Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Ron Skillicorn
Ron Skillicorn made a lot of friends during his 30-plus years as a teacher and coach in Palo Alto--more friends than he probably knew he had. Many of those same friends turned out Monday for a memorial service for Skillicorn, who passed away last Wednesday from cancer at the age of 63.
During his life, Skillicorn performed many tasks--always to the best of his ability.
"He did what was expected of him, and more," remembered Harlan Harkness, who coached with Skillicorn at Cubberley High in the 1960s and later at Palo Alto High in the 1980s and '90s. "I was always amazed at what he was able to accomplish. I always though he did such a good job teaching the kids."
Among the coaching highlights for Skillicorn were two Central Coast Section soccer titles that he guided the Paly girls to in 1980 and '82. Harkness noted, however, that Skillicorn's legacy is more than just being a winner on the field.
"He had great teams," Harkness said, "and he did a great job with them. But his teams also had that special feeling. His teams were always together. He added a little bit of something to it."
Roger Whitley, who was coached by Skillicorn at Cubberley, said the honesty displayed by Skillicorn set him apart from other coaches.
"He used to tell you the truth about everything," Whitley recalled. "He'd never give you the company line."
Added Harkness: "It was always straight from the heart."
Skillicorn's influence in Palo Alto sports also was widespread.
After beginning his career at Wilbur Junior High (now JLS) in 1959 and then moving to Cubberley, Skillicorn formed the first boys' soccer team there after years of it being a club sport. He also coached frosh-soph baseball, track and golf.
"Ron is the type of guy who could step in and coach just about anything, and do it well," said Palo Alto High swim and water polo coach Ro Davis, who recalled Skillicorn's days at Paly.
"He was a great guy," remembered Earl Hansen, a student at Cubberley when Skillicorn was there. The two were reunited at Paly in the '90s, when Hansen became head football coach and athletic director.
"He coached several sports, and he was an excellent teacher in every one of them," Hansen said. "He was also a big-time singer, too. Barbershop. He could really sing."
Skillicorn also helped begin the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) program on the Peninsula and was instrumental in starting the annual girls' Christmas Cup soccer tournament.
Obviously, Harkness said of his fellow coach, Skillicorn loved what he did.
"He was always friendly and always happy," Harkness said.
Added Hansen: "I never saw him in a bad mood. He treated the kids really well. The one thing I'll always remember about Ron was that wherever he was, he made it a happier place. The kids really enjoyed competing for him."
Davis agreed.
"I've been coaching since 1974," Davis said, "and I've never worked with a more professional teacher and coach than Ron. He's going to be missed by a lot of people."
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 30, 1998
Kenneth Iwatoki Sugimoto
Kenneth Iwatoki Sugimoto, a renowned Bonsai Master who was instrumental in introducing the Japanese art of Bonsai to the United States, died
of natural causes Jan. 19. He was 93 years old.
Sugimoto was born
in Hiroshima, Japan and came to the U.S. at the age of 16. After the internment years, Ken settled with his family in Lodi.
When he moved to Palo Alto in 1951, he opened the first Bonsai retail nursery in the U.S. He also started the Peninsula Bonsai Club, the oldest of its kind in the country. For the past 47 years, an annual Bonsai exhibit has been sponsored by the club on Mother's Day and held at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple.
People from all over the world visited Sugimoto's studio in Palo Alto, and many Japanese Bonsai Masters came to California to learn his method. He lectured on Bonsais and displayed his art at many cultural events.
His philosophy consisted of the idea that art and nature are one, and he envisioned himself as part of nature when he created. His Bonsai revealed aspects of natural settings. Whether his subject ws a pine growing from a crevice of a boulder or a coastline cypress shaped by severe wind, he combined the spirit of nature with the serenity of a tea garden.
He is survived by his wife of more than 70 years, Kinuyo Sugimoto; two sons, Tak Sugimoto of Palo Alto and Lou Sugimoto of Saratoga; daughter Jude Noda of Denver, Colo.; and six grandchildren.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Jan 31, 2001
Henry Ah Lei Akana
Henry Ah Lei Akana, 75, a Palo Alto postal worker for 30 years and a World War II veteran, died
March 25. Born in Hilo, Hawaii, he lived in Kapoho, Hawaii, and in Menlo Park before moving to Las Vegas four years ago. During World War II Akana served in the South Pacific with the United States Army. He is survived by his wife, Betty Lou Gagner of Las Vegas; four children, Allison Ah Lin Akana of Half Moon Bay, Patrick Ah Lei Akana of Santa Clara, Alan Robert Akana of Park City, Utah, and Michael Joseph Akana of Mountain View; three sisters, Dorothy Lai of Arlington, Texas, Elizabeth Ah Chen of Hilo, Hawaii, and Rose Ah Lin Horwatt of Nixa, Mo.; a brother, Herbert Akana of Pahoa, Hawaii; and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held today at 1 p.m. at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park. Contributions may be sent to Nathan Adelson Hospice, 4141 S. Swenson St., Las Vegas, Nev., 89119.
