Publication Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Deaths
Deaths
(February 25, 2004)
George Ambelang
George W. (Diny) Ambelang, 76, a Palo Alto barber for 49 years, died Feb. 10.
He was a self-employed barber at the New Cardinal Barber Shop in downtown Palo Alto. He was first and foremost a gentleman, quietly going about raising a loving family and satisfying his customers tonsorial needs.
He was always there with a helping hand for those in need. He did so unassumingly, and often amusingly. He was a man of few words, and of many friends.
He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Marian Ambelang; son, Hugh Ambelang; daughter-in-law, Catherine Ambelang; son, Dean Ambelang; daughter, Trish Ambelang; brother, Lyle Ambelang; brother, Jerome Ambelang; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lucinda and George C. Ambelang, and sisters, Phillys Manion and Ruth Kjelson.
A memorial service was held in his honor Feb. 15. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made in his name to the Ronald McDonald House.
Robert Babcock II
Robert Wright Babcock II, 17, a 12-year resident of Menlo Park, died Feb. 18.
He was born Aug. 21, 1986. He was a member of the varsity football and wrestling teams at Menlo-Atherton High School, and the varsity football team at Irvington High School in Fremont, where he had been attending since September 2003.
He participated in Habitat for Humanity, served and stocked food for Second Harvest Food Bank and led the Lyngso Loam Star Trivia team for Project Read. He always had a hug and a smile for everybody.
He is survived by his mother, Katherine Linnemann of Menlo Park; father, Robert Babcock of Fremont; and sister, Katie Babcock of Menlo Park.
A memorial service will be held in his honor Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 4 p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in his memory be made to the Robbie Babcock Memorial Scholarship Fund at Menlo-Atherton High School. Call (650) 328-2406 for more information.
Mary Breen
Mary Breen, 91, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died Jan. 29.
Born in Butte, Mont., on May 16, 1912, she graduated from the University of California Los Angeles in 1934. She came to Palo Alto from Montana in 1948 with her widowed brother, Walter, and helped raise his two children.
She worked for government agencies in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Menlo Park and Palo Alto before retiring. Her last position was as a librarian at the Veterans Administration Hospital. She also volunteered at cultural and environmental centers and took part in programs that provide books to prisoners and the homebound.
She is survived by her nieces, Betsy Breen of Newberg, Ore., Lorrie Morton of Dorset, England, Jeannine Rossi of Guerneville; and a nephew, Tom Breen of Santa Barbara.
Services have been held. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory be made to human rights causes.
Robin Gilbert
Robert Preston (Robin) Gilbert, 81, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died Jan. 18 in Mountain View.
He was born Oct. 21, 1922, in Portland, Ore. A Bay Area resident since 1954, he lived in Palo Alto for more than 20 years. A Navy veteran of World War II, he received his bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and his master's degree from the University of California Berkeley.
He was a licensed clinical social worker, board certified diplomat in clinical social work and a member of NASW. He was employed for 23 years with the Veterans Administration in Menlo Park as the director of a residential program he established for those veterans with substance abuse problems.
He also was employed for 10 years as a part-time counselor with Occupational Health Services. He had a lifelong interest in music, both jazz and classical. He was a devoted theater-goer and traveled extensively during the past 20 years.
He is survived by his wife, Jo Rawlins Gilbert of Sunnyvale; his sister, Charlene Gilbert Payne of Kent, Wash.; and his cat, Tiffany. His remains were donated to the University of California Medical School. Donations to the charity of choice are appreciated by the family.
Edward Gray
Edward E. Gray, 74, a 45-year resident of the Peninsula, died of pneumonia Jan. 16 at the Palo Alto V.A. hospital.
Born in New Orleans, La., he was raised in Jacksonville, Fla., where he attended school and developed a love for sailing. While in the Army Air Force he was stationed in California's Mather Air Force Base, where he met his wife. Upon his discharge, he studied at Stanford University, obtaining a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Electrical Engineering.
