Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!James Calloway
Former Menlo Park mayor
A memorial service will be held Friday, February 27, for former Menlo Park Mayor James Walker Calloway, who died February 6. The service will begin at 2 p.m. at the Cribari Auditorium at the Villages in San Jose, where he lived since 1989.
During the years he lived in Menlo Park, Mr. Calloway served on the Parks and Recreation Commission before being appointed to the City Council, where he served for 16 years, from 1962 to 1978, including a term as mayor in 1976-77. Later, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District. In 1986, he was appointed to the California Waste Management Board by Gov. George Deukmejian.
Mr. Calloway grew up in North Carolina. He left the South during the Depression and worked in New York City until he joined the U.S. Army and served in the South Pacific during World War II.
Mr. Calloway marriage Elizabeth Church in 1940 in New Jersey where they lived until moving to California in 1957. In Menlo Park he entered the insurance business, working for New York Life, and later opened his own office as an independent agent.
The Calloways retired to The Villages in San Jose in 1989 where he served on the community's board of directors. He was also active in the Masons and SIRS.
He loved golf, fishing, blue grass music, gardening and being with his family, say family members.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Elizabeth Calloway; daughter, Betty Woodward; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
The family prefers donations to the American Cancer Society or The Villages Medical Association.
Philip Schneider
Former Rotary Club president
Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m., Thursday, February 26, at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, for Philip Vanderbilt Schneider of Menlo Park. A reception will follow at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton.
Mr. Schneider, a former president of both the Menlo Park and Redwood City Rotary clubs, died February 11. He was 69.
Mr. Schneider was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in business administration. At age 21, during his college years, he became the youngest person to pass the New York Stock Exchange examination, say family members. He also rode as a licensed amateur steeplechase jockey on the Midwestern Steeplechase Circuit.
After graduation in 1958, he marriage Susan Avril. The couple moved to the Bay Area in 1960 when the Sakrete Company brought him to manage its dry mix concrete facility.
While working at Sakrete, Mr. Schneider began his 42-year association with Rotary International. In 1962 he joined the Milpitas club and in 1965 transferred to the Redwood City club, becoming president in 1969.
After leaving Sakrete to become a stockbroker, he joined the Menlo Park Rotary Club in 1970, holding numerous offices including secretary, president, area representative, district vocational service chairman, and assistant district governor. He was a Paul Harris Fellow.
Mr. Schneider was elected to the board of trustees of the Sequoia Union High School District in 1969 and was a member of the San Mateo County Mounted Patrol.
Mr. Schneider was a deacon in the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and a member of the men's Bible study group. As a longtime member of the Menlo Circus Club, he developed a passion for tennis, say family members. He earned the nickname "Dr. Z" for founding the Z tennis group.
Mr. Schneider is survived by his wife, Susan; sons, Philip Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, and George of Denver, Colorado; a sister, Lefreda Williams of Southern Pines, North Carolina; a brother, Frederic Schneider of Falmouth, Massachusetts; and four grandchildren.
The family prefers that donations be made to The Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation, P.O. Box 876, Menlo Park, CA 94026. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of John O'Connor, Menlo Colonial Chapel.
Robert Wright Babcock II
Student, volunteer
A memorial service will be held for Robert Wright Babcock II, a former Menlo Park resident and recent student at Menlo-Atherton High School, who died Wednesday, February 18. He was 17.
The memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, at United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Ave. in Palo Alto.
Robby lived in Menlo Park for 12 years and attended M-A for his freshman, sophomore and junior years, a family friend said. He was spending his senior year at Irvington High School in Fremont. While at M-A, Robby wrestled and played football on the varsity teams, the friend said.
As a volunteer, his activities included Habitat for Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank and Project Read. "Robby always had a hug and a smile for everybody," the friend said.
Robby is survived by his mother, Katherine Linnemann of Menlo Park; his father, Robert Babcock of Fremont; and his sister Katie Babcock of Menlo Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting contributions be made to the Robby Babcock Memorial Scholarship Fund at Menlo-Atherton High School. For more information, call 328-2406.
Mollie Apple
Former president, Friends of Filoli
A memorial service will be held Friday, February 27, for Mollie Apple of Atherton, 63, who died of a stroke February 21. The service will begin at 1 p.m. at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 330 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park.
Born in Pasadena, Ms. Apple was a graduate of Goucher College in Maryland and received a certificate from the Harvard-Radcliffe program in business administration. She was marriage to Cass Apple in 1963.
