Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Florence Yates Wotila
Florence Yates Wotila, 84, a 60-year resident of Menlo Park, died
March 26. Born in Belvedere, Wotila attended the College of Marin, where she pursued her interests in literature, drama, and music. Her hobbies included bridge and gardening. She is survived by a daughter, Jacqueline A. Smith of Walnut Creek; a son, Eugene A. Wotila of Fort Bragg; two brothers, Charlie Yates and Gene Yates, both of Marin; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Services will be held today at 10:30 a.m. at St. Denis Catholic Church, 2250 Avy Ave., Menlo Park.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Mar 31, 1999
Anthony E. 'Toni' Raubitsheck
Anthony "Toni" Raubitschek, an emeritus professor of classics at Stanford University and internationally renowned scholar, died
May 7. He was 86.
Born in Vienna, Austria, he began his studies at the University of Vienna and spent a year in Athens, Greece, in 1934-1935. His experience in Athens sparked a lifelong interest in the inscriptions found around the Acropolis. Raubitschek's 1949 volume, "Dedications from the Athenian Akropolis," is considered a milestone in the development of archaeological epigraphy.
Raubitschek came to the United States in 1938 to study at the Princeton Institute of Advanced Study, where he developed an interest in early Christian epitaphs. After teaching at Yale and Princeton universities, he came to Stanford in 1963 as a professor of classics.
Raubitschek was appointed Sadie Dernham Patek Professor of Humanities in 1974. He devoted much of his energy to undergraduate teaching and was twice awarded for excellence in teaching.
In March of this year, he was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art by the president of Austria.
He is survived by two daughters, Marita Hopmann of Arlington, Va., and Kleia Luckner of Toledo, Ohio; two sons, John Raubitschek of Alexandria, Va., and Andrew Raubitschek of San Marino; and seven grandchildren. Services will be today at 4 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 751 Waverley St., Palo Alto. Contributions may be made to the Stanford classics department to fund student travel abroad.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 12, 1999
Glenn Alan Chequer
Glenn Alan Chequer, 67, a Palo Alto resident for 30 years, died
May 3. Chequer graduated from Princeton University and served three years as an officer in the Navy. In 1969, he joined Schleh Associates, a business consulting firm in Palo Alto. Later he started his own executive search firm. An avid swimmer, Chequer was a member of Foothills Tennis and Swimming Club and was very active in their swim program. After retiring, he painted, earned a degree in French, volunteered at the International Center at Stanford and sang in the Methodist Church choir. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Chequer of Palo Alto; a son, Brad Chequer of Palo Alto; two daughters, Karen Chequer-Pfeiffer of Santa Rosa and Lesley Reid of Los Altos; and three grandchildren. Private services will be held May 16. Contributions may be made to the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford or to Pets in Need, 873 Fifth Ave., Redwood City 94063.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 12, 1999
Florence B. Grad
Florence Grad, 86, a 40-year-resident of Palo Alto, died
April 22. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Grad graduated from high school in New York and worked in Washington, D.C., as the personal secretary to the U.S. assistant secretary of agriculture before World War II. She married
Raymond Grad, a neighborhood friend who initially courted her on the steps of Brooklyn's brownstone houses. Raymond, who was introduced to California while serving in the Navy during World War II, moved the family west after the war. "They were real pioneers, the first ones in the family to set out for California," said her son, Matthew Grad. They moved to Palo Alto, where Grad worked for the Palo Alto Unified School District. She was an administrative and librarian's assistant at Mayfield Elementary School and Cubberley High School. Grad enjoyed knitting, playing bridge, reading and travel. She is survived by two daughters, Muriel Molho of Placerville and Barbara Diamond of Tarzana; a son, Matthew Grad of Woodacre; and six grandchildren. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to the San Fernando Valley Association for the Retarded, 15725 Parthenia Street, North Hills 91343.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 12, 1999
Charles Mosher
Charles Mosher, 63, a Menlo Park resident, gifted engineer and "eccentric genius," died
May 1. Born in Cooperstown, N.Y., Mosher graduated first in his class from Scotia High School in 1953 and from the California Institute of Technology in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in physics. After serving in the Army from 1957 to 1959, Mosher earned master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1961 and 1963, respectively. He was a senior engineer with Varian Associates from 1963 to 1974 and then a product development manager at Nuclear Equipment until 1978. He later joined Computervision Corp. and then worked as an electrical engineer for TCI. He published several articles and technical papers and holds several patents in his field. Mosher was active in many Peninsula community organizations, including the Bay Area Amphibians and Reptile Society, the East Palo Alto Area Drug Task Force, the Palo Alto Junior Museum, Parents Without Partners, and the Little House Computer Club. His daughter, Vivi Mosher, said Mosher was "an eccentric type" who continued to get his old Army-style haircut 30 years after his service; biked everywhere, instead of driving for environmental reasons; and liked to share his knowledge of reptiles with kids. He is survived by a son, Alexander Mosher of Sunnyvale; a daughter, Vivi Mosher of Santa Barbara; and a brother, Lanning Mosher of Seattle. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to the Palo Alto Junior Museum, 1451 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 94301 to set up a "reptile education fund" in Mosher's memory.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 12, 1999
