United States High School Yearbooks by County
Nevin and Bernice McCormick
Services will be Friday for Nevin and Bernice McCormick, who died within two days of one another. Mr. McCormick died Saturday and Mrs. McCormick died Tuesday. Both were 88.
Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were married for 61 years. They retired to Santa Cruz six years ago.
Mr. McCormick graduated from Notre Dame University where he gained All-American recognition as a football player. He was a school teacher and athletic director at Livermore High School before his retirement in 1974. He enjoyed fishing and golf.
Mrs. McCormick was a mother and homemaker. She had a keen wit, her family said, and enjoyed politics.
They are survived by daughters Robin Sherman-Dunlop and Karen Splawn, both of Santa Cruz.
Mr. McCormick is also survived by sister Leota O’Neil of Livermore, and Mrs. McCormick is survived by sister Rita Harris of San Leandro.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Callahan Mortuary, 3833 E. Ave., Livermore.
Friends may call from 5-9 p.m. Thursday at Callahan’s.
Contributions are preferred to Meals on Wheels.
March 8, 2002
Jane Skewis
Services will be Thursday for Jane Skewis, who died March 1 in Santa Cruz. She was 87.
Mrs. Skewis was born in the Oak Park park neighborhood of Chicago, and spent most of her childhood and adult life in Westfield and Chatham, N.J. In 1978, she moved with her longtime companion, Philip Dreyfuss, to Santa Cruz to be near her son and to pursue her love for gardening.
Mrs. Skewis worked in a greenhouse, as a secretary for the Bricklayers, Masons, Plasterers Union and in the bookstore at Drew University in Madison, N.J.
Mrs. Skewis was an award-winning photographer, an expert in needlepoint, a watercolor and tole painter, a gracious hostess and an excellent cook. Family members say she was a good listener, nonjudgmental, a wise counselor, and above all deeply caring.
She is survived by daughter Gene S. Moll of Bath, Maine; son Stephen Lee Skewis of Soquel; stepdaughters Nanette Westrich of Belford, N.J., and Suzanne Westrich of Jefferson, Maine; stepson Philip Dreyfuss of Henderson, Nev.; 57 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Benito and Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel.
Contributions are preferred to the Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz County, 6851 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003.
March 8, 2002
Edith Ann Lang
Services will be Saturday for Edith Ann Lang, who died Tuesday in Medford, Ore. She was 55.
Born in Fort Wayne, Ind., Mrs. Lang lived most of her life in Watsonville and Soquel before moving to Central Point in 1990.
Mrs. Lang graduated from North Salinas High School in 1965. She was co-owner of Bay Cities Fabrication in White City, Ore. She enjoyed fishing, bowling and gambling.
She is survived by her husband of 22 years, Dan Lang of Central Point; sons Roger and Tracey Glenn and Steven Lang, all of Central Point; brother Phil Greene of Prunedale; and two grandchildren.
A memorial gathering will be at noon Saturday at the family home, 269 Vincent Court in Central Point. For information, call (541) 664-8673.
Arrangements are by Central Valley Cremation and Funeral Care.
March 8, 2002
Lawrence B. Rodriguez
Services will be Wednesday for Lawrence B. Rodriguez, who died Wednesday at Dominican Hospital. He was 79.
Mr. Rodriguez was born in Santa Cruz to a pioneer family. His great-grandfather, Francisco Alzina, was the first sheriff of Santa Cruz.
Mr. Rodriguez graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1941. In 1942, he enlisted in the Army and served on the USS Comfort in the Pacific Theater. After his discharge, he returned to Santa Cruz, where he worked as a butcher for Walti Schilling Meat Co. for 37 years.
Mr. Rodriguez was an avid Giants fan and enjoyed jazz and gardening, especially roses and begonias.
He is survived by daughter Jeanne Rodriguez of Scotts Valley; son Dan Rodriguez of Santa Cruz; brother James Rodriguez of Santa Cruz; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
His wife, Theresa Rodriguez, died in 1991.
A Mass of Christian Burial is at 1 p.m. Wednesday at San Agustin Catholic Church, 257 Glenwood Drive, Scotts Valley. Private Burial will follow at Holy Cross Mausoleum.
Contributions are preferred to San Agustin Church St. Vincent de Paul Society, 257 Glenwood Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066.
Arrangements are by Benito and Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel.
March 8, 2002
Agnes O’Neill Silvear
No services will be held for Agnes O’Neill Silvear, who died Tuesday in Watsonville. She was 102.
Mrs. Silvear was born in San Francisco and graduated from Girl’s High and UC Berkeley.
