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Alfred P. Chasuk
More than 300 friends and family came to pay their respects at an Aug. 1 memorial Mass held at St. Joseph's Church for Alfred P. Chasuk.
Chasuk, a Mountain View attorney well known for his work in the community, died
July 29 at the age of 77.
Father Bob Moran, who celebrated the Mass, called Chasuk a man whose religious conviction inspired him to serve his community and to embrace his fellow man.
The youngest of three children, Chasuk was born
June 19, 1923 in Citronelle, Ala. During the Great Depression his family suffered extreme poverty and sent him to live at a children's home in New Orleans.
Later, as a World War II naval cadet, Chasuk fought at the Battle of Leyte in the Philippine Islands, an experience that helped to shape the course of his life.
Upon returning home, Chasuk attended college at San Jose State University on the veterans' GI Bill. In 1947 he married
Delores Bassi, a native of San Luis Obispo who graduated from Stanford and was a business professor at San Jose State University. They had eight children.
Chasuk practiced in downtown Mountain View for 50 years, including 10 when his son John practiced with him.
Warm and outgoing, Chasuk counted mayors and judges among his many friends.
Chasuk served as president of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, the Foothill/DeAnza Community College District, and the Mountain View Rotary Club. He also served on the board of the Community School of Music and the Arts and volunteered for Catholic Social Services.
In 1966, he was named Mountain View's Citizen of the Year in appreciation of his many volunteer efforts.
In addition to his wife, Chasuk is survived by his sister, Eva Greene of Florida; his daughters Annette Chasuk of Mountain View, Suzanne Chasuk of San Luis Obispo, Patricia Boaz of La Jolla, Margaret Austin of Mountain View, and Jeanette Twa of San Diego; his sons Tom Chasuk of Mountain View, John Chasuk of Napa, and Robert Chasuk of Louisiana; and fifteen grandchildren.
The family has requested that contributions be made to a charity of your choice.
The funeral service was arranged by Spangler Mortuary.
Obituary dated: August 04, 2000
Angelo Fruciano
Memorial Services were held Thursday, June 22 for Angelo Fruciano, who died
June 16 in Redwood City. He was 76.
A native of Sicily and husband of the late Mary Fruciano, he was a plasterer. He is survived by his children, Diana Zauala of Mountain View, Mario Fruciano of Mountain View, Anna Larricq of Belmont, Tony Fruciano of Brentwood; his brother Sabastian Fruciano of San Mateo; and seven grandchildren. A funeral Mass was said Thursday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Mountain View. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society, Silicon Valley Central Coast Region, 1715 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell, CA 95008.
Obituary dated: June 23, 2000
Hazel Evon Worth
Memorial services were held May 31 for Hazel Worth (Wilson), who died
May 24 in Mountain View. She was 83.
A native of Illinois and longtime resident of California, Mrs. Worth was employed at Hewlett-Packard for 40 years. She retired in 1986.
She is survived by her husband, Howard Worth; her brother, Ivan Vermillion; her children, Diane Melvin and Norm Wilson; her stepchildren, Kelly Worth and Howard Kevin Worth; and her six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Contributions may be made to Mid-peninsula Pathways Hospice, 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 135, Mountain View, CA 94040.
Obituary dated: June 09, 2000
Willie B. Gilliam
Services were held June 1 in Mountain View for Willie B. Gilliam, who died
in Santa Clara May 27. She was 72.
A native of Friendship, Arkansas, Gilliam was a long time resident of Mountain View. She is survived by her husband, Bill Gilliam of Mountain View; her children, Sharon Wise of Milpitas and Tom Gilliam of Mountain View; her brothers Chuck Pennington of Scotts Valley and Eual Pennington of Aptos; and a sister, Gloria Page of Milpitas. She is also survived by two grandchildren and several cousins and nieces.
The family asks that memorials be made to the Mid-Peninsula Pathways Hospice in Mountain View. Arrangements by Cusimano Family Colonial Mortuary.
Obituary dated: June 09, 2000
Mary Brooks Rippey
Mary Brooks Rippey, 93, died
January 18 at the Mountain View Hospital. She lived in Mountain View for 70 years and was a partner at the R-club, a bar in Mountain view that opened in 1963 and closed in 1998. Surviving are her son, William Rippey; her grandson Michael and his wife, Trisha; grandchildren Chris, Maddy , and Mem, who resides in Seattle. No services were held. The family requests donations be made to the Heart Fund in Santa Clara. Arrangements by Cusimano Family Colonial Mortuary.
