Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Mimi Petrovo-Miloradovitch
Interior designer
Miriam A. "Mimi" Petrovo-Miloradovitch of Atherton died June 19 in Menlo Park. She was 98.
Ms. Petrovo-Miloradovitch was a native Californian who had lived in Atherton for many years. An interior designer, she taught design classes in the adult education division of the Sequoia Union High School District, and owned The Complete Decorator in the Ladera Shopping Center in Portola Valley.
She later operated the Petrovo Gallery in Woodside, where she featured Native American artists such as Peter Blue Cloud and David Oliver.
Ms. Petrovo-Miloradovitch is survived by her son, Patrick, of the East Bay and two grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Col. Vladimir Petrovo-Miloradovitch, known to generations of Woodside Junior Riders as "Milo"; and a son, Alexander. No services were held.
Nancy McGrath
Member, Woodside horse community
A memorial celebration of the life of Nancy Bader Crowley McGrath will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 11, at the San Mateo County Mounted Patrol Grounds, 521 Kings Mountain Road in Woodside.
Ms. McGrath died June 26 after a 10-year battle with breast cancer. She was 45.
Ms. McGrath was an active member of the horse community and spent many years on the board as a member/officer of the San Mateo County Horsemen's Association.
She also was a member of Los Viajeros Riding Club and the Shack Riders of Woodside, and was an officer of the California State Horsemen's Association. As a longstanding member of San Mateo County Horsemen's Association's color guard unit, she took part in every Woodside May Day parade, family members said.
She was a peer counselor for the Community Breast Health Project and was a patients-rights advocate. She made several video documentaries for television on legal, insurance and employment issues surrounding breast cancer.
She also loved singing and entertaining, said family members.
Ms. McGrath attended Carlmont High School in Belmont and Canada College in Woodside.
Formerly marriage to Michael Crowley, she marriage Gary McGrath in 2003. Before her illness, she worked in sales at Ampex, Tiara, Vantive, SGI and Siebel.
Ms. McGrath is survived by her husband, Gary McGrath of Redwood City; a son, Nicholas Crowley of Redwood City; her mother, Shirley Ferguson of Los Osos; a sister, Debbie Tucker of Sunnyvale; a brother, Brad Bader of Belmont; stepdaughters Darcy McGrath and Heather Garbez; and one step-granddaughter.
The family prefers donations to the Community Breast Health Project, 545 Bryant St., Palo Alto, CA 94301.
Marjorie Brown Liebes
1906 earthquake survivor
Marjorie Brown Liebes, who with her family survived the 1906 earthquake and found shelter in a Berkeley public park, died June 25 in Portola Valley. She was 99.
Ms. Brown was born in San Francisco where her father, Bernard Charles Brown, was president of the hardware store, Charles Brown & Sons, founded in the 1850s. She attended Mills College.
She and Sidney Liebes, who were childhood sweethearts, were marriage in 1927. Mr. Liebes, who died in 1977, was president and board chairman of H. Liebes & Co., a family business, featuring retail women's clothing, founded in 1864. At one time there were nine H. Liebes' stores in the Bay Area.
The young couple moved to San Mateo, then built a home in Hillsborough in 1932. During World War II, the Liebes built chicken coops for a supply of fresh eggs and acquired a Guernsey cow, which Ms. Liebes milked to provide the family with milk and butter during the war, say family members.
For the past 20 years Ms. Liebes had been a resident of The Sequoias in Portola Valley. She devoted her life to her family, garden, friends and relatives, say family members.
She is survived by her sons, Sidney Liebes of Atherton and Stephen Liebes of Palo Alto; six grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; niece Ruth Shavel and nephew Lloyd Liebes.
A memorial service will be held in August. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney.
Memorials may be made to NCPHS Foundation for the Sequoias Portola Valley Health Center Project, 1525 Post St., San Francisco CA 94109 or a favorite charity.
Graham Taylor
Pathologist and professor
Leland Harris Graham Taylor, a resident of Portola Valley for 30 years, died June 14. He was 70.
Dr. Taylor was born in Oakland and attended Piedmont High School. He was an Eagle Scout and avid backpacker.
He graduated from Stanford University in 1955 and earned a medical degree from Harvard University in 1959. After completing a residency in pathology at the University of California in San Francisco, he served in the U.S. Navy for two years and was stationed in San Diego.
Dr. Taylor's medical career spanned more than 30 years as a pathologist at Mills Memorial Hospital and Mills Peninsula Hospitals in San Mateo. He was also an adjunct clinical professor at Stanford University. He retired in 1994.
Dr. Taylor took part in Alpine Little League and soccer programs in Portola Valley when his children were young. He loved traveling and was an ardent history buff, say family members.