During the 37 years she lived in Menlo Park and Atherton, Ms. Apple was active in community affairs. She served as president of the Friends of Filoli, and as a board member of these organizations: Friends of the Atherton Library, Phillips Brooks School, and the San Mateo Garden Club.
She was also a member of the California State Garden Club, the Menlo-Atherton Garden Club, Menlo Country Club, and the Junior League of Palo Alto/Mid Peninsula.
Ms. Apple took great pleasure in watching her grandchildren grow, and enjoyed attending their soccer games and school plays, say family members. She also received support from many friends during her life, especially during the last five years when she battled cancer, say family members.
She is survived by her husband, Cass Apple of Atherton; daughter Elizabeth See of Palo Alto; son David of Atherton; sister Susan Brandenberg of Saratoga; brother John McElwrath of Atlanta, Georgia; and two grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the Friends of Filoli.
Gladys Tagler
Community volunteer
Gladys Magdalena Schwertzler Tagler, who cared for more than two dozen foster children awaiting adoption, while raising her own three children, died February 16 at her Menlo Park home. She was 87.
Ms. Tagler was born in Southampton Township, New Jersey. She marriage Henry Tagler and moved to California in 1937.
After her children were grown, she worked for 15 years in the housewares department at Macy's in the Stanford Shopping Center.
The Church of the Nativity, where she was a member of the Altar Society for more than 50 years, was the center of her spiritual life, say family members. She went on pilgrimages to the Vatican, the Holy Land, and sacred sites from Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, to Betania, Venezuela. She attended a yearly retreat at St. Claire's Retreat House in Santa Cruz.
Ms. Tagler was a volunteer at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and a member of the Roth Auxiliary. She also volunteered at Treasured, a thrift store in Palo Alto benefiting the Peninsula Stroke Association, and at the Filoli estate in Woodside where she was a docent, family members said. She knitted 35 sweaters a year for disadvantaged babies helped by Young Ladies Institute #209. Ms. Tagler had been an officer and delegate to regional conventions for the organization.
Ms. Tagler is survived by her son Carl of Menlo Park, daughter Holly Pedersen of Wilsonville, Oregon; and three grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Henry Tagler, and son, Timothy.
The family prefers memorials be made to the Young Ladies Institute, 3144 Louis Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Roger Seccombe
Former Woodside High teacher
Roger Seccombe of Menlo Park died of pneumonia with heart failure complications on January 28. He was 84.
Mr. Seccombe, who began his fourth term as president of the Menlo Park Historical Association last month, was born in Memphis, Mississippi. He met and marriage Jean Bennett at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1942. After graduation he joined the U.S. Coast Guard to serve in the Solomon Islands area in World War II.
After the war, Mr. Seccombe attended Columbia University and began his long teaching career at Goddard College in Vermont. During the Korean conflict, he served in the Seattle, Washington, Coast Guard Port Security, and as captain of the Port of Astoria, Oregon.
After the family moved to Palo Alto in 1954, he taught history at Menlo-Atherton High School for four years, then transferred to Woodside High School to become chairman of the Social Studies Department in 1958.
After retiring in 1982, he devoted the rest of his life to community service. He was active in St. Bede's parish activities and its outreach program. Along with serving as president of the historical association, he co-edited the Coast Guard Retiree Council newsletter, and worked for the Service League of San Mateo County, collecting food and visiting jail inmates.
He and his wife took many overseas cruises and tours. He loved the sea, music boxes, snow globes, movies, champagne, and having a good time, say family members.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jean; children, Ann Seccombe of Redwood City, Thomas Seccombe of San Jose, Alison Gilliland of Norman, Oklahoma, and Matthew Seccombe of Somerville, Massachusetts; and three grandchildren.
The family prefers that memorials be made to the Seccombe Fund for Outreach at St. Bede's Episcopal Church or to a charity of choice.
Allen B. Crowell
Owner, Abar Enterprises
Allen B. Crowell, a resident of Menlo Park for 33 years, died of heart failure on December 6. He was 74.
Mr. Crowell was a second-generation Californian, born in Corona in Riverside County. He met his wife, Alice, in Palo Alto, and they were marriage in 1963.
Mr. Crowell was "a jack of all trades and master of them all," says Ms. Crowell. "He was extremely talented with his hands." As the owner of Abar Enterprises, he specialized in installing sprinkler systems. Although he retired officially at age 62, he remained on call for his old customers and often worked for the second generation of a family, according to his wife.
He was a proficient wood carver and clock builder, creating a new figure, such as a snowman, every year for his outdoor Christmas display. "We were known as the Christmas house on Coleman Avenue," says Ms. Crowell.
