United States High School Yearbooks by County
Arlene Hunt
A celebration of life was held Sept. 16 in Danville for Arlene Hunt, who died Sept. 10. She was 62.
Mrs. Hunt, a graduate of the University of the Pacific and a long-time Danville resident, was born in St. Helena in 1939. She was a 30-year employee of Pacific Bell before her retirement in 1991. In addition, she was a volunteer for the town of Danville, the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Museum of San Ramon Valley and served as a Contra Costa County election officer as well as parttime staff member of the Eugene O’Neil foundation.
She is survived by her daughters, Diane Cox of Madera and Shannon Zamczyk of Redwood City; sons Bryan Hunt of Ceres and Christopher Hunt of Brentwood; her mother, Edna Cox, of St. Helena; a brother, Ron Cox, of Lake Berryessa; and 11 grandchildren.
Her husband of 32 years, Al, died in February.
Memorial donations may be made to Susan G. Koman, The Koman Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265, or to Hope Hospice, 6500 Dublin Blvd, Suite 100, Dublin, CA 94568.
Ellen W. MacVeagh
A funeral service was held Sept. 7 in New Hampshire for former St. Helena resident Ellen Warder Mac-Veagh, who died Sept. 3. She was 92.
Mrs. MacVeagh, the wife of the late Francis MacVeagh, was a noted horsewoman and rancher who moved to New Hampshire in 1996.
She is survived by her daughter, Ellen Rublee, of New Hampshire; a brother, Gray Thoron, of New York; a sister, Faith Knapp, of New York; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Burial was in the Grace Episcopal Church Cemetery in St. Helena.
Memorial donations may be made to the Napa County 4-H Council, 1710 Soscol Ave., No. 4, Napa, CA 94559; or to Emmanuel Church, P.O. Box 499, Dublin, NH 03444.
Louise Thomson Whalin
Graveside services were held Wednesday for Louise Thomson Whalin, who died Sept. 13 following a short illness. She was 83.
Mrs. Whalin, born in Pineland, Texas, in 1918, was graduated from the secretarial and business department of what is now Southwestern Adventist University. She worked in Adventist conference or mission offices in Tennessee, Northern California and Hawaii before coming to the Napa Valley and working at the Pacific Union Conference office from 1976 to 1979.
At the time of her death she was living in Paso Robles, where she had moved to be closer to her daughter, Karen, and foster daughter, Jo.
In addition to her daughters, Mrs. Whalin is survived by a stepson, Melvyn Whalin; sisters Julia Snyder and Lienda Jones; sisters-in-law Evelyn Thomson and Emma Drake; six step-grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband, Edward, her brother, George, and a sister, Lucille.
Arrangements directed by Richard Pierce Funeral Service, Napa.
Helen Ransome
Services were held Monday, Sept. 23 at St. Helena Cemetery for Mrs. Helen Ransome who passed away Sept. 18. She was 86.
Mrs. Ransome was born to Leo and Kathryn Ash in Estherville, Iowa.
Mrs. Ransome is survived by a daughter, Joan Rombauer of St. Helena; two grandchildren, Sheana Rombauer Blackwood and K.R. Rombauer; and five great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Phil Ransome, who passed away earlier this year.
Donations may be made in her memory to Hospice of the Napa Valley, 3299 Claremont Way, Napa, CA 94558.
Arrangements were made by Morrison Funeral Chapel.
Nancy Fuller Wood
A private memorial will be held at a later date for Nancy Fuller Wood, who died at her Napa home Sept. 15 after a lengthy illness. She was 72.
Ms. Wood was born in San Francisco in 1929 to Maybelle and Paul Wood, and was graduated from Burlingame High School and Ogontz Junior College in Pennsylvania. She grew up riding horses at the old Gymkhana Club in San Mateo and never lost her love for them. For many years she and Dr. Del Weaver raised thoroughbred mares and foals on their ranch in Chiles Valley, for which she served as president and director of sales.
Ms. Wood was on the board of the Northern California Thoroughbred Association for 12 years.
In retirement she cared for her garden and her cats and dogs until a paralyzing stroke five years ago.
Ms. Wood is survived by two sisters, Peggy Mitchell of Napa and Betsy Brooks of Sun Valley, Idaho; nieces Mary Keilman of Napa, Betsy Anne Latham of Lorena, Texas, Nancy Jane Diaz of of Hamilton, Texas, Jan Marriott of Smith, Nev., and Katie Eudy of McKinney, Texas; two nephews, Joel Shawver of Stephenville, Texas, and Anthony Mitchell of Napa, all of whom came to visit Ms. Wood in the final weeks of her life.
Two of her nieces and Dr. Weaver were at her bedside at the time of her death.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Napa Valley, 3299 Claremont Way, Napa, CA 94558; or to the Humane Society of Napa County, P.O. Box 695, Napa, CA 94558.
John Campbell Britton
A memorial service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church in St. Helena Friday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m. for John Campbell Britton, 63, who died at McKinney Creek Ranch in Klamath River Sept. 2 with family and friends by his side.
McKinney Creek Ranch was where the longtime St. Helena resident created and built a small purebred cattle operation over the past nine years.
Mr. Britton was born in Ely, Nev., and reared in Palo Alto. He lived in Oakland for many years, where he met and married his first wife, Ruth Bauman Britton. He graduated from The Califor-nia College of Arts and Crafts in 1965 and earned a master’s of fine arts in sculpture from UC-Berkeley in 1967. He taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts for a number of years.
Mr. Britton lived briefly in Monument, Ore., working as a buckaroo and operating a small commercial cattle ranch. In 1976 he founded Britton Tree Services, Inc. in St. Helena in which he worked with his wife and companion of 20 years, Denice Froehlich Britton. Mr. Britton became a nationally respected arborist and was actively involved in his community and profession, earning numerous awards for his contributions to arboriculture, including the National Arborist Association’s Award of Merit.
In additon to his second wife, Mr. Britton is survived by his mother, Jean Campbell Britton, of St. Helena; sisters, Margaret Nyhan of Lake of the Pines and Kathleen Hood, of St. Helena; children Jason and Lola; a stepson, Robert Brian Wyatt; and granddaughters Brianna and Brittany Wyatt.
Memorial donations may be made to the Arboricultural Research Trust Fund: ISART/NAF, P.O. Box 3129, Champagne, IL 61826.
Jeanne Blackwell
Private services were held June 11 for former Napa County resident Jeanne (Edythe) Blackwell who died June 9 in Twin Falls Idaho. She was 92.
Ms. Blackwell, who was born in Davenport, Iowa, spent many years in the nursing profession. She was employed at Napa State Hospital and the Veterans Home of California. She was an avid Braves fan and enjoyed the outdoors.
She is survived by daughters Betty Alexander of Lowden, Iowa, Dorothy Callistini of St. Helena, Billye Monk of Ukiah, Elizabeth Butala of St. Helena and Sandra Blackwell of Boise, Idaho. She is also survived by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William E. Blackwell.
interment will be at the West End Cemetery in Buhl, Idaho.
Arrangements by Farmer Funeral Chapel.
