Obituaries Obituaries (March 21, 2001)

James W. Mace

Boxing champion, war veteran

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 22, for James W. "Jimmy" Mace, a former boxing champion and a 34-year resident of Menlo Park, who died at his home on March 11. He was 86.

The service will be held at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave. in Menlo Park.

Mr. Mace grew up in a family of eight children in the South-of-Market area of San Francisco. He took up boxing in the 1930s and attended the University of San Francisco on a boxing scholarship, graduating with a degree in political science.

While in college, Mr. Mace was a champion boxer in the Golden Gloves, Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Championship, and the Pan American Games. He was later inducted into the USF Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mr. Mace served in Europe during World War II as an army corporal.

After the war, he worked as a veterans' representative in state and federal positions, retiring in 1979 as the Northern California claims manager for the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. Mace was a member of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church when he lived in Menlo Park. He was a member of the Novato Presbyterian Church for the two years he lived in Novato.

Mr. Mace is survived by his wife, Vera, of Novato; a daughter, Alice Mace Nakanishi of Pleasant Hill; a son, Patrick, of Novato; sisters Marian Garcia of San Mateo and Lucille of South San Francisco; brothers Stanley of San Francisco, Larry of Sonora, and George of Bellview, Washington; and three grandchildren.

Donations may be made to Senior Access, 1905 Novato Blvd., Novato, California 94947.

John Lawler

Patent attorney

John Francis "Jack" Lawler of Atherton, a patent attorney for GTE, died March 14 at Sequoia Health Services. He was 82.

A native of Lakewood, Ohio, Mr. Lawler was an accomplished swimmer and Ohio state diving champion in 1936. He was a graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II.

After practicing law in Cleveland, Mr. Lawler moved to Los Altos with his family in 1956 and was employed as a patent attorney for GTE. He was a longtime member of the Mountain View Rotary Club.

His first wife, Gene Frey Lawler, died in 1991. After marrying the former Helen Rossi, Mr. Lawler moved to her home in Atherton in 1991. The couple enjoyed traveling, visiting Europe and the Hawaiian Islands several times.

Mr. Lawler is survived by his wife, Helen, of Atherton; children, Jim Lawler of Los Altos, Peggy Shumate of New Jersey, Terry Greenwood of San Francisco, Michael Lawler of Fair Oaks, Kathy Helfrich of Menlo Park, Mark Lawler of San Jose, and John Lawler of Cottonwood; and 19 grandchildren. He was the stepfather of Kathryn Bandy of Texas and Ted Rossi of Menlo Park. His son Dan Lawler died in 1995.

A Mass of Christian burial was held March 19 at St. Denis Catholic Church in Menlo Park, with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Los Altos.

Aaron Galant

Civil Service director

Private services have been held for Aaron Galant, who died at home in Menlo Park on March 12.

A resident of Menlo Park since 1954, Mr. Galant was 83.

Mr. Galant was born in Ansonia, Connecticut, and moved to San Francisco with his family at age 9. He was a graduate of UC Berkeley, and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

Throughout his career, Mr. Galant worked for the U.S. Civil Service, retiring at 55 as western regional director. He was a member of SIRS and enjoyed playing golf. "His family meant a great deal to him," says his daughter, Gloria Symon.

Mr. Galant is survived by his wife, Vivian; daughter Gloria Galant Symon of Palo Alto; four grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. His daughter, Paula Galant Sirof, preceded him in death.

Memorials may be made to Stanford Hospice, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305-5520.