Mildred Campbell
Mildred Campbell, 80, a Palo Alto native, died
March 16. Campbell was born
and raised in Palo Alto and spent her adult life working as a taxi driver and in restaurants in the area. She enjoyed bingo, which she played twice a week for 35 years at St. Joseph Catholic Church and St. Athanasius Church in Mountain View. Campbell is survived by a daughter, Beverly Baker of Mountain View; and three sons, Jim Campbell of Los Altos, William Campbell of South Lake Tahoe and Thomas Campbell of Mountain View. Services were held. Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
Robert Russell Erving
Robert Russell Erving, 33, an 18-year resident of Portola Valley, died
March 5 in a skiing accident near his home in Whitefish, Mont. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a member of the ski team. After college, he lived for several years in Redwood City while working as an environmental analyst. Later, he received a master's degree in geography from the California State University, Chico. He became interested in geography partly because of the influence of his uncle, Claude Minard Jr., who was a professor of geography at the California State University, Sonoma. He is survived by his mother, Susan M. Erving of Menlo Park; his father, Robert M. Erving of Bainbridge, Wash.; a sister, Audrey E. Licari of Larkspur; a brother, James Erving of Bainbridge; and a grandmother, Florence Minard of Palo Alto. Services have been held. Contributions may be sent to Peninsula Habitat for Humanity, 1010 Doyle St., Suite 7, Menlo Park 94025-4515 and Pets in Need, 873 5th Ave., Redwood City 94063.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
Alice O'Hair Findlay
Alice O'Hair Findlay, 92, eldest daughter of the O'Hair family that moved to Palo Alto at the turn of the century, died
March 13. Born in Palo Alto, she graduated from Palo Alto High School and worked as a secretary at Palo Alto Hospital and the Palo Alto Clinic. From the late 1930s until the early 1970s, she was a world traveler, living in England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, South America and Iran with her late husband, Gilbert, a construction engineer. According to her daughter Virginia Kruger, she was a consummate homemaker "whose life was in entertaining," and who loved to arrange flowers and cook. One friend said, "You could drop Alice in the middle of a desert anywhere and she would say, 'This isn't the best place, but I'll make the best of it.'" She and her husband retired to Palo Alto, where she was active in the Little House Senior Center in Menlo Park and the Menertons, a civic organization that raises funds for the Peninsula Children's Center. She is survived by a daughter, Virginia Findlay Kruger of Los Angeles; two granddaughters; and three great-grandchildren. Services have been held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
Patricia Ann Owen
Patricia Ann Owen, 61, a 27-year resident of Palo Alto, died
March 9. A native of Logansport, Ind., Owen graduated from Logansport Business College. She worked as a homemaker and assistant to her husband, who started the Floodplain Management Association, a nonprofit organization committed to helping understand flood plain management and to mitigating the destructiveness of flooding. Owen was also active in the Larrabee Auxiliary of the Peninsula Children's Center. She is survived by a son, James Owen of San Jose; two daughters, Rebecca Owen of Fremont and Karen Blake of Hawaii; two sisters, Diane Jennings of Virginia and Kathleen Digan of San Jose; and four grandchildren. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to a charity of the donor's choice.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
June Sidells
June Sidells, 90, a resident of Menlo Park for 10 years, died
March 13. An Ohio native, Sidells was the oldest daughter in the Isaly family, an Ohio family of Swiss ancestry who ran the Isaly dairy company. The company operated in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio during the early part of the century and invented the Klondike Bar, the first ice cream bar on a stick. During the 1930s, Sidells worked as an executive secretary to the president of McKelvey's department store in Youngstown, Ohio and to the general manager of Packard Electric, later a division of General Motors. Sidells assisted her husband, Arthur Sidells, in his architectural practice and was a community volunteer in Warren, Ohio, before moving to Menlo Park. She is survived by two sons, Stephen Sidells of Menlo Park and Stuart Sidells of Berkeley; a brother, Mark Isaly of Florida; a sister, Mildred Becker of Arizona; and two granddaughters. Services have been held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
Berdie L. Thomas
Berdie L. Thomas, 78, a 34-year East Palo Alto resident, died
March 23 in Modesto. A native of Longview, Texas, Thomas was a homemaker who was an active member of the Church of Christ in Menlo Park for 20 years. In her spare time, she enjoyed fishing and doing puzzles. She is survived by a son, Johnny Wright of Milpitas; a daughter, Margaret Harris of Modesto; a sister, Haddie Hill of New York; 16 grandchildren; and 50 great-grandchildren. Services will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Lakewood Funeral Home, 900 Santa Fe Ave., Hughson. Contributions may be made to Margaret Harris, 1308 Steele Ave., Modesto 95351.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
Eileen Ruby Williams-Grebmeier
Eileen Ruby Williams-Grebmeier, 77, a 30-year Palo Alto resident, died
March 25. Grebmeier, her husband Rolf and their six children lived in the historic Squire House on University Avenue for 15 years. Her children remember roller skating in the house's enormous attic and their mother, who loved singing and dancing, waking them in the morning with a booming recording of "76 Trombones." Described as a "very selfless person" who enjoyed helping her children with their activities, Grebmeier enjoyed golf and upholstering furniture in her spare time. She was a graduate of Heald Business College and worked for several years at the former EIMAC electronics components parts company in Cupertino. She is survived by a son, Charles Grebmeier of San Francisco; five daughters, Joanne Grebmeier-Wendt of Belmont, Diana Grebmeier-Forget of Montreal, Quebec, Jackie Grebmeier-Cooper of Knoxville, Tenn., Linda Grebmeier-Altman of Benecia, and Wendy Grebmeier of Menlo Park; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Services will be held Thursday at 11 a.m. at Alta Mesa Memorial Park, 695 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
