Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Zelda Stark Classen
Artist and volunteer
Zelda Ann Stark Classen died July 2 in Menlo Park at age 95.
Mrs. Classen was born in Moab, Utah. She attended the University of Utah and became a school teacher in Moab. In 1936 she was marriage to Willard Classen, a geologist for Tidewater (later Associated) Oil. Mr. Classen died in 1998 at age 99. The couple was marriage 72 years.
Mrs. Classen was an accomplished amateur artist in both oil and watercolor, an early member of the Stanford Children's Hospital Auxiliary, and an active Red Cross volunteer in World War II. For many years she was a season ticket subscriber to the San Francisco Opera, Symphony and Ballet.
Mrs. Classen lived on Moore Road in Woodside for many years before moving to Stanford Hills in Menlo Park.
Survivors include daughter Ann Treadwell and her husband George of Palo Alto; sons James Classen and his wife Jacqueline of Boise, Idaho, and Willard Classen Jr. of Oakland; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Private arrangements are being coordinated by the Neptune Society. Contributions in Mrs. Classen's memory may be made to a charity of choice.
Jean Edwards
Retired teacher
A memorial service and celebration of the life of Menlo Park resident Jean Edwards is planned for Sunday, July 23 at 2:30 p.m. at her home.
Mrs. Edwards died peacefully at home July 15 at the age of 78.
She attended Stanford University and graduated from San Francisco State University. Mrs. Edwards taught elementary school in East Palo Alto and San Mateo, and after her retirement, she was an avid golfer, gardener and world traveler, according to her family.
She is survived by her husband Eddie Edwards; her children Bruce Bailey of Cupertino and Marilyn Morita of Mill Valley; her step-children John Edwards of Edwards, Colorado, and Jane Edwards of Redwood City; and five grandchildren.
Arrangements were by Spangler Mortuary. The family prefers that memorial donations be made to Stanford Hospice, 300 Pasteur Drive, Mail Code 5520, Stanford, CA 94305.
Roy A. Folger
Longtime Menlo Park resident
A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 29, for former Menlo Park resident, Roy A. "Bud" Folger, who died July 18 in Santa Cruz. He was 81.
There will be a 1 p.m. gathering at the family residence, 150 Crest Drive in Watsonville.
Born in Palo Alto, Mr. Folger graduated from Santa Clara University in 1941 and joined the Army Air Force, serving as a master sergeant in the European campaign. He then joined his father's insurance brokerage firm and continued in the business for 40 years.
Mr. Folger and his wife, Patricia, lived in Menlo Park before moving to Watsonville in 1985. During his years in Menlo Park he was an active member of St. Raymond's Catholic Church, as well as the Guardsmen, and the Olympic and Bohemian Clubs of San Francisco. He served as president of the Bohemian Club from 1971 through 1973.
A warm, outgoing man with a love of music, Mr. Folger's "great talent was sharing his warmth, wit and kindness with all he met," recalls his son, Tim.
Mr. Folger's wife of 51 years, Patricia, died in 1998. He is survived by his six children: Roy Jr. of Mountain View, Timothy of Watsonville, Laura of San Francisco, Matt of Huntington Beach, Susan Thomson of Mountain View, and Sarah of Los Angeles; sisters, Elizabeth Erlin of Palo Alto, Grace Haid of Menlo Park, and Mary Barrett of Palm Springs; and nine grandchildren.
Memorials may be sent to Camphill Special School, Beaver Run, 1784 Fairview Road, Glenmore, Pennsylvania, 19343.
Richard J. Lathrop
Southern Pacific attorney
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 29, in the Sierra Room of The Forum retirement community in Cupertino for former Menlo Park resident Richard J. Lathrop, who died July 19. He was 86.
Mr. Lathrop was a longtime Menlo Park resident before moving to The Forum nine years ago. Born in Glendale, he was a graduate of the University of Utah School of Law and was employed as a contract attorney for the Southern Pacific Railroad for 30 years.
Mr. Lathrop is survived by his wife June of Cupertino; daughter Pat Bruflat and her husband, Iver, of Menlo Park; and two granddaughters.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 2065 West El Camino Real, Suite C, Mountain View, 94040.
Abigail Banghart Klein
Active in Woodside community
Abigail Banghart Klein died July 20 at her home in Woodside, surrounded by her family. She was 73.
A memorial service will be held at the Woodside Village Church, 3154 Woodside Road, on Saturday, July 29, at 10:30 a.m.
Born in Maquoketa, Iowa, to Franklin Lewis Banghart and Mary Jane Richardson Banghart, she attended schools in Maquoketa and Monticello, Iowa, and in 1948 graduated from Goucher College in Baltimore with a bachelor's degree in political science and international relations. At Goucher she was a member of the Alpha Delta Chapter of the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority.
After spending a year in France and completing a program for college graduates at the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Chicago, she worked in Washington, D.C., first for the Federal Reserve Board and later as a legislative liaison for the U.S. Senate Post Office and Civil Service Committee.
