Deaths Deaths (May 25, 2005)

Dorothy Gray

Dorothy Elizabeth Gray, 87, a resident of Mountain View for more than 42 years, died May 5.

She was active for years in the Los Altos United Methodist Church and was a talented painter in the Los Altos Art Club.

She grew up in Oakland, Calif., and graduated from Stanford University in 1939 with a major in Chemistry. She met her husband, Gardner, at Stanford and they married in 1941 and lived initially in San Francisco.

Her career began as a lab technician in a medical office, but this career was interrupted bringing up her three children Dulcie, Millie and Jay. The family moved to Menlo Park in 1948 and later to Mountain View in 1962. She embarked upon a second career in the late 1950s, as she became a primary-school teacher in the Menlo Park School District. She taught school for 12 years and retired from this profession in 1971.

She and her family loved the outdoors and spent summers at their self-built summer home in Felton. She had a passion for swimming, gardening, hiking and fix-it projects. She loved dogs with independent dispositions and could look past their transgressions.

She and her husband traveled extensively during their retirement years and enjoyed the company of their dear friends and neighbors. She was the emotional center of the family and will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her.

She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Gardner Gray; her daughter, Millicent Gray of Lodi; her son, Gardner "Jay" Gray Jr., and his wife, Beatrice M. Netter, of Portola Valley; two grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Dulcie Ann Gray.

The family plans a memorial service in the near future at the Los Altos United Methodist Church and requests donations to your favorite charity in her honor and memory.
Alice Gruber

Alice Gruber, 90, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died May 14.

She was born June 26, 1914, in Vienna, Austria. For many years she lived in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Palo Alto in 1975.

She was a longtime member of Temple Beth Jacob in Redwood City.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, James Gruber. She is survived by her son, Joseph, and his wife, Suzanne; son, Gary, and his wife, Linda; five grandchildren and one great-grandson.

The family asks that memorial donations be made to Temple Beth Jacob Cares Committee, c/o Temple Beth Jacob, 1550 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA 94061. Services were held May 17 at Temple Beth Jacob.
Philip Palmer

Philip Lincoln Palmer, 69, a longtime former resident of Palo Alto, died April 13 in Reno, Nev.

He lived in or near Palo Alto from 1936 to 1990, and all of his children attended school in Palo Alto. He was born in San Jose, Calif. His father, Philip Louis Palmer, and mother, Pauline Palmer, were vaudeville era entertainers (Chapelle and Carlton) and as a young child he traveled extensively with them as they toured the globe.

His parents owned and operated the Sunnyvale Motel on El Camino Real beginning in the 1940s for many years. After high school, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and went to Korea. He was a true entrepreneur and owned several businesses over his lifetime including Swiss Chalet in Boulder Creek, Palmer's Tree Service, Cinnebar Lounge in San Jose and The Abbay Lounge in Sparks, Nev.

He is survived by his son, Philip "Kookie" Palmer of Mountain View; daughter, Evelyn Lynn Palmer of Reno, Nev.; daughter, Dori Gregory of Prescott, Ariz.; brother, Mike "George" Palmer of Avon Park, Fla.; niece, Elizabeth "Marilyn" Palmer of San Francisco; three granddaughters and four grandsons.

He was a lover of dogs, so in lieu of flowers the family prefers donations to the Palo Alto Humane Society (PAHS), P.O. Box 60715, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
Patricia Wolfsohn

Patricia Kay Wolfsohn, 55, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died May 4.

She was born in San Francisco and lived in Palo Alto most of her life.

She is survived by her sister, Karen Lewis, and her husband, Jim, of Palo Alto; sister, Diane Preinitz, and her husband, Herb, of Mt. Prospect, Ill., nephews, Robert and Tony Van Fredenberg; and niece, Jennifer Preinitz.

Graveside services were held May 22 at Home of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Colma.

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