Deaths Deaths (September 03, 2003)

Joseph E. Beh

Joseph Eugene Beh, 85, died Aug. 15 of kidney failure.

A resident of Atherton for more than 55 years, he was a veteran, a prominent Peninsula businessman and very active in civic affairs. A native of Iowa, he attended Notre Dame and graduated from Georgetown University in 1941. He was a member of the Georgetown Alumni Council and Board of Visitors Business School. He was elected to the university's Board of Regents for six years before being permanently honored as its "Regent Emeritus."

During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served in the Adjutant Generals Division of the Air Transport Command at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1950 he established an accounting practice, which developed into his own real estate firm and casualty agency with offices throughout the Peninsula. He served as president of several organizations including the Herbert Hoover Boys Club, the Menlo Park Rotary, the Exchange Club and the Menlo Park Board of Realtors.

Also a supporter of church activities, he was a trustee of St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco and St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, and for the Gregorian University Foundation in Rome and New York City. He was awarded with two very distinctive memberships by the Catholic Church in the Knights of Malta and the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher.

He is survived by his wife, Allanah Cleary Beh of Atherton; brother, Philip C. Beh and sister-in-law, Bette, of Alexandria, Va; and sister, Mary Louise Beh of Menlo Park.

Services have been held.

Contributions are preferred to Pathways Home and Health Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 135, Mountain View, CA 94040.
Margaret F. Erickson

Margaret Frances Erickson, 89, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died Aug. 16.

She was born Feb. 18, 1914 to Wallace and Julia Sherwin. She was the fifth of eight children. Her parents had emigrated from England, settling in Winnepeg, Manitoba, and later moving to Edmonton, Alberta, where she grew up. She loved to write and was employed by the Edmonton Journal. In her mid-20s she married Robert Arthur Erickson. They established their home in San Mateo, where Robert started his sign-and-display business.

She had a great interest in fashion design, interior decorating, cooking and gardening. But the pivotal moment in her life was when she found faith in Christ in 1950. Her greatest love was people, especially young people and those in need. She expressed her faith energetically with her gifts of hospitality, encouragement and exhortation.

A few years after her husband's death, she moved to Boulder, Colo., for about 12 years where she bought a large house near the university. She rented rooms to college students and presided over her household/community as the much-loved "Mrs. E." Not only did she share her Christianity with everyone, she also excelled at matchmaking, leading to numerous marriages.

She loved to travel, and spent time in England, France, Israel, Turkey, Nova Scotia, Hawaii and the Alaskan Island Passage.

She is survived by her four children, Joan Wilson of Palo Alto; Gail Pettersen of Mountain View; Bruce Erickson of Twain Harte; and Virginia Ferguson of Palo Alto; brother, Robert Sherwin of British Columbia; 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Voice of the Children, P.O. Box 4489, Mountain View, CA 94040; or Santa Clara Hospice, 1150 Veterans Blvd., Redwood City, CA 94063 (attn: Fran Koperniak).
Arlene Gopen

Arlene Gopen, 59, a longtime resident of Los Altos, died Aug. 4.

Born in New York City, she attended the City College of New York, where she received her bachelor's degree and one master's degree. She later received a second master's degree. She moved to Sunnyvale after marrying her husband, Charles Gopen in 1971. They later settled in Los Altos. Before having children, she worked as an elementary school teacher.

She was active as a volunteer, worked in the travel business, and worked at the Jewish book and gift store Bob and Bob in Palo Alto for the past four years.

She was active at Los Altos Hills' Congregation Beth Am, and most recently served as co-chair of the membership committee.

She was also known as the "roving ambassador" for Jewish Family and Children's Services in Palo Alto, where she volunteered much of her time.

Also a supporter of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, she frequently attended screenings.

She is survived by her children, Joshua Gopen of San Diego, Gabriel Gopen of Sunnyvale and Shaina Gopen of New York; her sister Rosellen Gellar of Los Angeles; brother and sister-in law Howard and Karen Gopen of Palo Alto.

Services have been held.

Donations may be made to the Charles and Arlene Gopen Foundation, c/o J.C.F.S., 2150 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94115.
Robert F. Kallman

Robert F. Kallman, 81, Stanford University professor emeritus, died Aug. 8 at Stanford Medical Center after a lengthy battle with lung disease.

Born May 21, l922, in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was the son of Morris and Eva Cohn Kallman, both first generation immigrants from Eastern Europe. He grew up in Woodmere, N.Y., and attended Hofstra College, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1943.

He served as a medic in Company E of the 260th infantry regiment, 65th Division, in Europe during World War II. After the war, he attended graduate school at New York University, receiving a Ph.D. in biology in 1952. There he met his first wife, Frances "Pat" Green, with whom he moved to the West Coast in 1952.

He worked at the University of California at San Francisco from 1952 to 1956, at which time he joined the faculty at Stanford University as the director of the Radiobiology Division of the Department of Radiology.

In March of l966, his first wife, Pat, unexpectedly fell ill and died. Following plans made long before her death, he then took a sabbatical leave to work in Italy. There he met Ingrid Molhede Christensen. In 1969, he and Ingrid were married.

He remained at Stanford University and conducted research in the field of radiation biology until his retirement in 1992. His research focused mainly on the response of tumors to irradiation. He is perhaps best known for the identification and characterization of the phenomenon of re-oxygenation in irradiated tumors, for his research regarding the time dependence of combined radiation and chemotherapy in tumor treatment, and for establishing the Ph.D. program in Cancer Biology at Stanford Medical School.

He is survived by his loving wife, Ingrid; son, Tim Kallman of Cabin John, Md.; daughter, Robin Kallman of San Francisco; son, Lars Kallman of Stanford; sister, Nancy Rudolph of New York City, N.Y.; brother, Raymond Kallman of Taos, N.M.; two grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Stanford University's Memorial Church on Wednesday, Sept. 24, at 4 p.m. Donations may be made to the Kallman Lectureship, c/o Richard Hoppe, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA 94305.
Jean Lacey

Jean Pratt Taber Lacey, 82, of Palo Alto, died Aug. 11 of heart failure at El Camino Hospital.

Born in Red Wing, Minn., she graduated from Washburn High School in 1939 in Minneapolis.

After graduating from Miss Wood's Kindergarten-Primary Training School in Minneapolis in 1942, she taught at the Grafton Training School in Grafton, N.D. She also taught in private schools in Philadelphia.

She was a resident of Palo Alto for 41 years.

She is survived by her son, Stephen J. Lacey of Palo Alto.

No visitation or services were planned according to her wishes. Her ashes will be buried in Lakewood Cemetary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Memorial gifts are to be given to a favorite charity.
Theda Marie Sapudar

Theda Marie Sapudar, 85, a resident of Palo Alto and former registered nurse in the U.S. Navy, died Aug. 22.

A native of Ohio, she attended Ohio State University. She met her late husband of 51 years while serving as a R.N. in the U.S. Navy. They were married in Guam.

She also worked at the Veterans' Hospital in Palo Alto.

She is survived by her son, Lewis Sapudar Jr. of Cupertino; daughter, Sharon Jones of San Jose; son, Jackson Sapudar of Palo Alto; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in her honor Friday, Sept. 5, at 2:30 p.m. at the Mountain View Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries, 799 Castro St., Mountain View.