April 27, 2005

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Michael D. Conley, 59, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died April 10 in Tucson, Ariz.

He was born May 6, 1945, in San Francisco and raised in Kansas City, Mo.

He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri in 1966 and his medical degree from Kansas University in Kansas City, Kan., in 1970.

After an internship at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, he served two years in the Navy in Okinawa, Japan, and Alameda Naval Air Station. He then did a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland. From 1983 until his death he was a staff physician at Kaiser Redwood City. He planned to retire on his 60th birthday, May 6, 2005.

He enjoyed wine tasting and traveling to exotic destinations, particularly with his daughters.

He is survived by his daughter, Melanie Conley of South Lake Tahoe; daughter, Caroline Conley of Pittsburgh, Pa.; mother, Sally Conley of Tucson, Ariz.; sister, Mary Ellen Conley of Memphis, Tenn.; brother, John Conley of Chicago, Ill.; brother, William Conley of Dusseldorf, Germany; one niece and three nephews.

Jean Flocks

Jean Harris Flocks, 81, a former resident of Palo Alto, died April 5 at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital in Grass Valley, Calif.

She was born Nov. 12, 1923, in San Francisco to Frank and Mae Rosenthal. She served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. A graduate of Washington High School in San Francisco, she attended UC Berkeley. She married Milton Flocks in San Francisco in 1946. She was an artist and enjoyed cooking and collecting antiques.

She is survived by her son, Thomas Flocks of Nevada City, Nev.; son, Franklin Flocks of Palo Alto; son, Reed Flocks of Santa Cruz; daughter, Sally Flocks of Atlanta, Ga.; sister, Enid Fuller of Tulare, Calif.; and two grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Cancer Center or the Nevada County Animal Shelter.

Services were held.

Bryce Fluckiger

Bryce Carl Fluckiger, 51, died April 15 after a six-year battle with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease).

He was born on New Year's Eve, 1956, at Stanford. He graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School and was a Lockheed employee for 25 years. He was a member of the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Church and grew up in Menlo Park. In 1984, he married Leslie Bloomfield and they had two children.

He was a skilled mechanic who loved to work and ride motorcycles and jeeps. Some of his happiest times were four-wheeling trips to Rubicon with his close friends. When he no longer had use of his arms and hands, he managed to drive his Jeep with foot controls. With the help of family and friends, he met challenges with humor and determination. His hero, Chris Draayer, cheered him in times of despair.

He is survived by his children, Jennifer and David; ex-wife and friend, Leslie Bloomfield; parents, Arnold and Nadine Cordingley Fluckiger; brother, Laine; sister, Ann Larsen; sister, Allison Lyle; sister, Barbara Nelson; sister, Dona Haacke; brothers-in-law, Paul, Brad, Mike and Charles; and sister-in-law, Cindi.

Services were held April 22 at the LDS Chapel in Menlo Park. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a local ALS chapter.

J. Myron Jacobstein

J. Myron Jacobstein, 85, a former Stanford law librarian and professor emeritus of law, died March 25 in Danville, Calif.

Born in Detroit, he earned a bachelor's degree from Wayne State University in 1946. After graduating from Columbia University with a master's degree in library science in 1950, he enrolled at Chicago-Kent College of Law and earned his J.D. there in 1952. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1953.

He was an influential scholar on legal bibliography. Among his published works are "The Fundamentals of Legal Research" and "The Rejected: Sketches of the 26 Men Nominated for the Supreme Court but Not Confirmed by the Senate," both of which he co-authored with Roy M. Mersky, a law professor at the University of Texas-Austin.

He also received the American Association of Law Libraries Distinguished Service Award in 1987. The award was in recognition of his lifetime contribution to law librarianship and to the association itself.

He is survived by his wife, Belle; his children, Bennett and Ellen; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service was held March 30 at the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living.

Carol Lovell

Carol Grace Lovell, 63, a volunteer with the Filoli Estate and the Allied Arts Guild, died April 9.

Born Feb. 26, 1942, in Washington, D.C., she graduated from Holton Arms School, class of 1959. Following her graduation from Randolph Macon Woman's College in 1963, she received her master's degree from the University of Maryland in 1972.

She was employed by NSA, HUD Office of Inspector General in San Francisco, and the Stanford University Office of Development, School of Engineering.

She was a member of the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Maryland.

Her interests were wide and varied and included ballet, music, history, cooking and outdoor activities. She traveled widely, hiking throughout Europe and England. She was fluent in Russian, French and German.

