Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Jean Dodge Wilbur
Presbyterian Church volunteer
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, for Jean Dodge Wilbur, who died September 10. She was 79.
A graduate of Palo Alto High School and Stanford University, Mrs. Wilbur served as president of Stanford's Phi Beta Kappa chapter. She was an active member of the Junior League and Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.
Mrs. Wilbur is survived by her children Jim Wickett of Atherton, Charley Dole Jr. of Grants Pass, Oregon, and Elizabeth Hughes of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son John Wickett.
Services will be held at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave., in Menlo Park. Memorial contributions may be made to Jews for Jesus, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, or a charity of the donor's choice.
Arrangements were made by Roller, Hapgood and Tinney of Palo Alto.
Roseanna Hardin-O'Herren
Portola Valley native
Roseanna Hardin-O'Herren, a native of Portola Valley and longtime resident of Menlo Park, died August 12 in Reno, Nevada, after a sudden and brief illness. She was 52.
Mrs. Hardin-O'Herren was an Avon representative and became a member of the organization's President's Club. She also was the co-owner of The Mailbox Shop in Menlo Park.
Previously she had worked for Hare, Brewer and Kelley in Palo Alto and at Pete's Harbor in Redwood City. She had a great love for animals and was a tireless supporter of animal rights.
She is survived by her husband, Terry O'Herren of Menlo Park.
Donations in her memory may be made to Pets in Need Animal Rescue of Redwood City. 873 Fifth Avenue, Redwood City 94061.
Bruce A. Bigwood
Menlo Park resident
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 23, at 1:30 p.m. for Bruce A. Bigwood, who died September 5. A longtime resident of the Menlo Park area, Mr. Bigwood was 57.
Mr. Bigwood began his career in food preparation at the University of Notre Dame, where he worked for the campus food service while studying for his degree. When he graduated in 1963, he began working for the Saga Food Corp., and continued to work there for 24 years. For the past 10 years, he was director of benefits and compensation for California Microwave of Sunnyvale. His military service included both the National Guard in Indiana and the U.S. Army Reserve in California.
Family members said his wide-ranging interests included classical studies, archaeology, cuisine of various cultures, the music of Mozart and Gilbert and Sullivan, and Shakespeare.
He was also an avid football fan, favoring Notre Dame, Stanford, and the San Francisco 49ers. He enjoyed travel, particularly in places where snow skiing was possible. He also visited the architectural site of Troy in Turkey several times.
He is survived by his wife, Dee Weldon White of Portola Valley; his children Bryce Bigwood of San Francisco, Erika Bigwood Keaton of San Rafael, Erin Bigwood of Tahoe City, and Lexie White Strain of San Mateo; his mother Alberta Bigwood of Erie, Pennsylvania.; his sister Elaine Lewis of Bowie, Maryland; and his brother Gary Bigwood of Waterford, Pennsylvania. He was preceded in death by his father, Edward, and a brother, Alan.
Memorial services will be held at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave., at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 23. Memorial donations may be sent to the University of Notre Dame, Bruce A. Bigwood Memorial Fund, c/o Carol Hennion, Development Department, 1100 Grace Hall, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556; or the Lamplighter Theater Group, 630 Third St., San Francisco, CA 94107.
Arrangements were made under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Leslie Shao-ming Sun
Atherton resident
Leslie Shao-ming Sun of Atherton died September 13 after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. She was 45.
Born in Saipan on the Marianna Islands, she graduated from Cubberley High School in 1970, and then from Stanford University in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in human biology.
She moved to the East Coast where she worked for the Daivd Baltimore Laboratories at MIT and New York's Sloan-Ketterlng Cancer Research Center.
Once back in California, she was an active supporter of Stanford University, serving as a board member of the Stanford Associates as well as a fund-raiser for the alumni foundation.
She also was a supporter of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. She loved the Jasper Ridge Biological Reserve, especially the wildflower season, say family members, and volunteered her time as a docent.
She is survived by her husband Anthony, sons Christopher and Timothy, parents Francis and Annie Suen, sisters Rita Hsu and Dora Long, and brother Mickey Suen.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers contributions to the Leslie Sun Memorial Fund for Jasper Ridge, care of Stanford University.
Mary E. O'Hearn
former Lions Club president
A memorial service will be held Friday, September 25, at 11 a.m. for Mary E. O'Hearn, who died September 20. SHe was 69 years old.
An Atherton resident for the past 35 years, Mrs. O'Hearn was widely known for her civic and church activities, family members said. For 13 years she was an editorial receptionist at the San Francisco Chronicle, where she won the beauty contest for Miss Page One and was crowned by the San Francisco Newspaper Guild as Miss Page One-September 1956.
From 1989 to 1990 she was president of the Live Oaks Lions Club of Menlo Park, which family members said was the first Lions Club to elect a woman president.
Services will be held at the Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave., in Menlo Park.
Arrangements were made by Roller, Hapgood and Tinney.
