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Issue date: October 04, 2000
Obituaries
Obituaries
(October 04, 2000)
Elizabeth 'Betsy' Crowder
Environmental leader
In an eerie replay of history, Elizabeth "Betsy" Swann Crowder of Portola Valley was killed September 29 in an automobile accident on Portola Road, less than a mile from where her husband, Dwight, was killed by a speeding car 30 years ago. She was 74.
Friends reacted with shock and disbelief at the sudden loss of one of the Peninsula's most active and influential conservationists. "Who says that lightning doesn't strike twice?" asked former Portola Valley Mayor and Councilman Bob Brown.
"Both Dwight and Betsy were involved in the founding of the town of Portola Valley," Mr. Brown continued. "She has been involved in every conservation struggle, movement, battle, for the last 40 years."
"The world is not as good a place," said Craig Britton, general manager of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. Mrs. Crowder represented southern San Mateo County on the district board since 1989, and was president twice. During her tenure, the district increased its holdings of open space on the Peninsula from 29,000 to 43,000 acres.
"She was the most involved board member," Mr. Britton added. "She volunteered for projects, hiked the trails, and scouted lands to be bought. We will sorely miss her."
There will be a memorial service Sunday, October 8, at 4 p.m. at Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road in Portola Valley.
Born in Boston, the oldest of four daughters, Betsy Swann gained her love of the outdoors and wilderness at the family camp in New Brunswick, Canada, where they summered during her girlhood. She graduated from Radcliffe College with a major in English, and went on to Stanford for a master's degree in anthropology.
As an active member of the Stanford Alpine Club, she met Dwight Crowder, an enthusiastic mountaineer and geology student, in the late 1940s. They were married in 1950 and began a life of adventure together.
Starting in 1952, the newlyweds lived in Spokane, Washington, where Dwight worked for the U.S. Geological Survey. They spent rugged summers in geological camps mapping the Northern Cascade mountains. Soon daughters Wendy and Anne joined their summer adventures.
From 1956 to 1958, the family lived in Norway while Dwight obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Oslo, while Betsy learned to speak Norwegian and love the mountains.
Back in the United States, the Crowders built their home in Portola Valley and became very much involved in conservation causes, both locally and nationally. They campaigned actively for incorporation of Portola Valley to stem encroaching development. They also worked hard to establish North Cascades National Park, and the 1964 Wilderness Act. And Betsy became active in the League of Women Voters.
After Dwight Crowder was killed on Portola Road in 1970, Mrs. Crowder began focusing more and more on local conservation efforts. She chaired the Portola Valley Conservation Committee, and later served on the Planning Commission from 1972 to 1977.
At the same time, Mrs. Crowder went back to school and earned a master's degree in city planning from Stanford. She worked as an environmental planner for Palo Alto from 1972 to 1980, often commuting by bicycle the eight miles from Portola Valley.
Mrs. Crowder was a member of many conservation and trail organizations: the California Native Plant Society; the San Mateo County Trails Advisory Committee; the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council; the Bay Area Open Space Council; and Committee for Green Foothills. She also served as a docent at Filoli and Jasper Ridge.
Mrs. Crowder also stayed active in Portola Valley, attending meetings and speaking out for affordable housing. "She was a great lady," said Phyllis Quilter, who shared those efforts. "She valued trails and keeping Portola Valley rural, but she also supported affordable housing."
Mrs. Crowder was also an independent and intrepid world traveler to remote places around the world, including Africa, Nepal, China, and Uzbekistan and the Pamir mountains in Central Asia. She had just returned from Tibet, and, at the time of her death, was returning from an Explorers Club meeting in San Francisco.
With her friend, Jean Rusmore of Ladera, Mrs. Crowder co-authored the third edition of the guidebook, "Peninsula Trails," and was hard at work on the third edition of "South Bay Trails."
Mrs. Crowder is survived by her daughters Wendy Crowder of Palo Alto, and Anne Crowder of Willits; two grandchildren; her sisters Barbara Mouffe and Ellen Leupold of Boulder, Colorado, and Mary Anderson of Barrington, Rhode Island; and 15 nephews and nieces.
The family suggests contributions to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), 3000 Sand Hill Road, 4-135, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
William V. Regan
Leading Catholic layman
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, October 4, at St. Raymond's Catholic Church for William V. Regan, who died September 30 at Stanford Medical Center. A resident of Menlo Park for 55 years, Mr. Regan He was 88.
Mr. Regan was born in Boise, Idaho, the oldest of seven children. He was married to Naomi Sargent in San Francisco in 1938. The couple celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary September 5.
Graduating from Santa Clara University in 1933, Mr. Regan remained devoted to the university throughout his life. He served as a member of the university's first Board of Regents and as national alumni president. He represented New York Life Insurance Company for 50 years and was consistently one of its leading agents.