Donations in her memory can be made to Friends of Allied Arts, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025; or to Pathways Hospice Foundation, 485 N. Mary, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Barbara J. Marshall

Barbara J. Marshall, 76, a lifetime resident of Palo Alto, died April 19.

She was born Jan. 8, 1929, at Stanford Hospital to John and Mabel Cabbage. After graduating from Palo Alto High School, she attended San Jose State University. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. She enjoyed playing tennis and golf.

She was preceded in death by her son, Jeffrey Norris. She is survived by her sons, Chip and Greg Norris of Los Altos; sister, Nancy, and her husband, Ed Oblander, of Palo Alto; and two grandchildren.

Funeral services were held April 26.

Laura Ann Meredith

Laura Ann Meredith, 4-months old, died suddenly and unexpectedly April 5.

She was born Nov. 22, 2004. Her father, Mark, grew up in Palo Alto and graduated from Palo Alto High School.

She was loved and cherished by her parents, Mark and Nicole; her sister, Emily; her brother, Matt; her paternal grandparents, Joann and Sam Meredith; her maternal grandparents, Sheila Delimont, and her husband, Bob Neubert; her maternal grandfather, Bob Lee; her aunt and uncle, Paige and Bruce Fine; and her aunt, Jennifer Lee.

A funeral Mass was said for her in Orinda. In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations in her name to The SIDS Alliance of Northern California, 1547 Palo Verdes Mall, Box 301, Walnut Creek, CA 94597-2228.

Renee Riley

The Rev. Renee Riley, 45, a former moderator of the Presbytery of San Jose and a longtime church leader in the Bay Area, died April 6 of complications resulting from a brain tumor.

She was a native of Santa Maria, and was well known within church circles for her work on cultural issues in Central America. In 1987, her church sent her on a study tour of Nicaragua during the Contra revolt. Even though at first many of the people regarded her with suspicion, she was able to win their trust as an individual U.S. citizen doing research for a just cause.

In 2002, she and her family took a sabbatical to Guatemala, where they lived for two months to examine the lifestyle.

As a minister, she put great emphasis on mission and visitation work. She was ordained in June 1986 and served as a minister in Bellevue and Mercer Island, Wash.; Alberta, Canada; and in San Jose (at the now defunct Christ United Presbyterian Church). In 2001, she served as substitute minister at Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley. She served as moderator of the Presbytery of San Jose in 1998 and taught classes at San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. She received her undergraduate degree from Whitworth college, her master's in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and her doctorate in divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

She is survived by her husband, Ed Riley of Stanford; two sons, David, 16, and Noah,7; a daughter, Hannah, 11; her parents, Al and Marge Gumb of Laguna Beach, Calif.; and two sisters, Diane Gumb of San Clemente and Pamela Strahie of Maui, Hawaii.

The family prefers that memorials be donations to the Renee Riley Scholarship Fund, Whitworth College, 300 W. Hawthorne Road, No. 1903, Spokane, WA 99251.

Henry C. "Cecil" Taylor

Henry C. "Cecil" Taylor, 82, a resident of Mountain View, died March 24.

He was born April 12, 1922, to Ida Mae Jackson-Taylor and Cecil George Taylor in Minneapolis, Minn.

During World War II he traveled the country working for the railroad as a Pullman porter and dining-car attendant, meeting many troops on their way to the state of Washington prior to deployment overseas. He eventually migrated west to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1948 to work with United Airlines and Railway Express.

He became an accomplished ping-pong player, photographer and drummer, and enjoyed playing with many of the great jazz musicians and artists. With his given talent, he was active in performing with several theater groups, including Comedia Theatre, Redwood City Community Players and Palo Alto Players until the late '70s.

He retired in 1983 from the City of Mountain View after 26 years of service as a fleet maintenance technician and parks maintenance worker.

His passions were collecting die-cast model cars and seal figurines, listening to music and watching videos. His love and passion for the arts will continue to live through his family and all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon Taylor of Mountain View; sister, Kay Frances of Minneapolis, Minn.; sons, Jerry Reed of Castro Valley, Henry Taylor of Minneapolis, Minn., Kim, and daughter-in-law, Mary Jo Taylor, of Campbell, Craig, and daughter-in-law, Karen Taylor, of Gold Hill, Ore.; daughter, Kelye Allen of San Ramon; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made in his name to Pathways Hospice Foundation, 585 N. Mary Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085.

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