Obituaries

Cecilia B. Hicks

Portola Valley artist

Cecilia B. Hicks, a longtime resident of Portola Valley, artist and business woman, died September 8 at Stanford Hospital.

She was born March 18, 1923, in Nashville, Tennessee, and attended the Peabody Demonstration School. She regularly visited California with her family and entered Stanford University in 1939. She majored in drama and after graduating in 1944, moved to Los Angeles, where she became a director at the Pasadena Playhouse, gave play readings and staged productions for worthy causes. She later worked for Universal Studios and the Los Angeles Times. She loved the arts and was heavily involved in the script selection process for the studios where she worked.

On a trip to the Bay Area, she became reacquainted with Harry Hicks, whom she had met at Stanford, and the couple married in 1951, living first in Menlo Park before designing and building a home in Portola Valley's Westridge area.

Mr. Hicks purchased Peninsula Lumber Co., and later established a number of construction and development businesses in Northern California that often were administered by Mrs. Hicks. One of the firms developed The Cove, a waterfront housing community at Belvedere, near Tiburon, and another firm, the Olympia company, built many developments in Monterey. Mr. Hicks was an avid polo player and one of the couple's companies purchased and donated a polo field to the Santa Barbara community. Mrs. Hicks was a consummate hostess, and became heavily involved in the operation of the Santa Barbara Polo Club, which at the time catered to teams from all over the world. She also supported her husband's polo team, which played at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton for many years.

Mrs. Hicks had a passion for travel, and during a trip to the Far East the couple met the Sultan of Johor in Malaysia, who arranged for the U.S. government to permit Mrs. Hicks to accept the title of Datin (equivalant of Lady). She became a good friend of the Sultan's family and often entertained them at her Westridge home.

She also served on the boards of the Westridge Company and the Hicks Foundation for Cultural Preservation and was instrumental in the formation of Wildlife Convervation International, which later evolved into the African Wildlife Foundation, one of the largest conservation foundations operating in Africa. She was also a member of the Portola Valley Garden Club.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by Roland Arthur Hicks and grandchildren Kristina and Roland Hicks Jr., all of Foster City; and her god-daughter, Starr Cecile Potts, of Natick, MA.

The family requests that memorials be made to the Foundation for Cultural Preservation, P.O. Box 111, Menlo Park, CA 94026, or to the charity of the donor's choice. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

John Stuart Perkins

Public accountant

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, September 16, for John Stuart Perkins, who died September 9. Mr. Perkins, who lived in Atherton for 33 years, was 77 years old.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Mr. Perkins graduated from the University of Kansas in 1942. That same year he married Jeanne, his wife of 56 years.

He was an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II and attended Harvard Business School before going overseas to serve in the invasion of Okinawa.

In 1946 Mr. Perkins accepted a position with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co. as a certified public accountant in their Kansas City office, and transferred to the firm's San Francisco office in 1955. He became partner in charge in 1962, and retired from the firm in 1977.

Mr. Perkins was a member of the Bohemian Club's Aviary Chorus and Thalia Camp, and eventually served on the club's board of directors. He was a member of the Palo Alto Club and the Peninsula Investors Group, and was a board member for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and the Menlo Country Club. He was an active parishioner and choir member of the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.

He is survived by his wife Jeanne Sunderland Perkins; sons John S. Perkins of San Jose and Thomas D. Perkins of Portland, Ore.; grandchildren Bradford Thomas Perkins, Rachel Anne Perkins, and Todd Stuart Perkins; and sisters Dorothy Crooks of Overland Park, Kansas, and Suzanne Clevenger of Kansas City.

The Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, September 16, at the Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave. in Menlo Park. A private burial wll follow the service, with a memorial gathering afterward at Menlo Country Club.

Arrangements were made by Roller, Hapgood & Tinney of Palo Alto.

Winifred Serafine

28-year resident of Atherton

Winifred Serafine, who lived in Atherton from 1968 through 1996, died in McMinnville, Oregon, September 8. She was 81 years old.

A native of Chicago, Mrs. Serafine was a benefactor of Santa Clara University while she lived in Atherton. Family members said that she loved flowers, painting, and interior design.

She is survived by her husband, Daniel Serafine of Oregon; her children, Terry Allie of Oregon, Judy Jackson of Atherton, and Frank Serafine of Menlo Park; and sisters Margaret Lavery and Mary McDonald of Chicago.

Friends are invited to attend a recitation of the rosary on Thursday, September 10, at 5 p.m. at John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel, 657 Oak Grove Ave., in Menlo Park.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Friday, September 11, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Raymond's Catholic Church, 1100 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery will follow.

Contributions may be made to the Santa Clara University Scholarship Fund, Development Office, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053, or to Sacred Heart Schools, 150 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton.

Arrangements were made by John O'Connor's Menlo Colonial Chapel.

Lavinia Bombaci Busa

Menlo resident for 40 years

Lavinia Bombaci Busa, who was a resident of Menlo Park for 40 years, died September 8. She was 88 years old.

A native of Messina, Italy, Mrs. Busa was preceded in death by her husband, Santi Busa, and her daughter Maria Frassisca. She is survived by her children Anthony Busa, Eleonora Puglia, Coralla Accurso, Giovanna Busa, and Linda Easley; 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral services have been held. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1720 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo. Arrangements were made by the San Bruno Funeral Home.

Jean Dodge Wilbur

Presbyterian Church volunteer

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, September 15, for Jean Dodge Wilbur, who died September 10. She was 79.

A graduate of Palo Alto High School and Stanford University, Mrs. Wilbur served as president of Stanford's Phi Beta Kappa chapter. She was an active member of the Junior League and Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.

Mrs. Wilbur is survived by her children Jim Wickett of Atherton, Charley Dole Jr. of Grants Pass, Oregon, and Elizabeth Hughes of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son John Wickett.

Services will be held at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave., in Menlo Park. Memorial contributions may be made to Jews for Jesus, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, or a charity of the donor's choice.

Arrangements were made by Roller, Hapgood and Tinney of Palo Alto.



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