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Deaths

Jeanne Abbott

Jeanne Hester Hinchman Abbott, 88, a resident of Palo Alto, died Nov. 28.

She was born in Oakland and grew up in San Jose. She graduated from Stanford University, where she was a member of the Gamma Phi sorority and majored in political science, in 1944.

She married her high school sweetheart Richard Edson ("Dick") Abbott in 1945.

During World War II she lived in San Francisco with her girlfriends and worked in the furs department at J. Magnin Co. After the war, her husband obtained a B.S. in electrical engineering from U.C. Berkeley. He pursued a career with General Electric in Schenectady and Detroit before the young family returned to the Bay Area.

In 1952, the Abbotts bought their first home in Menlo Park. In 1962, they moved to Palo Alto, where they raised their four children, and Dick Abbott founded Abbott Engineering, selling electronics components to the growing high-tech industries of Silicon Valley.

She was a member of the Stanford Committee for Art and docent at the Stanford Museum. She was active in several civic and arts organizations, including the Palo Alto Garden Club, Woman's Club of Palo Alto, Contemporary Collectors Circle and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She was an avid world traveler and tennis player. She and Dick were among the "Magnificent Seven" founders of the Foothills Tennis and Swimming Club.

Her laugh, her stories, her charm, and her love of people will not be forgotten, loved ones said.

She is survived by her children Carol Abbott Harris of San Francisco, Christine Abbott Stokes of Ashland, Ore., Priscilla Abbott of Sacramento, and Richard Edson ("Hap") Abbott Jr. of Palo Alto; 10 grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

Memorial services, with reception to follow, will be held Friday, Dec. 17, at 1 p.m. at All Saints Parish, 555 Waverley Street at Hamilton, Palo Alto.