Publication Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Deaths
Deaths
(March 10, 2004) William E. Brigham
William E. Brigham, 75, a professor emeritus of petroleum engineering at Stanford University, died Feb. 15.
His research into the physical mechanisms of recovery from oil reservoirs was highly regarded by his colleagues worldwide.
Born April 1, 1929, in Murphysboro, Ill., he received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University in 1950. A year later he was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps and stationed on Treasure Island in San Francisco. There he met his future wife, Carol Cobb. They were married in 1954.
From 1956 to 1962 he pursued his graduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma while working for Continental Oil Company in Ponca City, Okla. He earned a doctoral degree in 1962 and remained with Conoco until 1968.
In 1971 he joined Stanford's department of petroleum engineering and served as its associate chair from 1979 to 1990. He served as the principal adviser of 25 doctoral, three engineering and 37 master's students.
On Feb. 9, the department inaugurated the Brigham Laboratory in the Green Earth Science building to honor him and his contributions to the university.
He was the recipient of the John Franklin Carll Award and the Improved Oil Recovery Pioneer Award from the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He also received the Homer H. Lowry Award for Excellence in Fossil Energy Research from the U.S. Department of Energy.
He wrote more than 250 papers and technical reports and was an honorary member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers.
He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Carol; daughters, Nancy Blattel, Laurie Jester and Sarah Fletcher; sons, Bill Brigham and David Brigham; 10 grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the William E. Brigham Fund, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 or to the American Cancer Society.
A memorial will be held Thursday, March 11, at 2 p.m. at Stanford Memorial Church.
Darrell Carey
Darrell Carey, 83, a longtime volunteer with the Cantor Arts Center, died Feb. 24.
Born in El Paso, Texas, she graduated from El Paso High and attended the University of Texas. In 1945 she married a naval officer, Richard Carey, whose postings included such memorable locations as the Naval Academy and Pearl Harbor.
They moved to Palo Alto in 1959. The mother of seven, she began her volunteer work with the PTA, Little League, scouting and the Children's Health Council. In the mid-60s she joined the board of the Stanford YWCA.
In 1969 she became a docent with the Stanford Committee for Art. She took a special interest in African art and helped develop the museum's introductory program, which she toured in the public schools.
As two-time chair of Treasure Market, she directed the event to support art acquisitions. She also served as chair of the Membership Board and the Travel Advisory Committee, was a member of the search committee for the director of the museum, and took an active part in the museum's renovation and repair campaign. Subsequent to her own tenure, she served as an adviser to the Board of Governors.
She volunteered with Stanford's travel/study program. In addition to more than 10 trips with that program, she and her husband traveled to Africa, China, Russia, Europe, Central and South Americas, and Alaska. Family vacations were often spent touring the national parks of the west.
In 1991 she was presented the Stanford Associates Award for exemplary continuing volunteer service to Stanford University. She was honored with a Lifetime of Achievement award from Avenidas Senior Center in 2000.
She is survived by her seven children, Michael, Scott, Chris, Ann, Chuck, Kate and Jean; and 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in her honor Monday, March 15, at 2 p.m. at the Cantor Arts Center, Stanford. Donations in her memory may be made to the Cantor Arts Center.
Donna L. Donovan
Donna Lorraine Donovan, 81, a 50-year resident of Menlo Park, died Feb. 26.
Born Feb. 23, 1923 in Huron, S.D., she was one of three children.
She attended Bothell High School in Washington and was a member of the school's marching band, which won first place in the annual Rose Festival in Portland, Ore. When she was 16, she was offered the opportunity to play the flute with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. She then took piano lessons for one year and got a musical/academic scholarship.
She graduated from the Radford School for Girls in El Paso, Texas, in 1940. For the next two years she attended Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., where she was class president her freshman year. At the end of her second year she earned her teaching certificate.
She taught school for a few months until Sept. 28, 1942, when she married John Donovan, whom she met in 1939.
The couple, married 61 years, had three daughters and one son.
She is survived by her daughter, Sandra Lee Wenning of Cary, N.C.; daughter, Judith Ann Thomson of Maui, Hawaii; daughter, Linda Louise Olson of Woodinville, Wash.; son, Michael Dennis Donovan of Dallas, Texas; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Pathways Health and Hospice, 201 San Antonio Road, Suite 135, Mountain View, CA 94040.