Mr. Crowell earned a certificate of achievement in horticulture/floristry from the College of San Mateo. His specialty was ikebana.
He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Alice; and a number of nieces and nephews. Private services were held at Alta Mesa Cemetery.
Hans Severiens
Founder, Band of Angels investor group
Hans Severiens, founder of the Band of Angels investor group in Menlo Park, died February 3 of lung cancer. He was 74.
Mr. Severiens, who lived in San Francisco, was part of Silicon Valley's first generation of investors. He was an investment banker with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber before making the switch to venture capital in the early 1980s. In 1994, he founded the Band of Angels, which has funded more than 100 startups.
The Band of Angels is a group of 100 former and current high-tech executives and entrepreneurs who provide counsel and capital to startup companies. Band members have founded such companies as Cirrus, Logic, Symantec, and Logitech, and have been executive officers at Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard, Intel, 3Com and Intuit.
Mr. Severiens was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and moved to Indonesia when he was 5. During World War II, when he was 12, the family fled Indonesia and eventually settled in Chatham, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College and a doctorate in nuclear physics from Johns Hopkins University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa.
Mr. Severiens is survived by daughters Annette Himes of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Clara Barrett of Ithaca, New York, and Liesbeth Parke of New York City; 10 grandchildren; his former wife, Elizabeth Severiens; brother, Jacobus T. Severiens; and friend Lynn Hastings.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, February 17, at the Los Altos Union Presbyterian Church, 858 University Ave. Memorials may be made to the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley, re: Hans Severiens Memorial Fund, c/o Band of Angels, 275 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Esther Taege
Former Menlo Park resident
Esther E. Taege, a resident of Menlo Park for 20 years, died February 4 in Mountain View. She was 90.
Ms. Taege was a native of Portland, Oregon. She is survived by her daughters, Harriet J. Eastburg of Redwood City, Marian L. Taege of Cupertino, and Virginia M. Taege of San Francisco; sister Ruth Dow of San Diego; brother Rolland Ingraham of Sacramento; and two grandchildren. Her husband, George D. Taege, predeceased her.
Services were held February 9 at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. Arrangements were under the direction of Redwood Chapel, Redwood City.
John Barrette
Former Menlo-Atherton basketball coach
John Barrette, who served as head varsity basketball coach at Menlo-Atherton High School for 14 years, died January 31 in Sacramento of a brain tumor and lung cancer. He was 71.
Mr. Barrette began his coaching career in 1953 as a junior varsity baseball coach at Bellarmine Prep. He got his first basketball head-coaching job at St. Francis in 1963-64, then moved on to Menlo-Atherton the following season.
He served as head basketball coach at Palo Alto High School from 1986 to 1994. He retired to Sonora, where he became freshman basketball coach at Sonora High School.
Mr. Barrette is survived by his wife of 36 years, Charlene; sister, Deirdre Olson; three daughters; and seven grandchildren. Donations may be made to the John Barrette Scholarship Fund, c/o Sonora High School, Attention: Rick Francis, 430 N. Washington St., Sonora, CA 95370.
Dr. Benjamin Oliver 'Doc' Hebert
Woodside veterinarian
Dr. Benjamin Oliver "Doc" Hebert, a longtime Woodside resident and a practicing equine veterinarian for over 50 years, died April 3, surrounded by his family. He was 81.
Born in Menlo Park, he attended Kansas State University and graduated with a degree in veterinary medicine in 1947. He and his family moved to Woodside in 1960. Dr. Hebert had a busy veterinary practice from 1947 to 2001.
For many years, Dr. Hebert served as the official veterinarian for racetracks, including Bay Meadows, Golden Gate Fields, Santa Anita and Tanforan Park, family members said. He devoted much of his time to 4-H, Future Farmers of America, the San Mateo County Fair's livestock program, and the Grand National and Junior Grand National rodeos.
He was the volunteer veterinarian for the July Fourth Junior Rodeo at the Mounted Patrol grounds in Woodside for over 45 years, and served on the town of Woodside's Livestock Committee for more than 15 years, his family said.
Dr. Hebert built and owned the Woodside Veterinary Clinic in Redwood City and produced his own line of "Derby" products. He was a kind, hard-working man who had a great sense of humor, family members said.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Colleen Hebert of Woodside; their five children, Jeffrey of Nevada City, Michelle of Woodside, Peggy Dimas of Fremont, Katherine Kestenbaum of Long Beach and Laura Hebert-Torres of Oakdale; five grandchildren; his brother James Murray; and George Morales, a close friend who was like a son to him.