William H. Lacy Jr.
Former Atherton planning commissioner
William H. Lacey Jr., a former Atherton Planning Commissioner, died of pneumonia following a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 76.
Born in New York City, Mr. Lacey graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy, and received degrees from Brown University and the University of Virginia's law school.
During World War II, he served as a captain in the 78th "Lightening" Infantry Division during the Battle of the Bulge. At the end of the war, Mr. Lacey served as an aide to Major General Edwin P. Parker, the commander of the European forces.
Mr. Lacey moved to San Francisco in 1960 and worked as a real estate developer, receiving an architectural award in 1963 for his 1980 Union Street development.
Later, during his 25 years as an Atherton resident, he served on the town's Planning Commission. Mr. Lacey volunteered at OICW, the Menlo Park job-training program, and was a director of the Menlo Park Lions Pop Warner Youth Football organization.
A loving and devoted father, Mr. Lacey coached his two sons' Little League baseball and Pop Warner football teams. Mr. Lacey was also a member of the Menlo Circus Club and the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Mr. Lacey is survived by his wife of 44 years Margaret C. Lacey of Palo Alto; and his sons William Henry Thaddeus Lacey III of Palo Alto and James Griffin Lacey of Campbell.
A memorial Mass was held September 25 at the Church of the Nativity, with a private Burial in Sun Valley, Idaho. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the Radiation, Oncology Department at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, 300 Homer St., Palo Alto 94043.
Gunnar Holmfred Stevenson
Retired electrician
Gunnar Holmfred Stevenson, a 45-year resident of Menlo Park, died September 16. He was 87 years old.
A native of Torekov, Sweden, Mr. Stevenson came to the United States at the age of 19 and settled in Palo Alto in 1931. In 1937 he marriage Marie Hallson; the pair remained marriage until her death in 1994.
During World War II, Mr. Stevenson worked in the shipyards, and later sailed with the Merchant Marine. Before the war, he worked as a tile setter; family members said that his work can still be seen in many area homes.
In the 1950s he became an electrician and helped to build many industrial buildings in Silicon Valley. After retiring in 1983, he spent most of his time as his wife's caregiver.
Family members said he enjoyed hunting and fishing, and took great pleasure in building a vacation home in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the family spent many weekends and summers together.
Mr. Stevenson is survived by his son Philip Erik Stevenson of South Orange, New Jersey; his daughter Phoebe Newlove of Los Gatos; his granddaughter Mary Louise Newlove of Ladera; and his brother Erik Stefansson of Torekov, Sweden. He was preceded in death by a brother, Henry Bryhammer of Stockholm, Sweden.
Memorial services were held September 21 at First Lutheran Church in Palo Alto. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Peninsula Volunteers, Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park.
Raymond J. Rath
Member, Menlo Kiwanis
Raymond J. Rath, a member of the Menlo Park Kiwanis Club, died September 3 at his home in Belmont. He was 67.
A native of San Francisco, he was active in the Lucie Stern and Hillbarn theater groups.
Survivors include his wife Faith Marie Rath, daughter Deborah Pellegrini of Folsom, son Michael Rath of Danville, daughter Catherine Tatman of Simi Valley, sister Gloria Maymo of Sunnyvale, and seven grandchildren.
A memorial Mass was held September 14 in San Mateo. The family prefers contributions to the American Heart Association. Arrangements were by John O'Connor Menlo Colonial Chapel.
John Francis Belz
Stanford professor emeritus
John Francis Belz, M.D., died at his Menlo Park home September 20. He was 84.
A native of San Francisco, Dr. Belz graduated from Lowell High School and received undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University. One of the youngest in his class, Dr. Belz entered medical school during his fourth undergraduate year.
His first job, in 1941, was as district medical officer for the Oregon State Board of Health; he became director of the Maternal and Child Health Division in 1942.
In 1959, responding to public concern about children with impaired emotional development, he accepted a postdoctoral fellowship in child psychiatry at Stanford. He later directed the Peninsula Children's Center for Childhood Schizophrenia and Autism in Palo Alto, and then consulted with Kaiser Permanente as an expert in infantile autism. He taught at Stanford as an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and had remained a retired partner at Kaiser since 1985.
Dr. Belz was also an expert flycaster, having been taught the sport by his father on the Truckee River, family members said. A member of the American Philatelic Society, he assembled stamp collections to donate annually to disabled veterans through the Red Cross.
Dr. Belz is survived by his wife Helene; his children Virginia Chomat, Caroline Caloyeras, and Katherine Groves; his sons-in-law Pierre Chomat, Peter Caloyeras and Timothy Groves; his grandchildren Catherine and Anne Marie Chomat and John and Alexander Caloyeras; his sister Marie Louise Belz Warner; his nieces Ellen Todd and Karen Anne Olson; and his grandnephew Mark Olson.