Edwin Lee Dunckel
Edwin Lee Dunckel, 77, a Palo Alto Little League and Babe Ruth baseball coach for more than 10 years, died Feb. 26.
Born Jan. 28, 1927, in Redwood City, he was a sportsman, mountain man, storyteller and musician.
He had a lifelong love of hunting, fishing and the outdoors. His fishing expeditions lead him to the Klamath River in Northern California. He fished countless western rivers, the ocean, and took annual treks to Nimpo Lake, Canada. He is fondly known as "The Dunk" in the San Francisco Examiners' outdoor column, as written by Tom Steinstra.
He was considered to be one of the best pitchers of his Sequoia High School baseball team in Redwood City. He played for a local semi-pro baseball team.
He then continued his love of the game as he coached Little League and Babe Ruth baseball in Palo Alto. He was a master craftsman in the sheet metal trade for 37 years.
He is survived by his loving wife, Ruth Dunckel; nine children, Terry Dunckel, Stephen Dunckel, Dan Dunckel, Carolyn Bechtel, Alan Dunckel, Marian Donley, Marcia Thompson, Leland Montell and Earl Dunckel; five step-children, Kathleen Stewart, Alice Andrus, Meg Bozarth, Elizabeth Nicolas and Raymond Eshom; 28 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and his beloved dog Biff "The Biffer."
He was a proud veteran of World War II. In lieu of flowers, please send cash donations via check to "Shriners Hospitals for Children" and mail to Shriners Hospital-Northern California, 2425 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817.
William "Bill" French
William "Bill" Robert French, 84, a 35-year Palo Alto resident, died Feb. 26.
Born Sept. 12, 1919, in Birmingham, Ala., he married Joyce Hudson in 1946.
He served in the U.S. Air Corps during World War II and was stationed in England. He was a life member of the Masonic Lodge in Birmingham and he loved the San Francisco 49ers and music. He was a Presbyterian.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce French; son William Lee French of Palo Alto; daughter-in-law Christine French of Nipomo, Calif.; sister Jane French of South Hampton, Pa.' And two grandsons, Christopher and Eric French of Nipomo.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the American Lung Association.
J. Robert Hammond
J. Robert Hammond, 89, a longtime Palo Alto resident, has died.
Born in Ontario, Canada, he grew up in South Bend, Ind. As a Boy Scout, he ushered for the Notre Dame football games in the old Cartier Stadium when Knute Rockne was coach. During his high school years he was the regular pianist for the local Rotary Club. In high school and college he was accompanist for the Studebaker Chorus and the Purdue Musical Organizations.
He graduated from Purdue with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1936 and went to work for the Indiana and Michigan Electric Company. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1941 and commissioned as second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps, served in the European Theater of Operations in 1944 and 1945, achieving the rank of major.
He joined the Reclamation Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior eventually becoming the assistant regional director in Sacramento, Calif. He was a founding member of the North American Power Systems Interconnection Committee.
In a parallel career, he was minister of Music at the Park Hill Methodist Church in Denver and was appointed to the Methodist Hymnal Committee, which produced a new hymnal for Methodism in 1964.
Since retirement, he had been a fulltime volunteer for the Foundation for Global Community in Palo Alto, having moved here in 1978.
He is survived by his wife, Pixie; four children, John, Paul, Laurie and Mark; and four grandchildren.
Arvin T. Henderson
Arvin T. Henderson, 84, a local pediatrician for more than 35 years, died Jan. 21.
He attended Indiana University, where he received his bachelor's and medical degrees. After graduation he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Between wars, he completed pediatric residencies in New York City and Detroit. He was commander of a U.S. Naval hospital which served the Marines behind the lines in Korea during the Korean War.
After leaving the Navy, he opened his pediatric practice on Welch Road near the Stanford University Medical Center. He was a member of the Stanford University Hospital clinical faculty for many years.
After retiring in 1990, he pursued his interest in genealogical research and was also an avid traveler.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Julia Henderson; children, Arvin T. Henderson, Jr., Philip Henderson, Susan Henderson Cannon and Janice H. Lahr; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Doris May O'Brien
Doris May O'Brien, 81, former "first lady" of Menlo School and College, died Jan. 24.
