Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!James Henry Black
Chemical company co-founder
James Henry Black, who lived in Atherton and Menlo Park, died at Stanford Hospital on September 2 from cancer. He was 81.
In 1951, Mr. Black and his friend J. Kern Hamilton founded Jones-Hamilton, a chemical-producing and distribution company headquartered in Newark, California.
Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, Mr. Black graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1942. He moved with his family in 1948 to Menlo Park, where they lived for many years.
Mr. Black was president of the Newark Rotary, president of the Chemical Industrial Council of California, and a member of the American Chemistry Council.
In the 1950s he was president of the PTA and was elected to the Menlo Park school board. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, family members said.
He is survived by his wife, Gamalier, of Atherton; children John Black of Palo Alto, Judith Barath-Black of Santa Cruz, and Richard C. Minnis of Sacramento; and a brother, William Black of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A memorial service was held at the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto. The family requests donations be made to Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Radiation-Oncology, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 94301.
Charles W. Goldsmith
Longtime Woodside resident
Charles W. Goldsmith, who lived in Woodside for 30 years, died at home after a long struggle with cancer on September 17. He was 77.
Mr. Goldsmith was born in Germany in 1926 and immigrated with his family to San Francisco in 1939. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and served in the U.S. Army in Germany in World War II. He was decorated for service in battle.
He marriage his wife, Vera, in 1963 and they moved to Woodside with their children in 1973.
Mr. Goldsmith was an active equestrian. He was a member and an honorary historian of the San Mateo County Mounted Patrol. For many years he organized horse shows for the Mounted Patrol and the Woodside Pony Club.
He is survived by his wife Vera of Woodside; children Scott Goldsmith of Petaluma, Audrey Goldsmith of Sebastopol; Julie Holloway of Mountain View; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at the Mounted Patrol of San Mateo in Woodside.
The family prefers donations to Pathways Home Health & Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle #135, Mountain View 94040; or a charity of one's choice.
Carol Dempster Bliss
48-year resident of Menlo Park
Carol Dempster Bliss of Menlo Park died in Palo Alto on September 8. She was 81.
Born in San Francisco in 1921, Mrs. Bliss worked as a telephone operator for 25 years in Burlingame and Redwood City.
She is survived by her children, Lyn Ulrich of Menlo Park, Patti Jean Verwey of Fremont, and Edwin Dempster Bliss of Sparks, Nevada; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood Tinney of Palo Alto.
William Lovell Bay
Pan American pilot
A memorial service for William Lovell Bay of Portola Valley, who died September 21, will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, September 25, at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos.
David Alvarez Cruz
33-year Menlo Park resident
David Alvarez Cruz, a 33-year resident of Menlo Park, died August 25 at the University Convalescent Home in Menlo Park. He was 69.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Mr. Cruz was a retired supervisor for Raychem, where he worked for 25 years. He enjoyed fishing, football and boxing, his wife said.
Mr. Cruz is survived by his wife Victoria Cruz of Menlo Park; his children Ernesto and Livith of Menlo Park; and several brothers and sisters in Los Angeles and Florida.
Funeral services were held at Redwood Chapel in Redwood City, and Burial was at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 1475 South Bascom, Campbell, CA 95108.
John Voyles
Active in Peninsula community theater
John Voyles, active in local theater groups including the Menlo Players Guild and Canada College, died in his home on August 15. He was 56.
Born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Voyles was active in Peninsula theaters as a lighting designer and an actor. He was a 30-year resident of San Mateo.
During the past 20 years, he worked and performed at Hillbarn Theater in Foster City, Menlo Players Guild in Menlo Park, Canada College in Woodside, Venue 9 in San Francisco, and the Pear Avenue Theater in Mountain View, where he was cast in the upcoming performance of "The Seagull."
Mr. Voyles was the owner of "Clean As A Whistle" housecleaning service, whose customers are in Hillsborough, San Mateo and Burlingame.
