Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Alice Davies
Member, Women's Army Corps
Alice Davies of Menlo Park, who served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) for 20 years, including during World War II, died April 3 at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Menlo Park. She was 97.
Ms. Davies was born in Colorado and lived in San Mateo County for more than 60 years. She was honored for her 50th year of membership in the Order of the Eastern Star in San Francisco. A member of Little House, she supported many charities, including those for hospitalized veterans and the care and education of children, say family members.
Ms. Davies is survived by her niece Jane Martindale of Pacific Grove, and nephews Joseph Humphreys of San Francisco and Robert Gilbert of Wadsworth, Nevada.
A memorial service was held April 16 at the veterans hospital in Menlo Park. Arrangements were under the direction of John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.
Henry Sperry
International banker
Henry Muhlenberg Sperry died April 25 in Portola Valley after a long illness. A resident of Portola Valley since 1973, he was 96.
Mr. Sperry, who grew up in New York City, was the descendant of a distinguished family that included Henry M. Muhlenberg, founder of the Lutheran Church in America; and Frederick A.C. Muhlenberg, a clergyman, congressman and first speaker of the House of Representatives.
Mr. Sperry graduated from Columbia University and joined the National City Bank of New York (now Citigroup) in 1930. During his 37 years with the firm, he spent only the first three years in New York. He was then posted throughout Asia, with more than 20 years in Hong Kong.
He was interned by the Japanese in Manila from January 1942 until liberated by the U.S. 11th Airborne in February 1945.
During internment he met Ansie Lee of Hong Kong, and they were marriage in 1946 in Shanghai. He was transferred to Hong Kong in 1949.
Mr. Sperry retired from Citigroup in 1967 as resident vice president with supervision of the Hong Kong branches, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
After a brief retirement in Connecticut, Mr. Sperry returned to the Far East as a consultant to banks in Singapore and Bangkok. He was then asked to represent several U.S. banks in Hong Kong, opening a branch of Allied Bank in Hong Kong. He was the first executive director and later president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. He was president and chairman of the American Asian Bank in San Francisco.
Mr. Sperry was a member of the Menlo Country Club, the University Club of San Francisco, and life member of many Hong Kong clubs. He was a member of Christ Church, Portola Valley, and volunteered for organizations for the mentally ill.
Mr. Sperry is survived by his wife, Ansie Lee Sperry of Portola Valley; daughter Vicky Merchant of Portola Valley; son Fred of Redwood City; and two grandchildren.
Private services were held. The family prefers that memorials in Mr. Sperry's name be made to Mateo Lodge Inc., 420 Cassia St., Redwood City 94063; or a charity of choice.
Jean Cottle
Longtime Atherton resident
Jean Thomson Cottle, a longtime Atherton resident and world traveler, died April 22 after a short battle with cancer. She was 82.
Born in 1921 in Twin Falls, Idaho, she moved with her family to California and attended high school in Hanford.
Mrs. Cottle then worked as the chief pilots secretary for United Airlines in San Francisco, where she met her husband, Russ.
They were marriage in 1945 and moved around the country before settling in Atherton in 1971. They spent their summers in Fish Haven, Idaho.
A three-time president of the Women's Auxiliary of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Mrs. Cottle was active with the Garden Club of Palo Alto.
Mrs. Cottle is survived by her husband of 58 years, Russ; their sons, David Cottle of Salt Lake City, Robert Cottle of Atherton, and John of Basalt, Colorado; her sister Millie Barker and brother Chuck Thomson of Winters, and brother Don Thomson of Fresno; and eight grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Bonnie Jean.
Services to honor Mrs. Cottle were held April 28 at the Los Altos Lutheran Church. There will also be a service this summer near the family home in Idaho. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301.
Arthur Bolton
Ham radio operator
Arthur Bolton, a 50-year resident of Menlo Park, died April 23 at Stanford Medical Center. He was 96.
Mr. Bolton was born in Berkeley in 1906. After receiving a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley and a master's degree from the University of Michigan, he worked in sales for most of his business career.