In 1965, he and six friends founded the League to Save Lake Tahoe, beginning 30 years of work to preserve one of his favorite places.
In 1977 Mr. Regan was named to the Knights of Malta religious society. He served the order's Western Association in many roles, including chairman of the association's annual pilgrimage to Lourdes, and as Hospitaller of its program supporting charitable organizations throughout the West.
Mr. Regan is survived by his wife Naomi of Menlo Park; daughters Kathleen Bui of Menlo Park; Janet Difu of Cupertino; Ann Holloway of Truckee; sons William of Hillsborough; John of Fairfax, Virginia; Daniel of San Jose; and Michael of Foster City; 19 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
A Rosary was to be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 3, at St. Raymond's Catholic Church, 1100 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, followed by the funeral Mass on October 4. The family suggests memorials be made to Santa Clara University, The Order of Malta, or to the Alzheimer's Association, 2065 West El Camino Real, Mountain View CA 94040.
Hatherly Foster III
Computer teacher, geneology expert
Services were to be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 3, at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church for Hatherly "Bud" Foster III, who died September 27 at his home in Atherton. He was 79.
Mr. Foster was born in Milton, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of Milton Academy and Wentworth Institute of Engineering, and served as a Naval pilot in the South Pacific in World War II. He was credited with saving two American destroyers by shooting down three Japanese suicide planes near Okinawa, and was decorated with the Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal for his heroism.
Mr. Foster was employed by the Pneumatic Scale Company as a sales engineer for 30 years. In retirement, he taught computer classes at Little House senior center. He was a self-taught geneologist, studying extensively at the Family History Center at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mr. Foster was a long-time active member of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed gardening and sailing, and loved dogs, says his family.
Mr. Foster is survived by his wife of 48 years, Elizabeth; three children: Martha Foster of Menlo Park; Elizabeth DeLong of Menlo Park; and Timothy Foster of West Granby, Connecticut; and five grandchildren.
Donations may be made in his memory to the Zweng Memorial Retinal Research Foundation, or to Little House.
Anne Voorheis
Artist and tennis enthusiast
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, October 6, at St. Raymond's Catholic Church in Menlo Park for Anne Voorheis, a longtime Atherton resident, who died September 28 at Carlmont Convalescent Hospital in Belmont. She was 80.
Mrs. Voorheis was a California junior tennis champion at age 16. She attended the University of California at Berkeley on a tennis scholarship and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She was an active member of the Alpine Hills Tennis Club for many years. An art major in college, Mrs. Voorheis was an accomplished artist, studying Chinese brush painting for the past 30 years. She was involved in the early development of West Bay Opera, providing artwork and working as props manager.
Mrs. Voorheis married Temple Voorheis in 1941. They lived in Palo Alto for 16 years before moving to Atherton. She is survived by her children: Caryn White of Palo Alto; Marilyn Eaton of Menlo Park; Howard Voorheis of Everett, Washington; Ken Voorheis of San Mateo; and seven grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 2065 West El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA 94040.
H. Wesley See Jr.
Former San Mateo County deputy sheriff
Wes See, a 1964 graduate of Woodside High School, died in an automobile accident in Utah on September 18. He was 53.
Mr. See was born in Garden City, Kansas. He served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, during which he was crew chief on the helicopter used by the President of the United States.
He lived in Woodside for 20 years, serving in the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office as a deputy for eight years. He retired last year from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department as a 20-year veteran.
An avid outdoorsman, he enjoyed hunting and fishing. "He was a typical mountain man," says his father, Harold See of Woodside.
Mr. See is survived by his wife Barbara of Henderson, Nevada; sons Michael and Jason of Las Vegas; mother Phyllis See of Mountain View; father Harold See and stepmother Jo See of Woodside; brother Terry See of Sanibel Island, Florida; sister D'Ann Darling and her husband Carl of Palo Alto; and three grandchildren.
Memorial services were held in Las Vegas. Donations may be made to Injured Police Officers Fund, any Bank of America branch, Account #990114316 in memory of Wes See.
Elizabeth Nygren
Retired teacher and volunteer
Elizabeth J. Nygren, a resident of Menlo Park for 13 years, died at home September 28. She was 77.
Mrs. Nygren was born in Chicago, and was a graduate of De Paul University. She taught elementary school in the Chicago public schools and, later, as a volunteer, taught remedial classes at the Cathedral School operated by the Archdiocese of Chicago. She also volunteered at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, assisting patients with rehabilitation exercises.
Mrs. Nygren was an accomplished artist in water colors and pastels, as well as a student of art history. She was a member of Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.
Survivors include her husband of 50 years, Karl; daughter, Anne Doherty of San Francisco; sons Jim of Folsom and Phil of San Ramon; brother Edward "Jack" Parsons of Chicago; and three grandchildren.
Services and interment were held at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Los Altos. Memorial donations may be made to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, P.O. Box 96173, Washington, D.C. 20077-7456.
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