Obituary dated: February 04, 2000
Beverley Joan Riall
Private services were held for Beverly Joan Riall, 70, who died
January 9 at her home in Mountain View. A 10-year resident of Mountain View, she was a housekeeper at Sequoia Hospital, and an avid member of AA. She also loved the beach. Joan Baez came to have a drink with her when Beverly became the first woman bartender in Redwood City. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Martin; son Henry Correa; and grandchildren Tye, Alex and Rachel. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Lung Association (650) 994-5864. Arrangements by the Neptune Society of Northern California.
Obituary dated: February 04, 2000
Esther H. Williams, Lockheed pioneer
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 29, at Avenidas (the Palo Alto senior center), 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto, for Esther H. Williams, the first woman inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame.
A resident of Menlo Park since 1973, Mrs. Williams died
of a brain tumor December 11. She was 86.
Mrs. Williams was a metallurgist for nearly half a century and worked for more than 30 years in the aerospace industry, diagnosing why spacecraft materials fail.
Born in Viola, Oregon, Mrs. Williams attended Washington State University, and receive her bachelor of science degree in physical metallurgy from the University of California at Berkeley.
Her career in failure analysis began during World War II at Hunters Point Naval Dry Docks where she evaluated storm and battle damage on warships returning from the Pacific.
In 1958, after four years with Lockheed Aircraft Company, she joined Lockheed Missiles and Space, where she was an expert in failure analysis until her retirement in 1992.
Among projects she worked on involved the Polaris missile, the Hubble Space Telescope, and various Strategic Defense Initiative projects. One of her first Lockheed assignments was to direct the failure analysis team for Lockheed Skunk Works.
She was the first person to suggest that titanium replace steel in aircraft and the first to apply material analysis to microelectronic devices.
Mrs. William founded both the Santa Clara Valley and Los Angeles sections of the Society of Women Engineers.
In 1991, Mrs. Williams was inducted into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. Other inductees that year were William R. Hewlett, David Packard and Dale L. Compton.
She was also honored as one of 100 Women of Achievement by the international women's fraternity, Alpha Omicron Pi.
Mrs. Williams, who worked at Lockheed until age 79, is survived by daughter, Denise Gillen of Mountain View; sons Douglas Holmes of Huntsville, Alabama; Michael Williams of Boulder, Colorado; Terry Williams of Redmond, Washington; sisters Mildred Hull of San Leandro and Evelyn Bush of Palmer, Alaska; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Donations may be made to the Society of Women Engineers, Santa Clara Valley Section Scholarship Fund (specify that the gift is in memory of Esther Williams), P.O. Box 61333, Sunnyvale, California, 94088.
Obituary dated: January 28, 2000
Jay Somera
St. Joseph Catholic Church on Hope Street is mourning the sudden loss of its choirmaster, Jay Somera, who died
Dec. 1 at the age of 48 from a brain aneurysm.
Mr. Somera, who lived in Sunnyvale, was a chemist working on new treatments for multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis at Corixa, a pharmaceutical company in Redwood City.
Family members and friends say they will best remember Mr. Somera for the contributions he made to the St. Joseph congregation, where he had served as head liturgist, Eucharistic minister, and baptismal instructor, in addition to directing the choir.
Mr. Somera was also active in a number of regional theater companies, including the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of San Jose. He sang and also played the piano and the clarinet. "He had a passion for all of the performing arts," said Mr. Somera's nephew, George Javier of Mountain View. "I have no idea how he had time to eat and sleep, with all of the things he was involved in," Javier said.
"He had a great scientific mind and a great creative mind, and he was able to bring those together with his music," said Frances Tom, a friend and St. Joseph parishioner.
Teresa Lumbreras, who works in the office at St. Joseph, said Mr. Somera "was like a godfather to me, even though he was younger. I called him 'Ninong,' which is a Filipino word for godfather."
Althea Falcon, the cantor at St. Joseph, worked with Mr. Somera for nearly 15 years. "He was always a happy-go-lucky guy. He tried to help everyone, and improved our liturgy. He was easy to get along with, always understanding to others," she said.
Mr. Somera's parents, natives of the Philippines, introduced him to music through their involvement in the Cabugao Association of Northern California, a Filipino folk music and dance organization.
"He leaned these traditional dances as a child, and he went on to teach them to the next generation," Javier said.
Javier said Mr. Somera was thoroughly Californian, having been born
at Stanford Hospital and lived in Mountain View through his childhood.
Mr. Somera graduated from St. Francis High School in 1970, and then attended the University of San Francisco, where he first became involved in theater with a role in "Fiddler on the Roof."
After attaining his bachelor's degree, Mr. Somera went on to earn a master's degree in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. He began his professional career in chemistry as a researcher for Veterans Administration hospitals. He continued in this capacity until last year, when he began working at Corixa.
Jay Somera is survived by his parents, Florentino and Amelio Somera of Mountain View, and his life partner, Steven J. Austin of Sunnyvale.
Obituary dated: December 22, 2000