He is survived by his sisters Mary Lou Edwards of St. Louis, and Shirley Ann Kelly and Jean Voyles of Vernal, Utah.
A "remembrance" was held at the Pear Avenue Theater in Mountain View. A family service was held in Vandalia, Illinois.
Jay Hamerslag
Former Menlo Park resident
Jay Hamerslag, a 39-year-resident of Menlo Park, died June 23 in Rancho Mirage. He was 80.
Mr. Hamerslag was founder and president of Hamerslag Equipment Co. in Burlingame for 40 years. Actively involved in Junior Achievement of America and other community programs, he served as president of the Peninsula Manufacturer's Association and as the South Peninsula chairman of the Jewish Community Federation.
After moving to Rancho Mirage, Mr. Hamerslag founded and served as chairman of the Desert Diabetes Club at Eisenhower Hospital and the San Francisco Diabetes Club. He also sat on the board of directors for the Braille Institute of the Desert, an organization designed to help blind people maintain independent lifestyles.
An avid fan of the Cal Bears, Mr. Hamerslag became both founder and chairman of the California Alumni Club of the Desert and was heavily involved in the Bear Backers at the University of California, Berkeley.
During World War II, Mr. Hamerslag served as a lieutenant in the Navy on the U.S.S. Hudson in the South Pacific.
He is survived by his wife Minnette of Rancho Mirage; daughters Nancy Parker of Orinda and Beth Weiss of San Mateo; son Steve of Rancho Santa Fe; sister Virginia Friedman of Hillsborough; and seven grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. July 24 at Peninsula Temple Shalom in Burlingame. Donations in Mr. Hamerslag's memory may be made to the Jay Hamerslag Scholarship care of the Bear Backers at UC Berkeley; the Diabetes Club at Eisenhower Hospital; or the Visiting Nurse Association of the Inland Counties Hospice, 42-600 Cook St., Suite 202, Palm Desert, CA 92211.
Amedeo Gado
Douglass estate caretaker
Amedeo Gado, who for many years worked for inventor Leon Douglass as a caretaker and assistant, died at his Atherton home May 6. He was 99.
A native of Casorzo, Italy, Mr. Gado emigrated to the United States in 1920 and was part of the wave of Italian immigrants who found work as gardeners on Midpeninsula estates.
In 1926, he was hired to tend the extensive gardens on the 55-acre Douglass estate in Atherton, now the campuses of Menlo College and Menlo School. He was hired by Leon Douglass, the wealthy inventor whose innovations with phonographs and motion picture photography, among other things, brought him 50 patents.
Besides being superintendent of the grounds, Mr. Gado acted as an all-around "gofer" for Mr. Douglass as he worked on his experiments and inventions. Mr. Gado also put up the spectacular decorations that draped the mansion for the famous Christmas parties for all the schoolchildren in town during the 1920s and early 1930s.
After Mr. Douglas' death in 1940, Mr. Gado spent the war years as a farmer raising vegetables, which his wife Rita sold at a roadside stand, and later was a businessman and property manager. He traveled extensively, returning to Italy to visit family, as well as visiting Asia, Africa and South America.
Mr. Gado was very active in the local social scene. He was the last surviving charter member of the Italian-American Social Club that has been in downtown Menlo Park since 1929. Mr. Gado was a past president of the Atherton Lions Club, and a member of the Sons of Italy Galileo Galiei Lodge 1950, the Menlo Park chapter of AARP, the Italian Catholic Federation, the Menlo Park Historical Association, the Church of the Nativity Parish, the Peninsula Orchid Society, the Piemontesi nel Mondo of Northern California, and the National Italian-American Foundation.
He also spent 11 years portraying Christopher Columbus in San Mateo County's Columbus Day festivities at Coyote Point throughout the 1970s.
Mr. Gado is survived by his wife of 65 years Margherita "Rita" Gado; his brother Inez Bruzzo of Italy; seven nieces and nephews; and many grandnieces and grandnephews.