His passion was ham radio, according to friends. He passed the FCC Morse code test and received his license as an operator at age 14. Eventually Mr. Bolton became Operator NM6K. He was a member of the Palo Alto Amateur Radio Association and, in 2001, was presented with a plaque honoring his 80-year membership.
Mr. Bolton is remembered for his lively wit and quick puns, prodigious memory and curiosity about all things mechanical, according to friends.
Mr. Bolton is survived by his wife of 66 years, Dorothy Hall Bolton, an accomplished local artist. Burial will be in a family plot at the Mountain View Cemetery in Berkeley.
Dr. Don Bunce
Contributions in memory of Dr. Don Bunce, who was MVP in Stanford's last Rose Bowl victory in 1972, may be made to Athletes in Action, 262 Rutherford Ave., Redwood City, CA 94061. A former resident of Portola Valley, he died April 15 near Santa Cruz at the age of 54.
Henry Giarretto
Child welfare pioneer
Henry "Hank" Giarretto, a pioneer in developing sexual abuse treatment programs for children and their families, died May 21 at his home in Woodside surrounded by his family. He was 89.
A world-renowned psychologist and specialist in the area of incest, Dr. Giarretto began his second career after 20 years in the aerospace industry, earning his doctorate in psychology at age 60.
Born in Manhattan, Dr. Giarretto moved to the West Coast in 1940. He served in World War II.
His early business ventures included a plastic design firm and Trend Homes, which manufactured homes made from aluminum parts. With the Korean War, however, the price of aluminum skyrocketed and the firm dissolved.
He went to work as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft in 1950 and joined Lockheed Missiles & Space in 1956. At Lockheed he became involved in humanistic engineering, which deals with human responses to products and tasks.
Dr. Giarretto went back to school at night and obtained degrees in psychology: a bachelor's from California State University at Northridge and a master's from San Jose State University. He later earned a doctorate in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
In 1970 Dr. Giarretto left Lockheed and, with his second wife, Anna, a marriage and family counselor, established a private practice as a psychologist.
The Giarrettos were asked to volunteer their services with Juvenile Probation in Santa Clara County and set up a California demonstration training center to deal with families suffering the effects of sexual child abuse. They later received a federal grant and did the same thing on a national level.
When Proposition 13 eliminated funding for the program, the Giarrettos founded the nonprofit Institute for the Community, which later became the San Jose-based Giarretto Institute.
Dr. Giarretto's organization was the first to address incest on a large scale and treat the whole family, instead of only the abused child, according to his daughter, Lisa Giarretto of Woodside. He treated thousands of families, trained hundreds of mental health practitioners, and created a model for treatment programs, which number more than 160 nationally, she said.
Dr. Giarretto was a frequent guest of national and local television and radio, including appearances on the "Today" show, "Donahue," "Nightline," and "Oprah Winfrey."
In 1999 the Giarretto Institute became part of EMQ (Eastfield Ming Quong) Family Services in San Jose.
Dr. Giarretto loved literature, music, tennis and ping pong, say family members.
He is survived by his children, Gary of Santa Clara, Gil of San Francisco, Lisa of Woodside, and Ariel of Sebastopol; step-children Lise Maisano of San Francisco, Christopher Einfeld of San Anselmo, and Rebecca Rosenbloom of Fairfax; a sister, Claire Merante of Las Vegas; former spouses Shirley Giarretto and Anna Giarretto; and longtime companion Jean Martin.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 East Charleston Road, Palo Alto. Donations in his memory may be made to EMQ Children & Family Services, 232 East Gish Road, San Jose 95112.
James Cornish
Cornish and Carey president
H. James Cornish III, former president and chairman of the board of Cornish and Carey Realtors, died at his home in Woodside June 5. He was 70.
Mr. Cornish was born in Palo Alto and graduated from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he was a member of Zeta Psi fraternity and the ROTC. He played freshman basketball and was on the varsity tennis team.
Mr. Cornish was a nationally ranked tennis player in his teens. He competed at Wimbledon, and was nationally ranked in the 55 and over tennis league.