She spent most of her adult life on the O’Neill family ranch by Browns Valley Road near Corralitos, where they grew apples, apricots, plums, peaches and pears.
In the 1940s and 1950s, she and her husband, Will, owned and expanded the Chalone vineyard in Soledad, and sold Chardonnay grapes to Wente and Almaden wineries.
Mrs. Silvear enjoyed horseback riding and was a member of the Pajaro Valley Horseman’s Association. She was also a founding member of the Cabrillo Music Festival and was a festival supporter for many years.
She is survived by nieces Lita Blatner of Visalia and Mary McNamara of Pebble Beach; and nephew Neil Van Valkenburgh of Piedmont.
Contributions are preferred to the Cabrillo Music Festival, 104 Walnut Ave., No. 206, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
March 11, 2002
Stephen Mark Palais
Services have been held for Stephen Mark Palais, who died March 1 in Santa Cruz. He was 64.
Mr. Palias grew up in Brookline and Newton, Mass., and moved to Monterey in 1970 and to Santa Cruz to attend UC Santa Cruz in 1972, where he studied sociology.
He is survived by brothers Donald G. Palais of Woburn, Mass., and Richard S. Palais of Weston, Mass; a sister, Nancy Levin of Lexington, Mass.; and eight nieces and nephews.
Services were held March 4 in Soquel and will be held later in the Boston area.
A scholarship fund will be established in his memory at UC Santa Cruz.
March 11, 2002
Robert ‘Bob’ Warne
Services are today for Bob Warne, who died Friday at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. He was 80.
Born in Madison, Wis., Mr. Warne moved to Santa Cruz in 1957 and quickly made a name for himself. He was a partner in the insurance adjusting firm Gintert, Schwenne and Warne, was appointed to the Redevelopment Agency board in 1959 and was appointed to complete the City Council term of Paul Forgey in 1961. At the time, he supported the construction of a nine-hole golf course off Encinal Street in the city’s Harvey West neighborhood. Later, he served as president of the Rotary Club and served as president of the Pogonip Polo Club in 1970.
Before moving to Santa Cruz, Mr. Warne attended the University of Wisconsin and then served as a U.S. Army Air Corps pilot in World War II. He flew 50 combat missions as pilot and group leader in Toretta, Italy, for the 15th Air Force B-24 Bomber Group. He advanced in rank to major by the end of the war and continued to serve in the Air Force Reserves and retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel. He received four air medals, the distinguished flying cross and the presidential unit citation.
He was also a devoted Catholic and attended the Resurrection Catholic Church in Aptos. He was one of the church’s first acolytes. His funeral Mass on Thursday will be the first celebrated in the new church.
He is survived by son Robert Denis Warne of Victoria, British Columbia; brothers Dale Warne of Menlo Park, Ross Warne of Appleton, Wis., and Evans Warne of Fair Oaks; sisters Winifred Parent of Madison and Marjorie Dreher of Campbell, Texas; three grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
His wife, Katherine Stateson Warne, died in 1995 and his son, Charles David Warne, died in 1973.
A vigil service will be 7 tonight at Resurrection Catholic Church, 7600 Soquel Drive, Aptos. Friends may call from 5:30 p.m. until the vigil begins. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Resurrection Catholic Church, with a reception in the church hall after. A Burial with military honors will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Holy Cross Cemetery in Santa Cruz.
Contributions are preferred to Resurrection Catholic Church.
Benito and Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel in Santa Cruz is handling arrangements.
March 13, 2002
Meredith Dale Gibson
Services will be Sunday for Meredith Gibson, who died March 5 at her home in Sacramento. She was 77.
Born in Little Rock, Ark., Mrs. Gibson moved to Santa Cruz in 1952 with her husband and raised two children in Capitola. When her husband died in 1987, she moved to Sacramento.
Mrs. Gibson was an avid genealogist, researching her own family tree and teaching others to do the same. She taught classes on family history for the Santa Cruz County Genealogical Society and contributed family keepsakes to public displays on the subject.
She was a member of the Jamestowne Society, the Huguenot Society of Virginia, the Colonial Dames of XVIIth Century, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the Confederacy and the Arkansas State Pioneers Association of Pulaski County.
She is survived by son Douglass Scott Gibson of Courtland and daughter Susan Gail Gibson of Sacramento; sister Beverly Maurine Menehan of Santa Cruz; and five grandchildren.
Her husband of 32 years, Charles "Sam" Gibson, died in 1984.
Graveside services will be held 1 p.m. Sunday at Oakwood Memorial Park, 3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz. Arrangements are by Oakwood Memorial Chapel.
March 13, 2002
