Frank Wesley Knowles
Menlo Park resident Frank Wesley Knowles died in Redwood City on Monday, Aug. 20, after a lengthy illness. He was 88.Mr. Knowles was born in Los Gatos to Olive Warren Knowles and Frank Wesley Knowles, one of the first physicians in Los Gatos. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in 1940, he worked for 44 years for Del Monte Corp. in San Francisco.
A resident of Menlo Park for more than 60 years, Mr. Knowles was an avid supporter of Stanford football and a fan of Dixieland jazz. Family members also say he was an enthusiastic golfer, traveler and reader.
His first wife, Marian Chandler Knowles, died in 1983. He is survived by his second wife, Joan of Menlo Park; son Barry Chandler Knowles of Paradise; daughter Karen Knowles True of Sebastopol; four step-daughters; one granddaughter; and eight step-grandchildren.
The family prefers that memorial donations be made to Pathways Hospice, 585 North Mary Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Lynn Seaman
Lynn Seaman, a longtime resident of the Menlo Park area and a leading authority at SRI International in the field of shock wave physics, died Aug. 19 of brain cancer.A memorial celebration will be held Friday, Sept. 21, at 5 pm at SRI. For more information, call 650-852-0492.
He was born in Arkansas in 1933 and grew up and lived in California most of his life. He studied civil engineering at UC Berkeley, where as top student in his class he was awarded the University Medal in 1959, family members said.
After earning a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he returned to California and joined SRI in 1961. There he developed computational models for predicting outcomes of impact and explosive loads on materials and structures.
An authority in the mechanics and physics of fracture, Mr. Seaman published more than 100 technical articles, regularly reviewed articles for professional journals, and delivered lectures and courses at universities in the U.S., Europe and China.
Outside work, Mr. Seaman was continually engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, with interests ranging from drumming to wood sculpture to the stock market, family members said.
He was skilled with carpentry and construction, and undertook numerous renovation projects at home and in rental properties, including (with his family) the construction of a house in Portola Valley.
Mr. Seaman enjoyed studying languages and learned to converse in German, Spanish, French and Russian. He also contributed generously to human rights and environmental organizations, the family said.
Although officially retired since 1998, Mr. Seaman continued biking to SRI essentially every day and working about half time — between trips to Mariposa, where he was renovating his deceased father’s house and teaching local men building skills on the job. He also made weekly visits to his nephew Buck in the East Bay. There he delighted in the attention of Buck’s kids while teaching them Spanish and woodcarving.
Mr. Seaman is survived by his wife, Renate Cords; his four children, Peggy Wonder, Ellen Womack, Mark Seaman and Tanya Seaman; his first wife, Elisabeth Seaman; two grandchildren; his niece, Donna Rutan; and his nephew Buck Cunningham and his family.
Memorial donations may be made to human rights or environmental causes.
