarnieri of Redwood City.
A memorial Mass was celebrated at St. Anthony's Church in Menlo Park on October 25. Arrangements were made by Crippen & Flynn Chapel in Redwood City.
Betty Lee Stone
Former teacher
Betty Lee Stone of Tillamook, Oregon, a former teacher in the Las Lomitas School District, died October 10 in Hillsboro, Oregon, after a short illness.
She was born in 1933 in San Francisco. Her family moved to Salt Iake City in the early 1940s, and lived there for several years before moving to Portland, Oregon.
In 1966, she moved to Sunnyvale, and taught for the Las Lomitas School District in Menlo Park until her retirement in 1988.
In 1992, she moved to Cape Meares, Oregon. Here, she became active in the local community. She served as president of the Tillamook chapter of the American Association of University Women for two years and was serving as treasurer and store manager of the Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse at the time of her death.
She is survived by her brother William E. Dixon of Baker City, Oregon; and her daughters, Pamela Kay Stone of Chicago, and Laura Stone Long and her husband James of Columbia Falls, Montana. The family requests that donations be made to Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse, P.O. 282, Oceanside, Oregon, 97134.
Anne M. Callnon
Longtime Woodside resident
Anne M. Callnon, a 48-year resident of Woodside, died October 8 at age 93.
A school teacher for 30 years and a veteran of World War II, she left New York in 1950 and moved to Palo Alto for her wedding to Gene W. Callnon. Until shortly before her death, she lived in the house she and her husband had built together in 1954 on Old La Honda Road.
She was a librarian at Ormondale School and taught both kids and adults weaving, spinning, and the use of natural dyes. She was a charter member of Trampornas Weaving Guild, an avid reader, gardener and contributor to the AIDS quilt.
Anne is survived by her husband of 48 years Gene W. Callnon, brother Alfred Dorsey, daughter Mary, granddaughter Magnolia, and great-granddaughter Justina. She was at her daughter's home in Washington at the time of her death.
The family plans a memorial service at a later date.
Eleanor R. Hartwig
Sequoias resident
Eleanor Robinson Hartwig, a former newspaper society editor and a resident of the Sequoias, died November 10 in Portola Valley. She was 84.
Mrs. Hartwig was born in Baltimore, and spent most of her early years in Peekskill, New York. She attended Randolph-Macon Women's College in Virginia and the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. In 1934, she was the founder and first president of the Women's Club of Peekskill and Cortland, now in its 65th year.
In 1937, Mrs. Hartwig met her husband Ralph, who was the night news editor of the Peekskill Press Union, where she worked as the society editor. They were marriage in 1940. Mrs. Hartwig often commented that the society editor was the only newspaper position open to women in those days.
In the 1950s, Mrs. Hartwig was instrumental in the restoration of the pre-Revolutionary era Old St. Peter's Church in Van Cortlandtville, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Hartwigs moved to Denver in 1971 and to Sutter Creek, California, in 1988. Since 1996, the Hartwigs have been residents of the Sequoias senior community in Portola Valley.
Mrs. Hartwig is survived by her husband Ralph; her sister Evelyn Sedgwick of Maine; her daughters Anne Flegel of Atherton and Jane Mandel of Los Angeles; her grandchildren Ian and Eric Fraley, Molly and Rose Mandel; her step-grandchildren Christina and Brian Flegel; and a nephew and two nieces.
A memorial Eucharist was held at Christ Church Episcopal in Portola Valley.
Robert Glen Bennion
Veteran, retired pilot
Robert Glen Bennion, a retired airline pilot and 32-year Menlo Park resident, died unexpectedly at Stanford Hospital November 2. He was 70 years old.
Born on Christmas Eve in Vernal, Utah, Mr. Bennion graduated from Box Elder High School in Brigham City and attended the University of Utah, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He joined the U.S. Army at the end of World War II and was a pilot during the Korean War. Mr. Bennion began his career as a commercial pilot with United Airlines in 1953 and retired as a captain in 1986.
In 1953, Mr. Bennion marriage Shirley Rock in Berkeley. They were later divorced. He marriage Susan Figel in 1968, who preceded her husband in death in 1991.
Mr. Bennion is survived by his children, Kimberly Bennion of Redwood City, Robin B. Katich of Fresno, Carolyn B. O'Donnell of Arizona, Robert S. Koenigsberger of Rye, N.Y. and Marc Koenigsberger of Ridgeland, Miss.; his brother, Paul Bennion of Ogden, Utah; his sister, Marilyn B. Davis of Provo, Utah; four grandchildren; and his companion, Mary Card-Young of Menlo Park.
Funeral services were held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Menlo Park First Ward Chapel. Memorial donations may be made to the Mission Hospice of San Mateo County, 1515 Trousdale Drive, Burlingame, CA 94010.