In 1957, she marriage August Stone Klein of Newton, Massachusetts. In 1959 they relocated from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to California, living in Danville, Los Altos, and Walnut Creek before moving to Woodside in 1964.
In Woodside, Mrs. Klein quickly became involved in local government. She researched and wrote a booklet about Woodside for the League of Women Voters, which was given to all town residents. She was hired by the town as deputy town clerk and secretary for the Planning Commission.
She played a key role in drafting Woodside's first general plan, which laid the groundwork for the preservation of Woodside's rural character. Her background in town planning eventually led her to help undertake the complex task of organizing the sewer districts for the areas along Canada and Woodside roads.
Mrs. Klein was also active in the Woodside Village Church, where in the 1970s she helped form a youth group with other area churches. From the early 1980s until this year, she served as treasurer for the church and the Women's Fellowship.
Mrs. Klein was known as a woman of sparkling intelligence and dry, ironic wit, who cared deeply about her family, friends, and community. Her love touched and changed the lives of many people, family members said.
On July 14, a new set of carillon bells, dedicated to Mrs. Klein, was installed in the tower of the Woodside Village Church.
She is survived by her husband, August Stone Klein of Woodside; daughter, Susan Blakeley Klein McKenna of Irvine; sons August Stone Klein Jr. of Loomis and Franklin Lewis Klein of Fresno; grandsons August Christopher Klein and Spencer Austin Klein of Loomis; granddaughter, Abigail Marie Klein of Fresno; and sisters, Jane Banghart Evensen of Arlington, Virginia, and Susan Banghart Valenstein of Cambridge, Maryland.
Interment will occur at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Maquoketa, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Woodside Village Church Sanctuary Renovation Fund or to the Democratic National Committee.
Services for Anthony Bajada
A funeral Mass for Menlo Park resident Anthony Bajada is planned for Wednesday, July 26, at 10 a.m. at St. Raymond Catholic Church, at 1100 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park. A Rosary is planned for Tuesday, July 25, at the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuary, at 650 Live Oak Ave.
Oliver Wilhelm
Longtime Portola Valley resident
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, September 10, at the Christ Episcopal Church, 815 Portola Road in Portola Valley, for Oliver Wilhelm, a longtime resident of Portola Valley who died August 26. He was 77.
A life insurance executive, Mr. Wilhelm was a native of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Hobart College in Geneva, New York.
He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II in the China-Burma-India Theater and was awarded two distinguished Flying Crosses.
Mr. Wilhelm was a director of the National Football League Alumni Charities Association.
He is survived by his wife Janet Wilhelm who now resides in Menlo Park; children Robert Wilhelm of Florida, Kristine Maltby of Sonoma, Lynn Wilhelm Holland of Walnut Creek; and six grandchildren.
Arrangements were under the direction of Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries, 650 Live Oak Ave., Menlo Park. The family prefers donations to Stanford Intensive Modulated Radiation Therapy, 300 Pasteur Drive, #A013, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
Susan Marie Cahill
Woodside native
Susan Marie Cahill, a 44-year-old lifetime resident of Woodside, died on August 22.
She was the daughter of Peter and Caroll Cahill of Woodside and the sister of Sally and Michael Cahill.
Services for Ms. Cahill were held on August 28 at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. Donations to her memory may be sent to The Cedars of Marin, P.O. Box 947, Ross, CA 94957.
Douglas Letendre
Jewelry manufacturer
The family of Douglas Letendre, who died August 26 at age 88 in Menlo Park, is planning a celebration of his life on Sunday, October 29, in Napa.
Mr. Letendre was a native of Minneapolis, and a self-employed jewelry manufacturer.
He moved with his wife and family to California in 1956 and resumed his jewelry business in Walnut Creek. After living there 21 years, he and his wife Lola retired to Napa Valley. In February of this year, Mr. Letendre and his wife moved to Glenwood Inn in Menlo Park.
Mr. Letendre is survived by his wife Lola Letendre of Menlo Park; children Terry Letendre Hinkle of Heron, Mont., Toni Letendre of Yorba Linda, Lorin Letendre of Atherton, Nanette Letendre Johnston of Granite Bay; and 12 grandchildren.
A private gathering was held on San Francisco Bay. Arrangements were under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries, 650 Live Oak Ave., Menlo Park. Donations are preferred to the Children's Hospital Foundation of Oakland, 747 52nd St., Oakland, CA, 94609, or the American Heart Association, 1 Almaden Blvd., Ste. 500, San Jose, CA 95113-2214.
James Walling Whitson
Former Portola Valley mayor
James Walling Whitson, who helped guide the town of Portola Valley since its incorporation in 1964, died September 7 of pneumonia and complications from Parkinson's Disease.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, September 24, in Christ Episcopal Church with a reception afterward at the Whitson home, both in Portola Valley. All friends and family are welcome.
