Search for celebrities on Ancestry.com!Porter Warrington Heaps
Porter Warrington Heaps, 92, a Palo Alto resident for almost 30 years, died
May 3. An accomplished organist whose career spanned almost eight decades, he also helped develop and refine the instruments for Hammond Organ Co., where he worked for more than 30 years. In addition to playing professionally, he performed for numerous churches, including Palo Alto's Unity Community Church. During the 1940s and 1950s, he performed for radio and television shows in his native Chicago. After moving to Palo Alto, he became involved in a number of organ clubs and continued to give recitals and demonstrations. He is survived by two daughters, Barbara Van Slyke of Stanford and Portia Leet of Palo Alto; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Services will be held on June 4 at 11 a.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave. in Palo Alto. Contributions may be made to the Porter and Dorothy Heaps Fund for Organ Students, Northwestern University School of Music, Office of the Dean, 711 Elgin Road, Evanston, Ill. 60208.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
Laura Snow Johnson
Laura Snow Johnson, 88, a resident of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, died
May 3. A native of Manti, Utah, Johnson graduated from the University of Utah in 1934 with a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in speech therapy. She was a member of the University's Honorary Society and Chi Omega Sorority. Johnson moved to Northern California in 1934, where she met her husband, Lund. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Johnson also had a passion for literature and poetry. She taught literary lessons at her Mormon relief society, wrote original poetry and could recite hundreds of poems from memory. She is survived by two daughters, Judy Brigham of Los Altos and Jill Smith of Palo Alto; a son, Lund Johnson of Pocatello, Idaho; 19 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren. Services have been held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
Wendi Michelle Powers
Wendi Michelle Powers, 33, a Palo Alto High School graduate, died
May 3. Powers was raised in Palo Alto and attended Addison Elementary School and Jordan Middle School. She worked at Fenwick & West LLP, a Palo Alto law firm, for 10 years. Powers relocated to Scottsdale, Ariz., three years ago. After moving to Arizona, Powers started a gourmet catering service. Her mother, Janet Loops, said Powers was skilled at setting up and configuring computer systems and Web sites. She was also an avid reader and art enthusiast who collected prints of paintings by Claude Monet and Georgia O'Keeffe. Powers had four cats and also collected exotic fish. She is survived by her husband, Joe McCrorey of Scottsdale, Ariz.; her parents, Janet and Lester Loops of Palo Alto; and her brothers, Greg Loops of London, England, and Chris Loops of Sunnyvale. Services have been held. Contributions may be made to the American Liver Foundation, Northern California Chapter, 1 Sansome St., Suite 2100, San Francisco, Calif. 94104.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 19, 1999
Arthur L. Schawlow
Arthur Schawlow, emeritus professor of physics at Stanford University, pioneering laser scientist and winner of the Nobel Prize for physics in 1981, died
April 28 after a long battle with leukemia. He was 77.
Schawlow and microwave expert Charles Towne published key findings in 1957 that led to the construction of the first working laser and received a patent on their work in 1960. The commercial laser has numerous applications today, including surgical uses, surveying and consumer applications, like CD players.
Schawlow was born
in Mount Vernon, N.Y. Having a natural gift for science, he won a scholarship to study radio engineering at the University of Toronto. He continued his studies on a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, where he worked with Townes, who had developed a way to amplify microwave energy. The two scientists were trying to amplify light in the same way when Schawlow came upon the idea of a long chamber with a mirror at each end, a design that was key to further laser development.
In 1961, he joined the physics department at Stanford, where he continued his research. He won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to the field of laser spectroscopy, which is the study of how materials react when hit with laser energy.
Schawlow inspired many young scientists with not only his knowledge but his sense of humor. One example was a demonstration that earned him the nickname "laser man": He would use a laser to pop a balloon within a balloon.
"His students enjoyed the fatherly advice given with Art's usual sense of humor and understanding," said longtime friend and colleague Boris Stoicheff.
Former Stanford student Castor Fu, who worked in a research group supervised by Schawlow, remembered him as being "pretty witty" and recalled demonstrations in which the physicist shot lasers at unorthodox materials such as Jello and a gin-and-tonic to show that they could be made to "lase," or emit light.
Among Schawlow's contributions outside of the laboratory was helping to organize California Vocations, a nonprofit group to help autistic people.
Schawlow is survived by his son, Artie Schawlow of Paradise; two daughters, Helen Johnson of Stevens Point, Wis., and Edie Dwan of Charlotte, N.C.; and five grandchildren. A memorial service is pending. Contributions may be made to the Arthur Schawlow Center, 1629 Cypress Lane, Paradise 95969.