Services were held at St. Denis Church in Menlo Park. The family prefers memorial donations be made to the Youth Livestock Program or 4-H Club of San Mateo County, San Mateo County Fair, 2495 South Delaware St., San Mateo, CA 94403; or to the donor's favorite charity. Arrangements were by Redwood Chapel.
Genevieve Kavanaugh
Longtime Menlo resident
A memorial service for Genevieve Kavanaugh will be held at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, at Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave. in Menlo Park. Ms. Kavanaugh died April 10 at her Menlo Park home. She was 94.
Ms. Kavanaugh was born in Creighton, Pennsylvania, one of 11 children. At a young age, she left the family farm to attend dance school in New York City. For 13 years she attended school and danced off Broadway. In 1943, she and her three sisters ventured west to Long Beach, California. In 1944 she marriage Howard Kavanaugh. In 1947, the couple settled in Menlo Park, where they raised their five children.
Ms. Kavanaugh enjoyed travel, playing pinochle, crafts, garage sales and her rose garden. She will be missed by her niece, Sandra, friends from the Senior Center, her pinochle group and the Church of the Nativity, where she had been a member for more than 55 years, say family members.
She is survived by her daughter, Patricia Richter of Novato; sons Ross Kavanaugh of Foster City, Daniel Kavanaugh of Clemmons, North Carolina, and Michael Kavanaugh of Morgan Hill; sisters Irene Cummings of Colorado and Beth Odom of Anchorage, Alaska; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Howard (1960) and son Harvey (1984).
Donations in her memory may be made to Palo Alto Adult School-Senior Friendship Day Club, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, 94301.
Frank Siino
Former manager of Menlo Park Hardware
Frank Horace Siino, former manager of Menlo Park Hardware, died April 10 in Redwood City. He was 67.
Mr. Siino was born in San Mateo County and was a 1955 graduate of Menlo-Atherton High School. He owned Siino's Hardware before going to work for Menlo Park Hardware. He was an accomplished accordion player, photographer, locksmith and boater, say family members.
He is survived by his daughter, Lynette Marie Christensen; son Tony Siino; and one granddaughter.
Memorials to the American Heart Association are preferred by the family.
Barbara S. Norris
Founder, Atherton Heritage Association
Barbara S. Norris, who took oral histories for dozens of Atherton old-timers, died March 4 at Stanford Hospital after a short illness. She was 85.
Mrs. Norris was best known as a founder of the Atherton Heritage Association and a meticulous historian. "She was wonderful at doing oral histories and led classes in how to do them," says Marion Oster of the heritage association. "She felt it was so important for the future to know how things were in people's own words."
A third generation San Franciscan, Mrs. Norris grew up in San Francisco, attended Lowell High School, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in decorative arts.
Shortly after graduating, she marriage R. Stewart Norris, who met and admired her when he was a waiter at her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. "He said she was one of the only girls who combed her hair before coming to breakfast," recalled her daughter, Nancy Norris-London.
The young family soon moved to San Mateo, where Mrs. Norris raised her children while Mr. Norris served in the Navy. They moved to Atherton in 1952 to a house in the horse pasture of the old James Flood estate, which is now upscale Lindenwood.
While her four children were growing up, Mrs. Norris was very much involved with her family. She was PTA president both at Encinal School and Menlo-Atherton High School, where they all graduated.
Mr. Norris was a chemical engineer, who worked for many years at Schmidt Lithograph in San Francisco, where he became vice president. The old family firm was famed for producing fruit crate labels, seed packets, and can labels that are now popular with collectors, his daughters said.
Active as a volunteer with the Atherton Library, Mrs. Norris joined other Atherton history buffs in founding the Atherton Heritage Society. Among her interviews were Leroy Hubbard, Atherton's legendary police chief and informal archivist, and Lucy Sterne's secretary, Mrs. Oster said.
Mrs. Norris continued her work with oral histories after moving to The Sequoias in 1997, interviewing many older residents of the Portola Valley retirement complex. Joan Bruce, her neighbor at The Sequoias described her as "my perky little neighbor, with eyes that twinkled."
Mrs. Norris is survived by daughters Cynthia Martin of Plymouth, California, and Nancy Norris-London of El Cerrito; sons Dr. John Norris of San Jose, and Bob Norris of El Paso, Texas; 11 grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren -- and one on the way.
A memorial service was held March 6 at Christ Church in Portola Valley.
The family suggests donations to the Atherton Heritage Association or the Atherton Library, at 91 Ashfield Road, Atherton,. CA 94027.