After college, Mr. Cornish joined the U.S. Army as a lieutenant. When he finished his Army service, he joined Cornish and Carey Realtors, founded in 1935 by his father, H.J. Cornish II. He worked his way up to partner in four years, buying his way into the business after his father's share of the business dissolved upon his death when the younger Cornish was a college freshman.
Cornish and Carey Realtors was the largest residential real estate company in Northern California when it was purchased by Coldwell Banker five years ago. Mr. Cornish was passionate about the real estate business and made frequent visits to his old office even after his retirement, say family members.
Mr. Cornish was a community leader and past president of the Rotary Club and the Menlo-Atherton Board of Realtors. He was a member of the Palo Alto Club, Menlo Circus Club, Vintage Club in Indian Wells and past president of Menlo Country Club.
Mr. Cornish is survived by his wife, Lynn of Woodside; sons Jay of Philadelphia and Hugh of Portola Valley; daughter Cassandra Cornish of Menlo Park; sister Cynthia Cornish Nalan of Carmel Valley; and five grandchildren. Donations in Mr. Cornish's memory may be made to Pets in Need, 367-1405.
Wandah Jasmin
Longtime Menlo Park resident
Wandah Maxine Jasmin, a resident of Menlo Park since 1948, died at home May 4. She was 89.
She was born in Barnett, Missouri, and moved to Corvallis, Oregon, as a small child. She attended Oregon State College in Corvallis, where she studied art and design.
In 1942 she moved to the Bay Area and worked for the U.S. Department of Defense at Dibble Hospital in Menlo Park until 1946.
She marriage Cyril Jasmin, who owned several photo engraving plants, in 1946. She worked retouching photos in his Redwood City portrait studio and continued in the family business until the engraving plants were retired due to changing technology. Mr. Jasmin died in 1968.
Mrs. Jasmin began working as a unit clerk at Stanford Hospital in 1969, retiring in 1979. She was a talented oil painter, say family members, choosing land and seascapes of the Bay Area or her childhood home in rural Oregon as her subjects.
Mrs. Jasmin is survived by her sons Edward of Menlo Park and Grant of Sunnyvale; and a grandson. Another son, Cydney, died in 1974.
Ronald Murphy
Atherton resident, salt company executive
Ronald W. Murphy, a 35-year resident of Atherton and supervising officer of POW camps in the United States during World War II, died May 24 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 86.
Mr. Murphy was born July 19, 1916, in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated with a degree in business from the University of Minnesota before marrying his wife Eleanor in 1941.
During World War II, he served as an Army chief provost marshal while supervising three German and Italian POW camps in the United States from 1942 until 1945. He remained in the reserves until 1953.
After the war, Mr. Murphy built the Ocean Salt Co. in Long Beach and was the vice president of Cargill Salt foods division, formerly Leslie Salt.
Retired in 1983, he remained active in business affairs, counseling for SCORE, a small business counseling service.
Mr. Murphy is survived by his three sons: John of Pacific Heights, Ronald Jr. of San Mateo, and Jerome of Atherton.
A funeral Mass was held May 30 at St. Raymond Catholic Church, followed by Interment at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Menlo Park.
Lorraine Clark
Former Atherton resident
Lorraine Oldaker Clark died June 2 at Sunnyside Gardens in Sunnyvale. Mrs. Clark, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, was 80.
Mrs. Clark was born in the state of Washington and graduated with honors from Washington State University. She moved to the Bay Area in 1948 to pursue a career in architectural design.
She was marriage in 1953 to Sherman Humphrey Clark, and they lived in Atherton for a number of years before moving to Connecticut and Durango, Colorado. For the past 12 years she had resided in Palo Alto.
Mrs. Clark is survived by her husband, Sherman Clark; a daughter, Anne Peterson of Atherton; a son, Christopher Clark of Laguna Beach; and six grandchildren.
Services were held June 7 at First Congregational Church of Palo Alto. Arrangements were under the direction of Spangler Mortuary in Menlo Park.