Philip C. Rau
Philip Rau, 32, a Palo Alto native and popular Norcross, Ga., teacher, died
April 24. Rau was shot and killed in Atlanta, Ga., during a robbery. Born in San Jose and raised in Palo Alto, Rau attended Addison Elementary School and Jordan Middle School. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Lake Forest College and a master's degree in teaching from Emory University. Rau was a social studies teacher in Norcross, Ga., for the past five years, where he was lauded for his creative teaching techniques and his extra consideration for struggling students. He is survived by his mother, Karen Gopen of Palo Alto; his father, Walter Rau of Mountain View; a sister, Anna Gopen of Palo Alto; three brothers, Daniel Gopen of Palo Alto and Geoffrey Rau and Michael Rau, both of Mountain View; grandparents Helen and William Rasmussen; and grandmother Marion Rau of Mountain View. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to a fund created in his name to support public school teachers: The Philip C. Rau Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 860, Bethel, Maine 04217.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 12, 1999
Alan C. Stewart
Alan Stewart, 39, a former Palo Alto resident and Palo Alto High School graduate, died
April 24. Stewart was born
and raised in Palo Alto and attended Addison Elementary School and Jordan Middle School. He lived in Sacramento for the past 14 years and worked for the past three years as a software engineer with Objective Systems Integration in Sacramento. A talented musician, Stewart studied guitar and piano at the Berklee College of Music. He was also an avid pilot who loved to fly. He is survived by his mother, Shirley Stewart of Palo Alto; a sister, Kathleen Stewart of Palo Alto; a brother, Michael Stewart of Woodland; and his grandmother, Helen Flickinger of Virginia. Services will be held Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Clarksburg Airport in Clarksburg. Contributions may be made to the UC Davis Veterinary Clinic, Davis 95616.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 12, 1999
Herbert Jack Apfelberg
Herbert Apfelberg, 90, a 28-year resident of Palo Alto, died
May 13. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised in Chicago, Ill., Apfelberg earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois Medical School. He specialized in neurology and psychiatry. After serving in the U.S. Public Health Service and the U.S. Army, Apfelberg established his medical practice in Milwaukee in 1945. He retired to Palo Alto when he was 62. He is survived by his wife, Lorraine Apfelberg of Palo Alto; two sons, David Apfelberg of Palo Alto and Robert Apfelberg of Woodland Hills; and four grandchildren. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to the Hillel Foundation, Old Union, Stanford 94305.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
Cartier Blackburn
Cartier Blackburn, a U.S. Navy captain and former resident of Palo Alto for 25 years, died
Jan. 7. An alumnus of Northwestern University, Blackburn served in the Navy for 28 years. He survived the attack on Pearl Harbor at the beginning of World War II and participated in a landing in Japan three days before the war ended. He also served in Korea before retiring from the Navy and moving to California. Blackburn lived on Emerson Street in Palo Alto for 25 years and worked as senior vice president of First Interstate Bank. He lived with his wife, Edy, in Gulf Breeze, Fla., where they were members of Christ Episcopal Church, the Pensacola Yacht Club, Tiger Point Country Club and the Avant Guard Krew. He is survived by his wife, Edy Blackburn of Sterling, Va.; two daughters, Marianne B. Drew of McLean, Va., and Carolyn Blackburn-Grayman of New York City; a brother, Robert Blackburn of Santa Cruz; and three grandchildren. A burial at sea with full military honors has been held. Contributions may be made to the Waterfront Mission, 1501 New Hope Road, Gulf Breeze, Fla., or to the Salvation Army.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
Elizabeth R. Callaway
Elizabeth Callaway, 94, a 30-year-resident of Palo Alto who was affiliated with Stanford in the university's early days, died
May 2. Born in Southern California to parents who had graduated from Stanford in 1896 and 1897, Callaway followed in her parents' footsteps to Stanford, where she majored in graphic arts. Her interest in art led her to teach for a time at San Jose State University and out of her home. She was also involved with the Stanford Historical Society and was an avid reader, said her friend, Olivia Thebus, who described her as "a wonderful personality." She is survived by a daughter, Ann Callaway of Gurnee, Ill.; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. No services were held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
Edna Mae Evans Clarkson
Edna Mae Evans Clarkson, 87, a 33-year Palo Alto resident who helped run the family-owned Clarkson Co. formerly in Palo Alto, died
May 8. Born in Quartzburg, Idaho, Clarkson grew up in the Boise Basin Mining District and graduated from Boise High School in 1930. She married
her husband, Bob Clarkson, in 1930. The young couple lived a pioneering life throughout the 1930s and '40s in remote mining camps in Idaho, California and Colorado. They began a manufacturing business in Boise and then moved the family and the business to Palo Alto in the early 50s. Clarkson was an active member of the Palo Alto First United Methodist Church and her PEO Chapter. She especially enjoyed helping elderly widowed women by picking them up for church activities or simply spending time with them. She is survived by her husband, J.R. (Bob) Clarkson, her daughter, Claudia King, and her son, Curtis Clarkson, all of Reno, Nev.; her brother, Lt. Col. Edward Evans of Woodland; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to St. Mary's Foundation, Hospice of Northern Nevada, 1155 W. 4th St., Suite 224, Reno, Nev. 89503, or to the donor's local hospice.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
