Obituaries Obituaries (August 04, 2004)

Audrey Connell
Former journalist

Audrey Elizabeth "Peg" Connell, a longtime resident of Portola Valley and Menlo Park, died July 18. She was 83.

Ms. Connell was born in Modesto and moved to Burlingame with her family when she was a teenager. She attended the College of San Mateo before transferring to Stanford University, where she graduated with a degree in journalism in 1941. At Stanford she wrote for the Stanford Daily, worked for a time as an aide to President Herbert Hoover, and joined Theta Sigma Phi women's journalism society.

Following graduation, she worked for newspapers in Hanford, Redwood City, Burlingame and Alabama, where she and her husband lived after their marriage in 1942. After her husband was sent to Europe with his Army unit during World War II, she returned to the Bay Area, and wrote front-page stories for the Burlingame Advance-Star on the founding of the United Nations.

After her husband returned from the war, they moved to Menlo Park, where their three sons were born. In 1958 the family moved to Portola Valley, where Ms. Connell lived until her death.

Ms. Connell joined the P.E.O. Sisterhood in 1941, was a member of the Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto for more than 50 years, and helped found the college ministry in the 1960s. She was also a member of the American Association of University Women and active in the PTA at Portola Valley schools and Woodside High School when her sons attended.

Ms. Connell is survived by her three sons, Charles of Redwood City, Peter of Livermore, and William of Portola Valley; and four grandchildren. Her husband of 57 years, Robert C. Connell, died in 1999.

A private burial has been held. A celebration of Ms. Connell's life will be held at Peninsula Bible Church in September. Arrangements were under the direction of Redwood Chapel in Redwood City.

Donations may be made to: Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895; or the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 1131, Fairfax, VA 22038-1131.

Joan Kunde
Employed at The Sequoias

Joan Kunde, who was employed for many years at the Sequoias retirement community in Portola Valley, died July 21 at her home in Redwood City. She was 73.

Ms. Kunde was the wife of James Kunde, who was the manager and chief pharmacist at Valley Pharmacy in Portola Valley for 20 years.

A nurse, teacher and homemaker, Ms. Kunde was raised in Honolulu and witnessed the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She graduated from the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. She enjoyed sewing, camping, the art and music of the Pacific, and, most of all, her family, say family members.

She is survived by her husband of 50 years, James Kunde; her brother, Maurice Richmond of Victorville; two sons, Robert Kunde of Bakersfield and Brian Kunde of Palo Alto; and two grandchildren.

Arrangements were under the direction of Bay Area Cremation and Funeral Services in Redwood City. A memorial service is pending in August.

Elizabeth Johnson Curtis
Former Menlo Park and Atherton resident

Elizabeth "Betty" Johnson Curtis of San Jose died unexpectedly July 27 at San Jose Medical Center. She was 82.

Ms. Curtis was born in San Francisco. She was a graduate of UC Berkeley, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1946 she toured Europe for a year, entertaining the troops as part of a USO drama group.

In 1947 she married Robert V. Johnson. The family lived in Atherton from 1956 to 1968, then moved to Menlo Park. She enjoyed being a full-time mother and volunteer at the Children's Health Council, say family members.

In 1973 Mr. Johnson died. In 1983 she married Donald Wye Curtis, a year after moving to The Villages in San Jose.

Ms. Curtis is survived by her husband, Don; her children, David Johnson, Robyn McKenna, and Marjie Yates; her stepchildren, Barbara Stultz, Doug Curtis and Liz Fortini; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Services were held August 1 at the St. Philip's Episcopal Chapel in the Montgomery Center at The Villages Golf and Country Club in San Jose. The family prefers donations to: The Children's Health Council, 650 Clark Way, Palo Alto CA 94304.

Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney.

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