For 14 years, Mr. Whitson, 78, served the town in a number of positions, including as mayor, councilman and planning commissioner. He was a graduate of Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in engineering and architecture.
Ill since 1985, Mr. Whitson will be remembered for his great courage, his enduring sense of humor and a quiet grace, said his wife, Anne.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Whitson is survived by their four children: Laura Whitson of Santa Cruz, Jennifer Smith of Scotts Valley, Sarah Beach of Lafayette, and James Whitson Jr. of Los Angeles.
Arrangements are under the direction of Roller Hopgood & Tinney of Palo Alto.
Margaret Cannell
Lived to age 97
Private services were held for Margaret Cannell, a former president of the Menlo Park Friends of the Library, who died September 10 at the age of 97.
Miss Cannell, who taught English at the University of Nebraska, moved to Menlo Park in 1963. She became active in the Menlo Park library and was president of the Friends of the Library for many years. She belonged to several book clubs, was active at the Palo Alto Unitarian Church and enjoyed singing and giving recitals.
When she was almost 90, Miss Cannell moved to Canyon House near Atherton where she lived until her death. She had a keen mind and could recite long passages from Shakespeare and many English poets through her mid-90s, according to her family.
Miss Cannell, a native of Crab Orchard, Nebraska, graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1924 with a Phi Beta Kappa key. She received a graduate degree in English from Columbia University in 1931.
She is survived by three great nieces: Corrine McDonald of Hillsborough, Kathy Wright of Menlo Park and Kelly Talt of Pasadena. Her nephew was the late Rogers Cannell of Atherton.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Humane Society, Menlo Park Library or Palo Alto Unitarian Church. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney, Palo Alto.
M.V. O'Hearn
Longtime Atherton resident
M.V. O'Hearn, a 38-year Atherton resident, died September 3 at the age of 95.
Mr. O'Hearn is survived by his children Lisa, Maury, Bill and Bob; and his grandchildren (who knew him as M.V.): Lindsay, Michelle, Cassandra and Jack.
A service was held at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park, with arrangements by Roller, Hapgood and Tinney. Burial was private.
Mr. O'Hearn preferred that memorial donations be sent to Mission Hospice Inc., of San Mateo County.
Mary Bell Wilson
Woodside resident
A memorial service for Mary Bell Wilson is scheduled for Sunday, September 17, at 3 p.m. at the Los Altos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Ave. She died August 14 at her Woodside home.
Christine Heilman Pendleton
Active with Junior League
Christine Heilman Pendleton, a longtime resident of the Midpeninsula, died October 23 in Portola Valley after a long illness caused by radiation treatment for Hodgkins disease 31 years ago, family members said. She was 78.
Raised in San Diego, Mrs. Pendleton attended San Diego State University and Pomona College. During World War II she worked for the Red Cross.
After the war, she came north to San Francisco, where she worked at Macy's. While living at the "Chateau Bleu" guest house, she met co-resident Red Pendleton; they were marriage in 1950.
The Pendletons lived in Menlo Park for 10 years and Palo Alto for 20 year. Besides raising four children, Mrs. Pendleton was also active in the Junior League.
They moved to The Sequoias senior community in Portola five years ago. Mrs. Pendleton particularly enjoyed being a grandmother to 14 -- 10 boys and four girls.
Mrs. Pendleton is survived by her husband, Red Pendleton; children Michael Pendleton of Hood River, Oregon; Janet Campbell of Edmond, Oklahoma; Barbara Horigan of Toronto, Canada; Stuart Pendleton of San Carlos; and 14 grandchildren.
A private memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Red Cross.
Larry M. Larson
Horse trainer
Larry M. Larson, a professional horse trainer, died October 4 in Roseville, California. He was 48.
Mr. Larson began his career as a horse trainer at Stanford Stables while he was attending junior college and working part-time for his parents at the Menlo Square Market. He worked at other stables in Woodside and Portola Valley before moving to Fairfax, where he continued to work as a trainer throughout the area.
Mr. Larson's battle with adrenoleukodystrophy obliged him to stop his work during the past year, during which time he was hospitalized, his family said.
Mr. Larson is survived by his parents Morris and Jan of Rocklin, California; his sister Francine of Soquel; and his brother Dana of Mountain View. He was preceded in death by his brother Lansford Lynn.
Services were held at Golden Gate National Cemetery. The family prefers memorial donations be made to the United Leukodystrophy Foundation.
Margaret Elizabeth Shrawder
School teacher
Margaret Elizabeth Shrawder, a longtime Menlo Park resident and a member of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, died November 5. She was 91.
Ms. Shrawder, who was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, worked for 15 years as a school teacher after receiving a bachelor's degree from Pennsylvania State University. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.
She was the wife of the late John Shrawder, and the mother of Constance Davis of Half Moon Bay and John Shrawder of South Lake Tahoe.
A graveside service was scheduled for Ms. Shrawder on November 7 at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo.