A funeral Mass was held at the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park. The family prefers memorial donations be made to the Nativity School, 1250 Laurel Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025; Pathways Hospice Foundation, 2001 San Antonio Circle, Suite 104, Mountain View, CA 94040; the Lions Eye Foundation, P.O. Box 7999, San Francisco, CA 94120; or the Menlo Park Historical Association.
Marty Wheeler
Longtime Menlo Park resident
A memorial service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church for Marty Wheeler, a native of Palo Alto and wife of Frank R. Wheeler, who died May 10.
The family prefers donations be sent to the Wheeler Memorial fund for International Missions, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, or to a charity of choice.
Marshall Mathews
Automotive enthusiast and philanthropist
A memorial service will be held Monday, November 10, for Woodside resident Marshall Mathews, who died at home on October 30 due to complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 57.
The service will begin at 4 p.m. at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, located at 950 Santa Cruz Ave.
Mr. Mathews owned Mathews-Carlsen Body Works in Palo Alto and was known for his active interest in rebuilding, driving and enjoying antique cars, sports cars, motorcycles and speed boats. He had built up a large collection of restored vehicles and kept many of them in his museum-like 24-car garage at his home.
Since contracting ALS in February 2000, Mr. Mathews had used his vehicle collection to raise more than $250,000 for ALS-related causes, he said in an interview last February. In January, an event at his home raised $8,800 for the Forbes-Norris clinic in San Francisco.
Mr. Mathews was a San Francisco native and spent three years in the U.S. Navy's submarine service. He graduated from Santa Clara University with a biology degree, but decided not to pursue a career in medicine as his dad had wanted.
Instead, without any experience, he took a manager's job in Carl Carlsen's auto body shop in 1977, found his niche and stayed for 25 years. He eventually took over the business. He kept at his work and displayed a positive attitude despite the increasingly debilitating effects of his illness, relatives said.
As his collection of vehicles grew, Mr. Mathews rented his luxurious touring cars for weddings, movies, plays and fundraising events, always giving the proceeds --several thousand dollars a year -- to charity, he said.
Mr. Mathews served on the board of directors of the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto and was active in the Palo Alto Lions Club, the Palo Alto Concours d'Elegance and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 26 years; daughter Emily of Woodside; sons Evan of Woodside and Brett of Martinez; and brother Everett.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Mathews' name may be made to the Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301; the Greater Bay Area Chapter Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 121 Second St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105; or Pathways Home Health, Hospice and Continuous Care, 201 San Antonio Circle, Ste 250, Mountain View, CA 94040.
Alice McWalter
Vocal soloist
A memorial service will be held Thursday, November 13, for Alice McWalter of Portola Valley, who died October 26 at Stanford Hospital from kidney failure associated with a bacterial infection. She was 85.
The service will begin at 6:45 p.m. at the Valley Presbyterian Church, located at 945 Portola Road in Portola Valley.
Ms. McWalter was a trained singer and a three-year resident of The Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley.
She was born Alice Maude Thompson in Philadelphia. In 1945, she marriage Herbert McWalter, who died in 1997.
Mr. McWalter's business career required frequent relocation, a practice the couple continued in retirement, said her son Keith. They established homes and friendships in many places, including Detroit, St. Louis, Mexico City and Pittsburgh, her son said.
Ms. McWalter trained as a vocal soloist and sang in choirs and as a paid soloist in churches and synagogues wherever she lived, her son said. She and her husband shared a love of music, particularly classical and sacred compositions. During her three years in Portola Valley, she regularly attended performances of the San Francisco Opera and was active in the choir at Valley Presbyterian Church.
Ms. McWalter was an active member of the Sequoias community, serving as a volunteer at the on-site medical clinic, in the gift shop, and as an English teacher for Sequoias employees. She read voraciously, her son said, and had an active interest in current events, both worldwide and local.
