OBITUARIES OBITUARIES (September 20, 2000)

R. Stanley Lord

Branch chief for USGS

A service will he held at noon Saturday, September 30, celebrating the life of R. Stanley Lord, a longtime resident of Menlo Park and a U.S. Geological Survey employee, who died August 26 in Cupertino.

The service will be held at the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Lord was born in Samoa (Humboldt County), California, later moving with his family to Pasadena. He graduated from Cal Tech with a degree in civil engineering.

Mr. Lord went to work for the federal government in the Department of the Interior's Geological Survey as a junior engineer in the Ground Water Division, and was assigned to the San Francisco Branch.

Over his 42 years with the Survey, he served in several locations, finally in Menlo Park, where he retired in 1972. He rose to become branch area chief covering seven western states before completing his final assignment as the district engineer for the state of California in the several years before his retirement.

In 1971 he received the Department of the Interior's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award.

Always an active church member, Mr. Lord was a leader in the Christian Endeavor movement in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1950 he served as president of the Christian Endeavor movement for the state. He was treasurer for Menlo Park Presbyterian Church for some 20 years. He also was a member of the Menlo Park Rotary Club and helped with fiscal responsibilities at the Armstrong School.

Mr. Lord is survived by his wife of 69 years, Ruth; sons James Myron of Porterville and Roy Stanley Jr. of Cupertino; sister Meta Francis of Whittier; seven grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Final arrangements have been made through the Neptune Society. Donations may be made in the name of the R. Stanley Lord Memorial Fund, c/o The Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025.

Donn Robbins

Former SLAC engineer

Donn B. Robbins, 77, died of thyroid cancer in his sleep September 8. A member of the original engineering team of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Mr. Robbins worked with scientists from around the world in their pioneering work exploring particle physics.

Born in Norton, Kansas, in 1922, Mr. Robbins served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, flying aerial resupply and aircraft ferrying missions in the South Pacific.

After the war, he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

In 1950, he joined the Bechtel Corporation, where he worked on designs for oil refineries and power production facilities throughout the United States and Saudi Arabia.

In 1962, Mr. Robbins began work at Stanford University on the design of the two-mile long linear accelerator under the leadership of Wolfgang Panofsky and later Nobel Prize winner Burton Richter. As mechanical engineer, he contributed to the development of the accelerator from initial design stages to completion at its site on Sand Hill Road. He retired in 1987.

Mr. Robbins was an active member of the Woodside Village Church. In addition, he held memberships in the Redwood City Elks Lodge #1991 and the Sons in Retirement (SlRs), El Camino Branch No.16.

An avid Stanford football fan, Mr. Robbins and his wife held season tickets to Cardinal games for more than 30 years. He also was a devoted golfer, playing several times a week when not travelling extensively with his wife, Connie.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Corinne (Connie) of Redwood City, and four children and their spouses, Terri and Joe Tiffany of Menlo Park, Carol and Gary Manley of Redwood City, David and Cyndi Robbins of Concord, and Douglas and Dawn Robbins of Fair Oaks, five grandchildren, Jamie and Melinda Manley, Jordan and Forrest Tiffany and Drew Robbins, and his brother, Dale Robbins of Modesto and sister, Jeanne Hailey of Tracy.

Private memorial services have been held.

Edward Silva

Retired grocery store owner

Edward Silva died September 4 at his home in Menlo Park. He was 84.

A native of Redwood City, Mr. Silva owned a retail grocery store for 40 years. He was a member of the Redwood City Elks Lodge.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie Silva of Menlo Park; his son Edward P. Silva and his wife Tracy of Los Altos; his brothers George Silva of Aptos and William Silva of Redwood City; and his granddaughter Kayla Mary Silva of Los Altos.

A graveside service was held at Holy Cross Cemetery in Menlo Park, with arrangements by Spangler Mortuaries.

Alfred Gfroerer

Real estate investor

Alfred Emile Gfroerer of Menlo Park, who was trained as a pastry chef in his native France and later became a real estate investor, died September 12. He was 98.

Mr. Gfroerer was trained as a pastry chef prior to serving in the French army in World War I. He immigrated to the United States in 1924 and became the youngest head pastry chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. In the late 1920s he worked for the Matson Navigation Company as a pastry chef before settling in Honolulu where he met his wife, Cecilia.

Mr. Gfroerer opened a bakery in Honolulu and began investing in real estate. In 1950 he moved his family to Atherton where he continued to manage his real estate investments. He moved to Menlo Park in 1979 after the death of Cecilia Gfroerer. In 1980 he married Dorothy Petrich. They were married until her death in 1995.

Mr. Gfroerer was a lifelong member of the Honolulu Elks Lodge and was active for many years in the Menlo Park Lions Club and SIRS.

He is survived by his sons, Alfred and Kenneth of Menlo Park; Robert of Sunnyvale; and two granddaughters.

Graveside services were held September 18 at Alta Mesa Memorial Park. Arrangements were under the direction of the Menlo Park Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.

Jesse A. Henriques

Atherton resident and dentist

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 23, at Church of the Nativity, 210 Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park, with a reception to follow for Jesse A. Henriques, who died September 1 at his Atherton home, where he has lived with his family for 37 years. He was 78.

Dr. Henriques served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He graduated in 1950 from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, now known as the University of the Pacific, and for the next 50 years practiced general dentistry in South San Francisco.

Throughout his career, Dr. Henriques contributed his time and expertise to the San Mateo Dental Society, the California Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the South San Francisco Lions Club and the South San Francisco Duffers.

He also was an assistant professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons before it was known as UOP.

Dr. Henriques is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary Ann; his children Jesse Henriques, Jeffrey Henriques, Carrie Fregosi, Cate McWilliams, Chris Bianchina; 13 grandchildren; and 25 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in the name of Dr. Henriques to Stanford Hospice, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, 94305, and the University of the Pacific, 2155 Webster St., San Francisco, CA, 94115-2399.