Issue date: May 06, 1998
W. F. Batton
A reception for Mr. Batton will be held Friday, May 8, between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission Blvd., in Santa Clara.
A native of Verden, Okla., Mr. Batton left his family farm at an early age in search of work, picking cotton and apples, and later joined the Civilian Conservation Corps on the construction of the Grand Cooley Dam. As a traveling salesman, Mr. Batton claimed to have worked in every state, his family said.
Mr. Batton moved to California in 1943 after beginning his construction career in Anchorage, Alaska, where he built private homes and barracks for the Army.
He founded W.F. Batton & Co. Inc. in 1946 and built custom homes and apartments throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Mr. Batton was one of the first contractors to build tilt-up commercial buildings, his family said.
Many of Mr. Batton's buildings housed start-up companies in Silicon Valley, including his award-winning "Wedge" building in the Marriott Business Park, his family said. Another project in San Jose was recognized by the city as the "Outstanding Office Project" in 1990.
An avid sportsman, Mr. Batton enjoyed duck hunting and fishing as well as working in his garden, his family said.
He survived by his wife Marie; his daughters, Linda Batton, Marguerite Batton, Bonnie Keyes and Michelle Wright; three step-children, Harold, Jeanette and David Balzer; 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Bonita Twombly, three nieces and two nephews.
Memorial donations may be made to the Pulmonary Unit at Sequoia Hospital Foundation, 170 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA 94062, and the MidPeninsula Hospice Foundation, 65 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
Benjamin Tipton
A native of Visalia, he served in the U.S. Army in World War II and was a retired employee of San Mateo County, where he worked as a vocational and housing specialist.
Mr. Tipton is survived by his wife of 53 years, Mary Whittle Tipton; son Steven and his wife Kristin; daughter Ann and her husband Michael; daughter Louise and her husband Mark; daughter Elaine and her husband George; son Mark and his wife Suzanne; and eight grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian burial was held April 24 at St. Raymond's Catholic Church in Menlo Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Vincent de Paul Conference, in care of St. Raymond's Church.
Virginia N. Conway
A longtime Atherton resident, Mrs. Conway was the wife of the late John F. Conway Jr. She is survived by her children: Virginia Anne Curran, Janet Noel Willbanks, Diane Marie Caselli, Cherie Terese Cattaneo, Ruth Marie Galea, Mary Teresa Conway, John F. Conway, Robert A. Conway, Ronald C. Conway, Richard P. Conway, Michael J. Conway, Stephen G. Conway; and 28 grandchildren.
Contributions may be made to the Nativity Building Fund, 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park 94025, or to the Convent of the Sacred Heart, 2222 Broadway, San Francisco, CA. Arrangements were made by the John O'Connor Menlo Colonial Chapel in Menlo Park.
Kristian Rogne
and dyemaker
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, May 6, at 1 p.m. at the Chapel of Roller, Hapgood & Tinney, 980 Middlefield Road, in Palo Alto.
A native of Lillehammer, Norway, Mr. Rogne moved to Chicago in 1926 where he met his wife Olga, who preceded him in death after 54 years of marriage. He came to California in 1963 and stayed briefly in Santa Barbara before moving to Menlo Park, where he spent the next three decades.
Mr. Rogne was a longtime member of Peninsula Volunteers' Little House before moving to Seven Oaks Retirement Home in Los Altos in 1994.
He is survived by two brothers, Gudbrand and Jens, and many nieces and nephews.
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