In later years, he spent many hours studying the genealogy and stories of his ancestors, including Isaac Graham, a key player in the movement to annex Alta California to the United States. He was an active member of Sons in Retirement (SIRS) and counted their weekly golf games as one of his favorite activities, say family members.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Loverine P. Taylor; children John Taylor of Moraga, Steve Taylor of Concord, Ann Taylor of Walnut Creek, Jim Taylor of Half Moon Bay; stepchildren, Eric Reed of Belmont and Ian Reed of Paris; a sister, Elizabeth Ferguson of Walnut Creek; and seven grandchildren.
Contributions in his memory may be made to Mission Hospice Inc. of San Mateo.
Gordon L. Poole
Maritime and finance attorney
Gordon L. Poole, a nationally known maritime and corporate finance attorney in San Francisco, died July 7 in Menlo Park from a rare bone marrow disease. He was 77.
Born on December 25, 1926, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he lived in Mt. Kisco, New York until 1938, when his family moved to Atherton. His father, Arthur B. Poole, was sent by Joseph P. Kennedy, then-Chairman of the U.S. Maritime Commission, to reorganize the Dollar Steamship Co. in San Francisco, sparking Mr. Poole's lifelong interest in ships. The family lived on the Stanford campus from 1940 until the 1960s, during his father's tenure as an associate professor at the Stanford Business School.
Mr. Poole graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1944. He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1947 in Korea, then continued his education, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1949 and from Harvard Law School in 1952.
After practicing as an associate with Treadwell & Laughlin in San Francisco from 1953 to 1955, he joined Lillick, McHose & Charles, now Nixon Peabody.
During his career with Lillick, he headed the Washington, D.C., office from 1960 to 1962 and was chairman of the management committee from 1981 to 1984. He was a member of the California, San Francisco and American bar associations and the Maritime Law Association.
A lifelong Republican, he was a member of the San Mateo County Republican Central Committee. He was a member and vestryman of Trinity Episcopal Parish in Menlo Park, serving as senior warden in 1970.
Mr. Poole was a longtime member of the Bohemian and the World Trade clubs in San Francisco. He was an enthusiastic San Francisco Opera attendee and an avid Stanford football and basketball fan, and enjoyed swimming, skiing and wildflower hikes, family members said.
Mr. Poole is survived by his wife of 49 years, Lois Teasdale Poole of Woodside; his children, David of San Jose, Edward of San Francisco and Elisabeth Parker of New York City; his brother, Warren G. Poole of Portola Valley; and two grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, July 15, at St. Bede's Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers a donation to a favorite charity.
Arrangements are by Roller Hapgood & Tinney.
Blanche Delucchi
Woodside resident
Blanche Delucchi, a resident of Woodside and Redwood City for 63 years, died July 8. She was 88.
She was well-known for her French and Italian cuisine, and she had a great sense of humor and a welcoming smile, said her family. She said that her home was her favorite place and she especially enjoyed working in the garden, they said.
Ms. Delucchi is survived by her husband of 70 years, Richard Delucchi of Woodside; her three daughters, Claudette Vogel and Susan Sanchez, both of Los Altos, and Dorine Secrest of Portola Valley; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchilren.
A visitation will be held at 6 p.m. followed by a Rosary Service at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13, at the Redwood Chapel, 847 Woodside Road in Redwood City. A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 14, at Our Lady of the Wayside Chapel, 930 Portola Road, Portola Valley.
Memorial contributions may be made to The American Heart Association, 1710 Gilbreth Road, Suite #100, Burlingame, CA 94010 or to Ronald McDonald House, 425 Sherman Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94305.
Ingrid Barrett Smith
Wife, mother, community volunteer
Ingrid Barrett Smith, a volunteer who was instrumental in helping raise funds for Menlo Park public schools, died at her home in Menlo Park on July 7, nine months after she was diagnosed with stomach cancer. She was 48.
Family and friends said she faced her disease with the same grace and determination she exhibited throughout her life.
She is survived by her husband of 17 years, Lyle Smith; their sons, Colin, 15, a sophomore at Menlo-Atherton High School, and Derek, 12, a seventh-grader at Hillview Middle School; and her mother, Clotilde Barrett, and brother Ken Barrett, both of Torrey, Utah.
A service is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, July 29, at Stanford Memorial Church.
Spending her childhood in Illinois and Colorado, she went on to receive a bachelor's degree in statistics from Colorado State University and a master's in economics from the University of California, Davis.
She became an econometrician and later, a data-applications designer, most recently with Business Objects of San Jose. A woman with an adventurous spirit, she accepted work assignments in Saudi Arabia and Europe.
In 1987, she marriage Lyle Smith, and they settled in Menlo Park, where their two sons were born. When the boys entered Oak Knoll Elementary School, she found time to use her professional skills in volunteering.
At Oak Knoll School, Ms. Smith was instrumental in organizing the annual Otter Run fundraiser. A former marathon runner, she frequently won her age division in the 5K Otter Run.
