Death Notices: Feb. 8 to Feb. 26, 2013

They were the neighbors down the street, classmates in school, friends of our parents, who all landed in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills when our communities were burgeoning with new arrivals. They went to church with us, raised money at bake sales with us, nodded greetings in the supermarkets and the fruit stands. They were a part social fabric and then moved away, or just grew quieter at home. Patch hopes to bring the circle around once more.

This week, Patch publishes death notices that appeared in publications in the past ten days. Among them, a graduate of Awalt before it was called Mountain View High School, .

The chronicling of the lives of these individuals, who lived and worked among us, is derived solely from, and originally appeared in one of the following publications: The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Jose Mercury News, San Mateo County Times, Chico Enterprise-Record, The Spectrum and Daily News, and The Desert Sun and the Los Altos Town Crier. Additionally, in the case of Mark Edward Snow, the obituary was originally published in Dignity Memorial-Muehlig Funeral Chapel.

 

Isabel Mathilda Johanson Carlson 95, of Los Altos, passed away on Feb. 20, 2013. Born in Portland, Ore. on Oct. 1, 1917,  she attended the Univ. of Oregon and helped support her family during the Great Depression by working as a legal secretary. After many moves as the wife of a Naval officer she settled in Los Altos.  She is survived by her husband, Harold, and children: Bob, Cathy, Mary, Betsy (Eric), and Bill (Lori), and by eight grandchildren. A memorial service celebrating Isabel's faith and life will be held at Los Altos Lutheran Church on Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to The Salvation Army or The American Diabetes Association 

Rev. Paul K. Currie 93, of Sunnyvale, died February 20, 2013 in Los Altos.  Rev. Currie was born May 26, 1919 in Woodstock, New Brunswick and graduated from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He married Sarah Elizabeth Lorimer in 1945 and served as pastor and district superintendent with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in both Canada and US. He is survived by his sister Margaret Kennedy, daughters: Joanne Papoulias, Kay Narva (Jim), sons: Paul Currie (Lois), Peter Currie (Connie), along with 9 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. A celebration of his life was held March 3, 2013 at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. 

Joyce Dutton, 81, of Los Altos, died Feb. 8, 2013. She was a longtime resident where she and her husband, Dan, raised five children, and a 30-year volunteer at the Allied Arts Guild. A memorial service is pending.

Nina Ruth Giraldes 84, a former resident of Los Altos, died on Valentine’s Day 2013. Born Aug. 9, 1928 in Russellville, Ark., Ms. Giraldes moved to Los Altos when she married her husband, Tony on Sept. 21, 1947. They moved again in 1971 to Butte Creek Canyon (Butte County) near Chico, to raise their son. She is survived by her son, Mark; daughter in law, Susan; three grandchildren, and a great grandson, Lucas, and her brother, Arvis. 

Christina de Koning, 70, a former Los Altos resident, died after a long battle with lung cancer on Feb. 22, 2013 surrounded at home by her family and partner in Ivins, Utah. Born in Breda, Holland, on October 14, 1942, she trained as a nurse, a field that allowed her to follow her husband-to-be, Joseph (“Jos”), to the United States, where they married in 1967. They moved to Los Altos in 1973 and de Koning, known as “Ineke,” continued in nursing, retiring from the Sharon Heights nursing home as director of nursing. She moved, 26 years later, after Jos died, to Kayenta, an arts community in southern Utah town of Ivins. A private family service was held March 1 and a celebration of life service will be held in Kayenta March 16. Friends and family are invited to sign her guest book at www.serenicare.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dixie Hospice Care.

Harry Leppo 93, a former resident of Los Altos Hills, died Feb. 26, 2013 at Stanford Hospital. Harry "Uddy" Leppo, was born July 12, 1919 in Boston, Mass., the fourth of 10 children. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II, patrolling the Eastern Seaboard for German U-boats. He and his wife moved to California in 1964, where he started a development business. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Loretta, his five children Jan (Don) Marshall, Peter (Peggy) Leppo, Robyn (Randy) Rajkovich, Amy (Jaime) Paniagua, and Randy Leppo.Graveside services were held at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto on March 1, followed by a celebration of life at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club. Memorial donations be made to either Ronald McDonald House or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. 

Dolores "Dee" Robart 83, of Springfield, Ore., and former Los Altos resident, died on February 26, 2013. She was born on February 22, 1930 in Joplin, MO and married Clarence Robart on April 11, 1946 in Los Altos. She was a school bus driver for many years. She is survived by her son Randy Robart; two daughters: Candyce Haigler and Teresa Anderson; four brothers: Ben, Dale, Bob, and Frank; and five sisters: Dorothy, Carol, Judy, Janice and Diane. 

Mark Edward Snow, 53, of Ann Arbor, Mich., died February 23, 2013 at his home of throat cancer. He was born on April 1, 1959 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up in Los Altos, graduating of Awalt High School (now Mountain View High) and received his  undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley and his PhD at Johns Hopkins University. He was a computational chemist at Pfizer from 1997 until 2006. In 2008, he started teaching at the International Academy West in White Lake, MI. He is survived by his wife, Claudette, and his children, Spencer and Audrey; his parents, Edward and Emma Idonna Snow of Duvall, WA and Los Altos, CA and his sisters, Marcia Caldwell (Steve) of Mercer Island, WA and Sandra Kaufman (Ron) of Santa Cruz, CA. A celebration of his life is scheduled March 15, followed by a reception.

Perry Taub 56, a former resident of Los Altos, died Feb. 23, 2013 in his Rancho Mirage home. Born to Theodore and Judith Taub on April 21, 1956 in Chicago, Ill., he moved with his family to Los Altos in 1959, graduating from Homestead High School and getting his B.A. from University of California, Santa Cruz. He was a health insurance broker with his own company for 30 years. Mr. Taub is survived by his partner of 32 years, Charles Church, sister Mary Taub and brother John Taub of St. Louis, Mo. His funeral was held Feb. 28 at Eternity Memorial Park in Colma. A celebration of his life will be held at a future date in Palm Springs.