He settled in the Bay Area and worked for several companies in his field. He also worked with staff on the Ranger Space Station Project that sent an unmanned flight to the moon. His passion for sailing increased -- demonstrated by the many trophies he won in Bay Area yacht races over the years.
He is survived by three daughters, Susan Gray, Pamela Richmon and Gina Baffo; and three grandchildren.
Bert Growald
Bert Growald, 91, a former Palo Alto resident, died Feb. 8 in Burlington, Vt.
He was born in New York City on Sept. 27, 1912, and earned a bachelor's degree from the City College of New York. He worked as an organic chemist and a chemical engineer/inventor, most recently for Varian Associates in Palo Alto, where he retired in 1977 to pursue real estate interests. At Allied Paper Corp. and Varian he created and patented several new dry process paper photocopy systems. Early in his career he was granted some of the original patents for masking tape under the Tuck Tape brand.
In the 1950s he was active in human relations work and with his wife helped desegregate suburban Park Forest, Ill., when they sold their home to an African-American family.
He was a founding board member of the Palo Alto Mid-Peninsula Health Service and was among the first Miramonte Mental Health Services senior peer counseling volunteers. He was a member of the Anti-Defamation League Central Pacific Region Board of Directors.
He was also a talented silver jewelry sculptor, having learned the skill at Little House, Menlo Park.
He is survived by his son, Paul Growald, and daughter-in-law, Eileen Growald, of Shelburne, Vt., and several grandchildren.
Services were held. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Anti-Defamation League, 823 United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10012; or the Little House Arts Program in Menlo Park.
Beatrice Johnson
Beatrice (Bea) Rashleigh Johnson, 95, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died Feb. 13.
She was born in 1908 in Calumet, Mich. Her father emigrated from Cornwall, England, to work in the mines of northern Michigan.
She was an avid student and received a bachelor's degree in education from Northern State College. She went on to teach at the high school in Ironwood, Mich. There she met her husband-to-be, Reynold B. Johnson, who was teaching science at the same school. Rey invented a "test scoring machine" which used the conductivity of pencil lead to record and score students' answers to test questions.
It was her article in the local paper about this invention that was picked up by a traveling IBM salesman and was brought ultimately to the attention of Tom Watson, the founder of IBM. On the strength of this invention, IBM hired Rey, and the couple moved to Binghamton, N.Y. During this period, she pursued and received a master's degree from Cornell University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
In 1952, she and Rey moved to Palo Alto where Rey opened the first IBM research laboratory on the West Coast in San Jose. She raised the family in Palo Alto and traveled extensively with Rey. They were active supporters of the First Congregational Church in Palo Alto.
She and Rey remained active and independent throughout their lives. She was an avid golfer. The couple were members of the Sharon Heights Country Club and, earlier, the Los Altos Country Club.
After Rey passed away in 1998, she remained in her home in Palo Alto until she suffered a stroke in late 2002. She passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Sharon Heights Rehabilitation Hospital in Menlo Park. She will be interred with her husband in Alta Mesa Memorial Park.
She is survived by a sister, Eleanor; two sons, David and Philip, both of Washington, DC; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Her husband and a daughter, Karen, preceded her in death.
A memorial service has been held. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to the Peninsula Stroke Association, 3801 Miranda Ave., Building 6, Room A-162, Palo Alto, CA 94301.
Helen LaPiere
Helen Halderman LaPiere, 92, a longtime resident of Stanford, died Feb. 9.
Originally from San Francisco, she received a bachelor's degree with distinction in psychology from Stanford University in 1931.
After her marriage in 1934 to the late Richard LaPiere, professor of sociology at Stanford, she worked closely with her husband helping to edit his books and traveling with him to the Stanford overseas campuses in England, Germany and Florence. They traveled widely in Europe and Asia, and at their campus home hosted scholars they met during their travels.
She volunteered first with the American Red Cross as a "Grey Lady," then for many years as a Senior Auxiliary for the Children's Hospital at Stanford in the organization's fundraising activities. She will be missed by her many friends.
Contributions in her memory may be made to the Children's Hospital at Stanford.
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