Hazel Schaffer
Former Menlo Park resident
Hazel Lois Schaffer, a resident of Menlo Park for many years, died June 17 in Auburn. She was 95.
Mrs. Schaffer was born and raised in San Francisco. She lived in Menlo Park for most of her marriage life. She was a longtime volunteer at the Allied Arts Guild and an avid supporter of the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.
Mrs. Schaffer is survived by her son Bill of Auburn; daughter Juliann Wade of Minneapolis; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Her husband of 56 years, Adolph (Bud) Schaffer, preceded her in death.
There will be no services. Memorials may be made to a charity of choice.
Palmer Macdonald
Atherton centenarian
Palmer Charles Macdonald, a resident of Atherton for the last 33 years, died March 6 at home. He was 100.
Born in San Francisco on January 5, 1903, Mr. Macdonald joined the California Boys Band at age 13 and toured from California to New York.
In his professional life, Mr. Macdonald worked his way up through the ranks of paper distributor Blake, Moffitt and Towne until he served as assistant to the president while living in Portland, Oregon.
Mr. Macdonald assumed many civic responsibilities in Portland, serving as director of the chamber of commerce and president of the Portland Freight Traffic Association. He also endowed a scholarship at the University of Oregon.
This past January, Mr. Macdonald celebrated his 100th birthday with family and friends at the Menlo Circus Club.
He is survived by his son Tom Macdonald of Wilsonville, Oregon; stepson Robert Ireland of Kentfield; stepdaughter Patricia Fuller of Los Altos Hills; and five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife Lucille in 1965 and second wife Martha in 2002.
Memorial gifts in Mr. Macdonald's memory may be made to Rosener House, 500 Arbor Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Wilbur Watkins
Palo Alto Medical Foundation director
Wilbur Lewis Watkins, former executive director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, died February 25 in Napa. He was 80.
Born in Elmira, New York, on May 16, 1922, Mr. Watkins joined the Navy during World War II and became a Marine Corps pilot after graduation from the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida.
He was later stationed in Quantico, Virginia, and the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro, California, where he was in charge of the aerial gunnery school.
After his discharge in 1946 with a rank of captain, he was involved in several businesses in Massachusetts before moving to Atherton in 1953 as president of General Paint Co.
He became executive director of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and was influential in the creation of Channing House in Palo Alto.
Upon retirement, he became active in Centerforce, an organization that helps strengthen individuals and families affected by incarceration.
Widower of Jean Baker and Eugenia Lang Thompson, he is survived by sons Peter Watkins of Napa, Michael Watkins of Corona del Mar, and Craig Watkins of Sebastopol; daughter Louisa Ward of Napa; step-son Andrew Thompson of Tiburon; step-daughter Leda Thayer of Novato; sister Sydney W. Phillips of Ipswich, Massachusetts; brother Tedrowe Watkins of Bigfork, Montana; two grandsons and three step-grandchildren.
Private inurnment arrangements have been made under the direction of Richard Pierce Funeral Service of Napa.
Memorial contributions may be made to Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Connecticut, or to the Marin Community Clinic in Greenbrae, California.
Damon Miller
Menlo-Atherton graduate, adventurer
Damon J. Miller II, DDS, died February 9 in a hunting accident in Butte Falls, Oregon. He was 62.
Born in San Francisco, he grew up in Atherton and graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School, where he was a SPAL champion wrestler.
Family members said he was the last bat boy for the San Francisco Seals baseball team in 1957.
Before entering college, Dr. Miller sailed to Australia and worked for a year as a jackaroo on a sheep station in New South Wales.
He then returned stateside and graduated from the University of Oregon, where he met his wife, Kathie Wade.
Dr. Miller went on to earn his degree in dentistry from the University of Southern California, and practiced in Encino for 20 years.
In 1988 Dr. Miller semi-retired and set up a sheep farm with his wife in Merlin, Oregon. There he pursued his interest in antique tools, wood working and hunting.
Dr. Miller is survived by his wife, Kathie; mother Kay Miller of Redwood City; sister Marilyn Scholl of Menlo Park; and one niece and nephew.