Ms. McWalter is survived by sons Keith of Portola Valley, and Craig of Columbus, Ohio; sister Jennie Daniel of Phoenix; and one granddaughter.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028; or to Kingston Presbyterian Church, 800 Third Ave., Conway, SC 29526.
Mimi Gonzalez
Sequoias resident
Mildred "Mimi" Gonzalez, a longtime resident of The Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley, died Tuesday, October 28, in the health center at The Sequoias. She was 96.
Ms. Gonzalez marriage her high school sweetheart, Frank Gonzalez, who later became a captain in the U.S. Naval Dental Corp. They were marriage for 60 years and traveled the world together, relatives said.
While in Japan after World War II, Ms. Gonzalez established the First Worthy Matron Order of the Eastern Star, a women's branch of freemasons. She founded five chapters in Japan, relatives said.
Ms. Gonzalez was past president of the Society of California Pioneer Women's Auxiliary and a member of the Bellevue Club, a private women's club in Oakland.
She is survived by her grandchildren, Ched Hall and Sara Robinson.
Funeral services were arranged by Redwood Chapel in Redwood City. Ms. Gonzalez will be interred in Cypress Lawn Cemetery. Donations in her name may be made to Garden Branch CHO Foundation, 747 52nd. St., Oakland, CA 94609.
Mary Beth Werry Terry
Realtor, Taylor Properties
Mary Beth Werry Terry, 80, a Realtor with Taylor Properties in Menlo Park and a Peninsula resident for 40 years, died October 22 after a battle with cancer.
A native of Tennessee, she is survived by her children, Sara Baldwin of Sacramento, Robert Werry of Truckee, and John Werry of Campbell; second husband Cecil's son Donald Terry of San Jose; sister Alda Rose Steadman of Oklahoma; and two grandsons.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Cecil Terry.
A memorial service will be held Sunday, January 4, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Channing House in Palo Alto. RSVP to Carol Werry, (408) 378-9315.
Kenneth Philip Jones
Teacher, counselor
Kenneth Phillip Jones, an Atherton resident, died October 22 with his wife and his sister by his side. He was 60.
Born in San Francisco, Mr. Jones attended school in Los Gatos and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1966. He joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching in Sierra Leone.
Upon returning to United States, he spent 34 years working in Oakland's schools, teaching math and science, then acting as a counselor.
He met his future wife, Sherry Hanen, busing tables for her when she worked as a waitress. The two had been best friends since college, and were marriage in 1986. Mr. Jones enjoyed traveling, and was active in the Portuguese water dog community, family members said. He was a dedicated and compassionate teacher, known to his students as "kind, young, good-looking Mr. Jones," the description emblazoned on his pencils, his family said.
He is survived by his wife Sherry; and his sister Kathy Varni.
The family prefers donations to the American Cancer Society or the Ken Jones scholarship fund at Montera Middle School in Oakland. A memorial service was held, with arrangements by Roller Hapgood & Tinney.
Marian Condit
Active at Little House
Marian J. Condit died after a short illness on October 28, surrounded by her family in her Menlo Park home. She was 81.
A native of Baltimore, Ms. Condit marriage Edward F. Condit in 1942, when he was a sergeant in the U.S. Army serving in World War II. The couple later moved to Pasadena, where they lived until 1992.
After her husband's death that year, Ms. Condit moved to Menlo Park to be closer to her family.
Her children said Ms. Condit loved the ocean, going on adventures, and caring for her grandchildren. She was an active member of Little House in Menlo Park and Avenidas in Palo Alto for 10 years, and enjoyed visiting with friends, they said.
Ms. Condit is survived by her children, Edward W. Condit of Tujunga, California, Patricia C. Hewitt of Santa Monica, and Kathleen C. Dalke of Palo Alto; three siblings, Elaine Hubbard, Marge Hayes and Robert Reilly, all of Baltimore; and three grandchildren.
Services will be held at St. Raymond's Catholic Church on November 21 at 10:30 a.m. The family prefers that memorial donations be made to the charity of the donor's choice.