After serving as auditor for the Oak Knoll PTA in 1999, she brought her expertise in database design to the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation, which raises funds for Menlo Park public schools. While on the foundation board, she managed the foundation's database that supports fundraising and communications.
She helped the foundation reach the million-dollar mark in annual fundraising, said June Flora, outgoing foundation president.
For her many contributions, community leaders awarded her the Honorary Service Award in 2000 and the Continuing Service Award in 2003.
The foundation has established the Ingrid Smith Math & Science Award, to be given annually to a teacher in the Menlo Park City School District who develops innovative methods of teaching math or science to students attending Laurel, Encinal, Oak Knoll or Hillview schools.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Ms. Smith's honor may be made to the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Foundation, P.O. Box 584, Menlo Park, CA 94026-0584. Donations to Stanford University for gastric cancer research in memory of Ingrid Smith should be made in care of Cynthia Newalder, Office of Medical Development, 2700 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Nathalie Dewey Westbrook
Teacher with roots in history
Nathalie Dewey Westbrook, 87, whose passion was teaching, died July 6 at Stanford Hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm. She had lived in Menlo Park for the past 52 years.
She had requested that no services be held. Memorials may be made to the Sempervirens Fund, Drawer BE, Los Altos, CA 94023-40454.
Mrs. Westbrook began her teaching career at Phelps Central School in Phelps, New York, after graduating in 1940 from Geneseo Normal School. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she grew up in Batavia, New York, and graduated from schools in Batavia.
She moved to California, where in 1944 she marriage Charles Westbrook, an earth scientist at Stanford Research Institute, now SRI, in Menlo Park. While raising their three children, she was active in PTA and scouts.
Mrs. Westbrook returned to teaching as a substitute in the Menlo Park, Las Lomitas and Ravenswood elementary school districts for seven years, and then taught for 16 years in the Portola Valley School District. Her sixth-grade students at the former Portola Valley School and later Corte Madera School remember writing their autobiographies in her class. She was a stickler for correct spelling and punctuation and putting forth one's best effort, they said.
After retiring from the Portola Valley district in 1982, she and her husband traveled extensively. They visited almost all the states across the country and made four trips to Europe, spending time in England, Scotland, Central Europe, Italy and Paris.
Mrs. Westbrook was proud of her American heritage that goes back to her ancestors' arrival on the Mayflower, family members said. She was an active member and registrar of the National Society of the Daughters of the Revolution, Gaspar de Portola Chapter (Stanford); and a member of the Society of the Mayflower (Sequoia and San Francisco Colonies) and Descendants of the Veterans of George Washington's Army at Valley Forge. She belonged to the San Mateo County Genealogical Society and the Historical Society of East Bloomfield, New York.
In addition to genealogy research, Mrs. Westbrook devoted time to teaching the etiquette of the American flag to schoolchildren and civic groups. She made several Braille flags for the blind. As a board member, she was involved in the restoration of the historic Union Cemetery in Redwood City.
A member of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church since 1953, Mrs. Westbrook also was a member of Little House where she participated in the computer club and classes, especially to further her genealogy projects.
She is survived by her husband, Charles Westbrook of Menlo Park; three children, Barbara W. Tanaka of Okemos, Michigan, Joan W. Worley of Saratoga and Thomas Westbrook of Prunedale; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; sister Georgia Dewey Hoover; and brother Richard Dewey.
"She will be greatly missed by her family, former students and many friends blessed to know her," said her daughter Ms. Tanaka.
Ralph Eric Blom
Stanford alumnus, Menlo Park resident
Ralph Eric Blom, a Menlo Park resident, died July 12 at Los Gatos Community Hospital. He was 79.
Born in Helsinki, he attended school in Finland and Sweden, and served in the Finnish army during World War II. After becoming a U.S. citizen in 1950, he served in the U.S. Army reserves in Germany.
Mr. Blom graduated from Stanford University with a degree in electrical engineering and worked for American Standards Co. in Redwood City and Singer Research Co. in Sunnyvale. He was a life member of the Stanford University Alumni Association, and enjoyed classical music, playing golf, bird-watching, and assembling clockworks, his family said.
He is survived by his wife, Phyllis of Menlo Park; daughter Nancy Blom Kerstetter; and a granddaughter.
A memorial service was held at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Menlo Park. Arrangements were under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.
Dr. Gerald Edward Cahalan
Retired dentist
Dr. Gerald Edward Cahalan, a retired dentist, died at his home in Atherton July 14. He was 81.
One of eight children, he was born in Harpers Ferry, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 1946 and moved to Palo Alto, where he established his private dental practice.
During the Korean War, he temporarily relocated to Kansas, where he served as a captain in the U.S. Army. Upon his return, he and his brother Joseph developed one of the first medical office complexes on Stanford University property.
