Obituaries Obituaries (March 10, 2004)

Barbara S. Norris
Founder, Atherton Heritage Association

Barbara S. Norris, who took oral histories for dozens of Atherton old-timers, died March 4 at Stanford Hospital after a short illness. She was 85.

Mrs. Norris was best known as a founder of the Atherton Heritage Association and a meticulous historian. "She was wonderful at doing oral histories and led classes in how to do them," says Marion Oster of the heritage association. "She felt it was so important for the future to know how things were in people's own words."

A third generation San Franciscan, Mrs. Norris grew up in San Francisco, attended Lowell High School, and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in decorative arts.

Shortly after graduating, she married R. Stewart Norris, who met and admired her when he was a waiter at her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi. "He said she was one of the only girls who combed her hair before coming to breakfast," recalled her daughter, Nancy Norris-London.

The young family soon moved to San Mateo, where Mrs. Norris raised her children while Mr. Norris served in the Navy. They moved to Atherton in 1952 to a house in the horse pasture of the old James Flood estate, which is now upscale Lindenwood.

While her four children were growing up, Mrs. Norris was very much involved with her family. She was PTA president both at Encinal School and Menlo-Atherton High School, where they all graduated.

Mr. Norris was a chemical engineer, who worked for many years at Schmidt Lithograph in San Francisco, where he became vice president. The old family firm was famed for producing fruit crate labels, seed packets, and can labels that are now popular with collectors, his daughters said.

Active as a volunteer with the Atherton Library, Mrs. Norris joined other Atherton history buffs in founding the Atherton Heritage Society. Among her interviews were Leroy Hubbard, Atherton's legendary police chief and informal archivist, and Lucy Sterne's secretary, Mrs. Oster said.

Mrs. Norris continued her work with oral histories after moving to The Sequoias in 1997, interviewing many older residents of the Portola Valley retirement complex. Joan Bruce, her neighbor at The Sequoias described her as "my perky little neighbor, with eyes that twinkled."

Mrs. Norris is survived by daughters Cynthia Martin of Plymouth, California, and Nancy Norris-London of El Cerrito; sons Dr. John Norris of San Jose, and Bob Norris of El Paso, Texas; 11 grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren -- and one on the way.

A memorial service was held March 6 at Christ Church in Portola Valley.

The family suggests donations to the Atherton Heritage Association or the Atherton Library, at 91 Ashfield Road, Atherton,. CA 94027.

Donna Donovan
Community volunteer

Donna Lorraine Donovan, a resident of Menlo Park for 50 years, died February 26 of lung cancer, three days after her 81st birthday.

Ms. Donovan was born in Huron, South Dakota. She was a graduate of the Radford School for Girls in Texas, and attended Mary Washington College in Virginia, where she was president of her freshman class and received a teaching certificate

In 1942 she was married to John Donovan in Richmond, Virginia. When her children were of school age, Ms. Donovan was active in the PTA, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. She raised prize-winning West Highland White Terriers and was appointed to the board of directors of the West Highland White Terrier Club.

For 42 years, Ms. Donovan was a charter member of the Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club, where she was captain of the Ladies 18-hole Golf Group. She was a member of Friends of Filoli and a volunteer at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Menlo Park. She enjoyed ballroom dancing, gardening, writing poetry, reading, and playing games, such as contract and duplicate bridge, say family members.

The Donovans traveled extensively in Europe, Mexico and the United States.

Ms. Donovan is survived by her husband, John Donovan of Menlo Park; children, Sandra Lee Wenning of Cary, North Carolina, Judith Ann Thomson of Maui, Hawaii, Linda Louise Olson of Woodinville, Washington, and Michael Dennis Donovan of Dallas, Texas; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Arrangements were under the direction of the John O'Connor Menlo Colonial Chapel in Menlo Park. A private celebration of Ms. Donovan's life will be announced later. The family prefers donations to Pathways Health and Hospice, 201 San Antonio Road, Suite 135, Mountain View, CA 94040, in recognition of its care of Ms. Donovan.

Dennis Siden
Mechanical engineer

Dennis Carl Siden, a Portola Valley resident for more than 30 years, died February 27 at the age of 58.

Mr. Siden was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and earned a master's degree in product design management from the University of Westminster in England. A mechanical engineer, he worked as director of advanced product development for Raychem Corp. in Menlo Park, retiring in 1996 after 27 years there. He holds multiple international patents.

A boating enthusiast and pilot, Mr. Siden was a member of the Sequoia Yacht Club. He also enjoyed working with wood and metal, designing jewelry and restoring antique shop machines.

Mr. Siden is survived by his wife of 35 years, Jennifer; son Daniel Siden; daughter Joanna Reed and her husband, David E. Reed II; and a grandchild due May 11.

Services will be private. Arrangements are under the direction of Russell & Gooch Funeral Chapel in Mill Valley.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society in San Francisco or to Stanford University's Asian Liver Center.

Elizabeth Fisher Stedman
Resident of The Sequoias

Elizabeth Fisher Stedman, a resident of The Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley since 1990, died February 9. She was 93.

Mrs. Stedman was the daughter of a Presbyterian minister and was born in a manse in Mendocino. Growing up, she lived in Gilroy and Palo Alto, where she was raised by her aunt after losing both parents by the age of 14.

She graduated from Palo Alto High School and Pomona College, and taught elementary school in Mountain View before marrying Marcus Stedman, an architect and builder from Palo Alto, where the couple settled and raised three children. Mr. Stedman died in 1980.

Mrs. Stedman was a longtime supporter of the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Among her other interests were sewing, reading, a fascination with the stock market, and a lifelong curiosity about plants, said daughter Jean Stedman Robertson of Palo Alto. As a widow in her late 80s, she continued to drive herself to the rustic family cabin near Lake Tahoe.

Mrs. Stedman is survived by her son Jon Marcus Stedman of San Francisco; daughters Janet Stedman Gibson of Tucson and Jean Stedman Robertson of Palo Alto; and three grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to be donated to the Elizabeth F. Stedman Fund for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in care of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, 770 Welch Road, Suite 350, Palo Alto, CA 94304.

Joseph M. Frankle
Former lighting salesman

Joseph M. Frankle of Menlo Park died March 3 at Stanford Medical Center following a long illness. He was 87.

A former longtime resident of Cupertino, Mr. Frankle was a wholesale lighting salesman and active throughout his life in Freemasonry and B'nai B'rith.

Mr. Frankle was preceded in death by his two wives, Pearl in 1964 and Helga in 1995. He is survived by his sons, Bob Frankle of Menlo Park, Nick Frankle of Thousand Oaks, and Alan Frankle of Rockville, Maryland; and six grandchildren.

Interment will be in Washington, D.C. A local memorial service is being planned. Contributions in his name may be made to a charity he administered: Dentistry for the Handicapped, the Humanitarian Foundation, 1696 Brice Road, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 43068. Arrangements were under the direction of John D. O'Connor Menlo Colonial Chapel.

Service set for Jane Gallagher

A tribute to Jane Gallagher, Portola Valley artist and founder of the town's Cultural Arts Committee, is being planned for 1 p.m. Sunday, March 21, in the Historic Schoolhouse at Portola Valley Town Center, 765 Portola Road.

Ms. Gallagher, whose paintings and sketches reflect her love of the land and respect for the environment, died January 17 at Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City after a brief illness.

Her friends on the Cultural Arts Committee are planning a reception immediately after the tribute. They have established the Jane Gallagher Memorial Arts Fund, in care of Bank of America, 2180 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park 94025.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Jane Gallagher Memorial Arts Fund or the Committee for Green Foothills.

Additional information will be published in next week's Almanac.

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