Deaths Deaths (November 09, 2005)

Mildred "Millie" Cage

Mildred "Millie" Bordsen Engelman Cage, 88, a resident of Palo Alto, died Oct. 4 of heart failure.

She was born a first-generation American in 1917 and raised on a farm near Sutter, Calif., and was the child of Norwegian immigrants. After attending Samuel Merritt Hospital's nursing program in Oakland, she earned her degree as a registered nurse.

Later, she found work at Franklin Hospital in San Francisco, where she met and married Dr. Francis L. Engelman. Together they raised a family of four in Palo Alto and Los Angeles.

In Palo Alto, she was an active member of the YWCA, loved to read and play bridge, and continued learning by taking various courses in many different subjects. She was remarried to her second husband, the late John M. Cage, who worked for Hewlett-Packard Co., and moved near Yuba City in 1974.

She joined her husband in his projects involving the hybridization of amaryllis flowers and the restoration of clarinets. After his passing, she returned to Palo Alto, where she lived out the rest of her life in Channing House.

She is survived by two sons, Donald Engelman of Yale University and Dr. Eric Engelman of Napa; two daughters, Marlys Keoshian of Palo Alto and Myra Lerch of Chico; a sister, Thea Link of Walnut Creek; a brother, Gordon Bordsen of Yuba City; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A memorial gathering was held Oct. 22.

James Walden Kennedy

James Walden "Jim" Kennedy, 65, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died in his home Oct. 5 after a bout with liver cancer.

He was born in Boston, Mass., in 1940, but grew up in California. He graduated from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and served a stint in the Peace Corps from 1962 to 1964, where he taught K-12 students in Liberia. There he met his first wife of 30 years, Geraldine Marcos of Los Angeles, with whom he later started a small publishing company called Clover Park Press.

He started his professional career in southern California, where he lived most of his life, earning a master's degree in film production at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 1984 to 1992, he lent his talent to documentary work for Los Angeles television stations KCET and KCBS. The documentaries he produced highlighted the plight of marginalized segments of society and earned him six Emmy awards and a Columbia-Dupont Journalism Award for his work with the KCBS investigations team.

He eventually retired from television work after being afflicted with hepatitis C and became a volunteer for a hospice. It was around this time that he served on the board of the California Council of the Humanities, through which he met his second wife, Suzanne Abel, the founding director of the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. A year after she moved to Palo Alto, he followed in 1995.

He continued to volunteer through Pathways Home and Hospice, going to the houses of the terminally ill and helping them in any way. At San Jose State University, he earned a second master's degree in the field of social work and served out the rest of his life as a bereavement counselor for families and individuals who had just lost friends or family members.

He enjoyed going out with his wife to watch movies, keeping in touch with current events, reading books, traveling and tuning in to an eclectic array of music. He had an affinity for the blues, bluegrass and world music.

Along with his wife he is survived by his sons, Alex Kennedy of Caracas, Venezuela, and Peter Kennedy of Los Angeles; a daughter, Laura Kennedy of San Diego; a stepdaughter, Marina Vidor of London; two sisters, Marianna Kennedy of Albuquerque, N.M., and Katy Kennedy of Portland, Maine; and his mother, Nancy Kennedy of Santa Barbara.

A memorial service will be held Dec. 1 at 1 p.m. at the Lucie Stern Community Center. Those wishing to make donations may give them to Friends of Liberia, 4300 16th St. NW, Washington D.C., 20011; or to Pathways Home Health & Hospice, 585 N. Mary Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085. For additional information about the memorial, e-mail jwkmemorial@yahoo.com.

Rose Charney Rosenfield

Rose Charney Rosenfield, 97, a resident of Palo Alto, died Oct. 16 of heart failure due to a longtime bout with arterial sclerosis.

She was born in New York City, N.Y., in 1908. After receiving an education and graduating from various New York public schools, she began work with the Lane Bryant Company, eventually ending up in their orders department. It was then in 1935 that she met her husband, the late Abbey Rosenfield, and moved to New Britian, Conn., where he became the owner of an appliance store and she became a homemaker.

After her husband's death in 1992, she moved to Lytton Gardens in Palo Alto, where she lived out the rest of her life. She enjoyed interacting with people and was described by some as a bit of a "character." Also, she enjoyed watching old movies from the '30s and '40s, and relished dancing despite never doing it professionally.

She is survived by her son, Howard Randall of Palo Alto; a granddaughter; three nephews and one niece.

She will be interred in New Britain. A memorial service in Lytton Gardens is pending. The family asks those who would like to memorialize her life to make a donation to their favorite charity.

Elizabeth R. Rothschild

Elizabeth R. Rothschild, 91, a resident of Menlo Park, died Nov. 1.

She was born in San Francisco and lived the later part of her life in Menlo Park. She attended Miss Burke's School of San Francisco and Mills College.

She was involved in numerous charitable organizations including the Children's Health Council, Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, San Francisco Jewish Family Service and the Allied Arts Guild, where she especially enjoyed being involved with the gift shop. She liked to organize events for nonprofit organizations and work with challenged children. She was an avid bridge player and liked to play golf.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert B. Rothschild. She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, Peter, and his wife, Collette, of Palo Alto, and Bob, and his wife, Sara, of Holderness, N.H.; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A remembrance with family and friends will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Family Service Agency of San Mateo County, 24 2nd Ave., San Mateo, CA 94401.

Jane Wright

Jane Wright, 87, a former resident of Palo Alto, died Oct. 14 in Everett, Wash., after a short illness.

She was born in Pawhuska, Okla., in 1918. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Kentucky. As a young woman, one of her favorite activities was attending the Kentucky Derby and playing trombone in her high-school band.

During World War II she served her country as a member of the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), acting as a flight controller at a naval base in Memphis, Tenn., where she married her first husband, Navy pilot Jack Brumbaugh. She came to love her life with him in the Navy, because of which they made frequent moves to ocean towns in Florida, Virginia, California and Panama, where her daughter, Jeanne, was born.

She later moved to Palo Alto to work for Merrill Lynch. After her retirement, she married Richard Wright and continued traveling on many long vacations. She lived out her remaining time in Mill Creek, Wash., where she was a resident since 1991. She had a great mind for interior decorating and was a good cook.

She is survived by her daughter, Jeanne; her brother, Robert; a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters; and 14 great-nieces and nephews.

A memorial of her life will be announced for later in the year.

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