Dr. Cahalan retired in 1985. He enjoyed traveling, gardening, entertaining friends and giving his grandchildren rides on his Cagney steam train, his family said.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Eleanor Donahue, to whom he was marriage 49 years. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ruder Cahalan; children Michael, Marlana, Barbara Zaro, Margaret Skinner, John, James, Monica Dyer and William; stepchildren Ed Ruder, Phil Ruder, Megan Martinelli, Joe Ruder and Gun Ruder; siblings Dr. Leo Cahalan of Logansport, Indiana, Dr. Joseph Cahalan of Menlo Park, and Rose Stevens of Turlock; and numerous grandchildren.
A celebration of his life was held at St. Pius Church in Redwood City. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorial contributions be made to St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room in Menlo Park, St. Vincent dePaul or Pathways Hospice Foundation in Mountain View. Arrangements were by Spangler Mortuary.
Margaret Sloss "Peggy" Lowe
Longtime Woodside resident
Margaret Sloss Lowe -- she liked to be called Peggy -- died peacefully in Oakland June 26, just short of what would have been her 65th wedding anniversary to the late William L. Lowe, the first mayor of Woodside. She was 84.
For 45 years, Mrs. Lowe and her family were active in the Woodside community She was known for flower arranging, and enjoyed tennis until illness set in last year. A lot of families were close, recalls her daughter, Ellie Kinczel of Oakland. "The kids were friends and are friends to this day. It was a great place to grow up."
A fourth generation San Franciscan, Mrs. Lowe was descended from Marcus Koshland and Louis Sloss. She grew up in San Francisco, and attended Miss Burke's school and Smith College. She marriage Mr. Lowe, a fifth-generation San Franciscan in 1939.
The Lowes raised three children in a house originally designed by Gardner Dailey on Albion Avenue in Woodside, on the estate of Mr. Lowe's father. In 1985, they moved to a townhouse in Redwood City near Canada College. After Mr. Lowe's death in 2000, Mrs. Low moved to The Sequoias in Portola Valley.
A member of the Woodside-Atherton Garden Club, Mrs. Lowe won awards for flower-arranging, and was a judge for the garden club. "She did spectacular flower arrangements," recalls longtime friend Ellie Wood. "She did the kind of modernistic things that are popular now."
Mrs. Lowe volunteered widely. She served as board chairman of the Children's Hospital at Stanford, was a member of several committees of the San Francisco Symphony, and helped at the Redwood City and Woodside libraries. "She was very well organized, very precise, very artistic -- a marvelous hostess and a prime cook," says old Woodside friend, Kip Pond.
The Lowes enjoyed summers with family and friends at the house they built at Glenbrook, Lake Tahoe. A more recent high point was celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in Carmel with the entire family.
Mrs. Lowe is survived by a brother, Louis Sloss, of Forestville; a son, David Lowe, of Port Townsend, Washington; two daughters, Ellie Kinczel of Oakland, and Jean Lowe of Paso Robles; six granchildren; and five great-granchildren.
At Mrs. Lowe's wish, no services are being held. The family suggests donations to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, the San Francisco Symphony, or a charity of the donor's choice.
Maurine Johanna Houck
Pilot, poker champion, jewelry buyer
Maurine Johanna Houck, a Menlo Park resident of 39 years, died July 9.
Ms. Houck was born in Denver, Colorado, and was a model when she met Air Force Lieutenant Warren Houck. They marriage in 1950 and lived in San Francisco, Germany, Sacramento and Alaska, before settling in Menlo Park in 1965.
Her hobbies were varied and dynamic and included piloting, poker playing, acting, traveling, volunteering and painting.
She began piloting in 1979, and as a long-time member of Santa Clara County 99's -- an organization whose first president was Amelia Earhart -- won numerous flying competitions.
She was a poker player for more than 25 years and once won second in the world's largest women-only poker tournament.
Ms. Houck was also an actress, with roles in numerous movie and television productions, including a role in Carl Reiner's 1990 film "Sibling Rivalry" that starred Kirstie Alley.
Another of Ms. Houck's passion was art. She worked for 17 years as a jewelry buyer for Xanadu Galleries, located in Menlo Park and San Francisco. She was an expert on Native American jewelry and artifacts, and was well-respected by the Southwest Indian Tribes and trading companies for her fairness and her support of Native American arts, said her family.
Ms. Houck was also a longtime volunteer at the Children's Health Council in Palo Alto.
Her grandfather sang at President Lincoln's state funeral, and her mother was of the Stoecker soda and bottling company, the original inventors of 7-Up, said family members.
She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Warren Houck of Menlo Park; a son, Michael of Eagle, Colorado; two daughters, Kasey and Elizabeth, both of Menlo Park; and nine grandchildren.