Born Jan. 29, 1922, in Santa Barbara, she met her future husband, Dick O'Brien, when she was 14 years old. They were married in 1943 and moved to the Bay Area after World War II. For the next 25 years, she concentrated on raising their three daughters and making a home for the family.
In 1970, she and her husband became the "first lady" and president of Menlo School and College. Over the next 17 years, she embraced the college community, working with students, parents, faculty and staff. She was the school's most enthusiastic cheerleader and served as a friend and mentor to many students.
After her husband's death in 1989, she continued to work in the community volunteering at Stanford Hospital.
She was known for her ability to entertain and was known as "Gram" to friends and family.
She is survived by Susan Cretarolo and her husband, Jon Cretarolo, of Bainbridge Island, Wisc.; Cindy Ford and her husband, John Ford, of Los Altos; Sally O'Brien of Menlo Park; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
James N. Rosse
James N. Rosse, 72, Stanford University's provost from 1984 to 1992, died Feb. 16.
He oversaw the budget crises of the early 1990s, the $1.2 billion Centennial Campaign, the creation of the Stanford Institute for International Studies, a university committee study on minority issues and the redevelopment of science facilities on campus.
Born Nov. 4, 1931, in Sidney, Neb., he attended Princeton University before earning bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in economics from the University of Minnesota. He taught there before coming to Stanford in 1965 as an assistant professor of economics. He also served as the first director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, chairman of the department of economics and associate dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences.
He was an expert in communication industries, industrial organization and public policy and was instrumental in rebuilding the department of economics. In 1976 he won the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching in the School of Humanities and Sciences and was a Ford Faculty Fellow in 1969-70.
After leaving Stanford in April 1992, he became president and chief operating officer of the media company Freedom Communications, Inc. in Irvine. The company owns the Orange County Register. He retired in 1999.
He is survived by his wife, Janice Grimminger Rosse; daughter, Anne Rosse of Irvine; sons, James J. Rosse of Omaha, Neb. and Stuart Rosse of Naples, Fla.; parents, James C. and Shirley Rosse of Omaha; and six grandchildren.
Elizabeth F. Stedman
Elizabeth Fisher Stedman, 93, a longtime Palo Alto resident, died Feb. 9.
She was born May 19, 1910, in the manse of the Presbyterian Church in Mendocino, Calif., where her father was the minister.
When she was 5, her family moved to Gilroy where her father continued his work as a minister. In 1919 he moved the family to Palo Alto where he became a medical doctor.
When she was 13, her mother died from tuberculosis and her father died the following year in a railway crossing accident.
She and her brother were raised by their aunt, Edna Garrigues, in Palo Alto.
She graduated from Palo Alto High School and Pomona College and then taught elementary school in Mountain View. She married Marcus Stedman in 1936 and the couple lived in Palo Alto and raised three children. She moved in 1990 to The Sequoias in Portola Valley.
She was a longtime supporter of the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. She had a lifelong fascination with the stock market and spent many years studying and tracking it.
She is survived by a son, Jon Marcus Stedman, and his wife, Zarina, of San Francisco; daughter, Janet Stedman Gibson and her husband, Lay James Gibson, of Tucson, Ariz.; daughter, Jean Stedman Robertson of Palo Alto; and three grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, 770 Welch Road, Suite 350, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Indicate that the gift is for the Elizabeth F. Stedman Fund for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.
Toi Lonnie Young
Toi Lonnie Young, 83, the retired owner of Young's Florist in Palo Alto, died Feb. 24.
She was born Feb. 12, 1921, in Salinas, Calif., and was the second of six children. When she was 2 she returned with her mother to the Yee family village in Taishan, China, where she was raised and educated. She returned to Salinas at age 16 and attended public school and later worked at the Salinas Cannery.
In November 1942, she married Fred Young of Gilroy. Two weeks after they were married, Fred was drafted into the Army. She went to work at the Marin Naval Shipyard in Sausalito and was one of the first Chinese-American "Rosie the Riveters."
She and her husband opened Young's Florist and Nursery in 1949. She owned and operated the flower shop for 52 years until she retired in February 2001.
She was a founding member of the Young Family Association of San Francisco and the Stanford Area Chinese Club and a member of the Chinese Community Center of the Peninsula.
She is survived by three sons, Fred Young Jr., Ken Young and Gordon Young; daughter, Wanda Ching; daughters-in-law, Jean Young and Kathy Young; six grandchildren and four brothers.
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