Services were held September 25 at Roller, Hapgood and Tinney's chapel in Palo Alto.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to rebuild the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park may be sent to Friends of the Conservatory, Recreation and Parks, 501 Stanyan St., San Francisco, 94117. Donations may also be sent to Second Harvest Food Bank, 750 Curtner Ave., San Jose; or to the Elks Club charities.
Jerrell Siegel
Longtime resident of Menlo Park
Jerrell Siegel, a longtime resident of Menlo Park, died at her home August 30. She was 59.
A graduate of Lowell High School and the University of California at Berkeley, she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Mrs. Siegel was also president of Congregation Beth Am form 1979 to 1981.
She is survived by her children Marvin S. Siegel, Dan K. Siegel, and Lara Siegel; her sisters Eleanor Coffman and Rhoda Samuels; her brother-in-law Peter A. Samuels; her niece Rachel L. Samuels; and her nephews David E. Coffman and Joshua M. Samuels.
Services have been held. Memorial contributions may be made to the California Jewish Heritage Fund, c/o Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills.
John Marshall Day
Longtime resident of Menlo Park
John Marshall Day, a longtime resident of Menlo Park, died September 17. He was 61.
Mr. Day attended the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in sociology and economics. He went on to the University of Utah's school of law, where he was a member of the Law Review staff, and received his juris doctorate degree from the University of Santa Clara.
He taught for a year at the University of Utah before joining the faculty at Foothill College in 1964 as a sociologist, specializing in the sociology of law and religion. He served as dean of the Foothill social science division form May 1975 until June 1989, when he returned to a full-time teaching position. He retired in December 1998.
Mr. Day was a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving 30 years before his retirement in May 1990.
He is survived by his wife Margaret Groome Day; daughter Margaret Elizabeth Day of Menlo Park; sister Trudy Edvalson; and brother William Day.
Services have been held. Memorial donations may be made to the Foothill De Anza Foundation, John Marshall Day Memorial Scholarship, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022.
Celebration for Hedy Boissevain
A celebration of the life of Hedy Boissevain, co-founder and guiding spirit of the Country Almanac for 15 years, will be held Saturday, October 24, at 7 p.m. at Portola Valley Town Center, 765 Portola Road.
Mrs. Boissevain, who edited the Almanac from 1965 until 1980, was living in Georgetown when she died September 2 after a short illness.
"All are welcome," said her husband, Al Boissevain.
Gloria Flavell
Watercolor artist
Gloria Parker Flavell, a member of the Menlo Art League, died Oct. 21 at the age of 72.
Mrs. Flavell was born in San Francisco, moving to Palo Alto in 1936 where she attended local schools and graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1943. She marriage Ed Flavell in 1948, and they lived in Menlo Park and Palo Alto for 31 years before retiring to Santa Cruz. They returned to Menlo Park in 1992.
An accomplished watercolor artist, Mrs. Flavell was a founding member of the Art Museum of Santa Cruz County. As a member of the Menlo Art League, she was awarded best of show for her watercolor in the 1997 annual exhibit. She was also interested in Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, studying with the Sogetsu School of Menlo Park.
Mrs. Flavell is survived by her husband of 50 years, Ed Flavell; daughter Victoria Flavell of Danville; two sons Eric Flavell of Santa Barbara and Geoffrey Flavell of Singapore, and four grandchildren. There were no services. Her ashes will be scattered at sea on the coast of Maui at a later date. Arrangements were under the direction of the Neptune Society, San Jose.
Donations may be made to the Kaiser Hospice Program, Kaiser Permanente Center, 1150 Veterans Boulevard, Redwood City 94063.
Melanie C. Laugesen
Orchidist
Memorial services will be held Saturday, October 31, for Melanie C. Laugesen, who died October 23. She was 80.
A native of San Francisco, Mrs. Laugesen was a sixth-generation Californian. Family members said she loved flowers and was an avid orchidist. She was also a member of the Outdoor Art Club of Mill Valley.
She is survived by her children Elyse L. Barca of Atherton and Kai C. Lauguesen of Redwood City; brothers Carlos E. Carillo and Frank V. Carillo; and three grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. October 31 at the Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Avenue, in Menlo Park.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 330 Distel Cr., Los Altos, CA 94022. Arrangements were made under the direction of John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.
Lillian Wolfinger
49-year resident of Menlo Park
Lillian Judith Wolfinger, a 49-year resident of Menlo Park, died July 2 in her home in San Jose. She was 54.
Ms. Wolfinger grew up in Menlo Park and was part of the first graduating class at Menlo-Atherton High School. She taught in grade schools in San Jose's Almaden area.
Ms. Wolfinger is survived by her husband, Gary F. Wolfinger; daughter Terry Wolfinger of Canyon County; brother Matthew Wolfinger and his wife Denise and newphews Eric and Brandon of Boulder Creek; brother Scott R. Lapham of Harrisburg, Oregon; and father Robert V. Lapham.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Santa Theresa Community Hospital Kaiser Hospice in San Jose.