Obituary dated: Wednesday May 5, 1999
James Holland Dewson
James Holland Dewson, 65, a Stanford professor for 25 years, died
August 6 of cancer. A native of New York City, he became a captain in the U.S. Army. He graduated from the University of Arizona in 1955, and married
Sue Robinson in Las Vegas a year later. He earned a doctorate in neurosciences from Stanford in 1961, and returned to Stanford as a professor and researcher after a three-year stint lecturing at Oxford University. His interests included fly fishing, photography, crossword puzzles and growing bonsai plants. He particularly enjoyed reading and the McKenzie River in Oregon, where he spent the last few years of his life. He was an elected member of the Acoustical Society and was an associate member and former secretary and treasurer of the McKenzie River Guides. Besides his wife, he is survived by three daughters, Carolyn Demong of Denver, Colo., Elizabeth Iskra of Junction City, Colo. and Leslie Levish of Lakewood, Colo.; a son, James Dewson IV of Portland, Ore.; and seven grandchildren. Services have been held. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital or the American Cancer Society.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Johannes Dianovich Claerbout
Johannes Dianovich Claerbout, 25, a lifelong resident of Stanford, died
of a massive heart attack at his job in Mountain View August 20. The youngest of three boys, "Jos" was born
in Mountain View and attended Nixon Elementary School, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Gunn High School and Pomona College. After graduating from Pomona with degrees in economics and religion, he became an engineer at WebTV in Mountain View. He taught himself Web design and computer engineering, and in his spare time, he loved to knit his trademark "toessel" hats, which he displayed on his Web site, www.toessel.com. He wrote screenplays and short stories and taught himself massage; he spoke Spanish, and had just started learning German when he died. He was also an amateur filmmaker, and recently filmed a Silicon Valley version of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window," set in office cubicles. He was a volunteer bike mechanic, worked with Habitat for Humanity, taught English in Ecuador, and traveled to Alaska twice to study Japanese and work on a fishing boat. "He fit into 25 years what most people don't do in several lifetimes," said Caryn Hubberman, a friend of the Claerbouts. Claerbout loved a good bargain; he often shopped at Ragtime, a local thrift store, and his older brother Andrew recalled that Jos often came home thrilled with his latest 29-cent shirt. Family members say Jos will be remembered for his enthusiasm and extraordinary good humor. "He had no inhibitions about living life as fully as he could, and he loved everyone he came in contact with," said his brother Andrew. "He knew all the cafeteria workers (at Pomona College) by their first names, and he probably knew what their grandmothers were like, too. Everything to him was amazing; everything in his life was superlative, and he wanted everyone else to experience life in that way." His father is a professor of geophysics at Stanford University. He is survived by his parents, Jon and Diane Claerbout of Stanford; and two brothers, Andrew Claerbout of Burlington, Vt. and Martin Claerbout of Maui, Hawaii. Services have been held. Donations may be sent to the American Heart Association or to the charity of the donor's choice.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Hazel Dutro
Hazel Dutro, 96, a 57-year resident of Palo Alto, died
August 9 at her nursing home in Medford, Ore. Born in Oakland, she married
in 1925 and owned a Santa Clara pharmacy for 15 years. In Palo Alto, she worked at Stanford University in student accounts for many years. She enjoyed gardening, painting, her Byron Street home and spending time with children. "Her biggest thing in life was that she didn't want to bother people," said her grandson Bill Easton, of Eagle Point, Ore. She is survived by a daughter, Joyce Santos of Florence, Ore.; five grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and five great-great-grandchildren. Services have been held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Lloyd H. Moore
Lloyd H. Moore, 80, a Menlo Park resident for 29 years, died
August 25. He was born
in East Liverpool, Ohio and worked as a sales manager for Spreckel Sugar Co. until his retirement in 1986. Family and friends remember him as a happy, energetic and perennially helpful man. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Alice Moore of Menlo Park. Services have been held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Epigencia Orlino Oboza
Epigencia Orlino Oboza, 86, a resident of Palo Alto for 30 years, died
August 24 in Los Altos. A native of the Philippine Islands, she was a homemaker and a member of the Bani California Association. She is survived by a daughter, Angeles Artates of Palo Alto; 11 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Services have been held.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Merry Free Osborn
Merry Free Osborn, 62, a Palo Alto resident for 40 years, died
at her home August 18 after a brief illness. Born in Everett, Wash., she grew up in Redwood City and attended San Jose State University. In the mid-1960s she began her career in advertising, and went on to own and operate Osborn & Associates, an advertising and print production agency, before she moved into the field of college textbook publishing. Colleagues say they will remember her for her wit, her professionalism, her expertise and her distinctive voice. She is survived by her stepfather, William Au. Services have been held. Before her death, she asked that family and friends remember her through acts of kindness to each other rather through monetary donations.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Gail Wells Petty
Gail Wells Petty, 76, a Palo Alto resident for 53 years, died
Aug. 17 after a brief illness. Born in Pocatello, Idaho, she and her husband Keith moved to Palo Alto in 1946. Petty was an active member and an organist in the Palo Alto First Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is survived by her husband of 56 years, Keith Petty of Palo Alto; a sister, Anne Wells of Boise, Idaho; two daughters, Kaye Paugh of Palo Alto and Jane Taylor of Los Altos; two sons, Richard Petty of Hayward and Scott Petty of Salt Lake City; 13 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Donations will support a scholarship fund to benefit the Palo Alto High School Choir. Contributions may be sent to the fund, c/o William F. Taylor, CPA, 724 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park, Calif. 94025.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
Jayne Stearns Rogerson
Jayne Stearns Rogerson, 89, a resident of Palo Alto for 47 years, died
Aug. 19. Born in Jamestown, N.Y., she graduated in 1932 as a registered nurse from the W.C.A. Hospital in Jamestown. A year later she married. She combined a career as a nurse with continuous active participation in such organizations as the Ecumenical Hunger Project, Friends Outside, Santa Clara County Jail Chaplaincy, Urban Ministry and Migrant Ministry. She was a member of the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto. She is survived by a sister, Charlotte Irvine, of Palo Alto; two daughters, Carolyn Culbreth, of Palmetto, Fla., and Phyllis Susan Bartlett of Los Altos; five grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Services have been held. Donations may be made to the Outreach Board of the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, Ecumenical Hunger Project of East Palo Alto, or the charity of the donor's choice.
Obituary dated: Wednesday Sep 1, 1999
