Obituaries Obituaries (April 17, 2002)

Lyle Post

Menlo Presbyterian deacon, trustee

Lyle Post, a deacon and trustee of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, died at his Menlo Park home April 11. He was 88.

Mr. Post was born in Gunnison, Colorado, and was an active member of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church for 54 years. He was a lead mechanic for United Airlines, and was an avid fisherman who enjoyed trailering with the AirStream Group. He instilled his love of the outdoors in his children and grandchildren, family members said.

Mr. Post suffered from Parkinson's disease, which left him bedridden for many years, his family said, and Elma, his wife of 63 years, cared for him at home.

Besides his wife, Mr. Post is survived by his son Dave Post of Folsom; his daughter Bobbie Jean Gilchrist of San Jose; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

The graveside service was private. A memorial service will be held at a future date, when Mrs. Post is home from the hospital and feeling better, family members said.

Memorial contributions may be made to Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, 950 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025; or to the American Parkinson's Disease Association, Inc., 1250 Hylan Boulevard, Suite 4B, Staten Island, New York 10305-1946.

Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney of Palo Alto.

Catherine A. Tietjen

Activist in church

A memorial Mass for Catherine A. Tietjen, a resident of Menlo Park for 46 years, will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 19, at St. Raymond Catholic Church at 1100 Santa Cruz Ave. Ms. Tietjen died April 5 in San Mateo. She was 94.

Ms. Tietjen was a registered nurse when she married Wells R. Tietjen. She was "a very generous member" of St. Raymond Church, relatives said.

Ms. Tietjen is survived by several cousins, including Nancy Dunlap of Pueblo, Colorado, and John Hughs of Bellaire, Ohio.

Donations in Ms. Tietjen's memory may be made to St. Raymond Catholic Church. Arrangements were by O'Connor Menlo Colonial Chapel.

Mary Coffman

Life Master bridge player

Services will be held April 16 for Mary R. Coffman, a resident of Atherton for 48 years who died April 12 at her home. She was 91.

The services will start at noon at Skylawn Memorial Park at Skyline Blvd. and Half Moon Bay Road in San Mateo.

Born in China Springs, Texas, Mrs. Coffman attended Baylor University. She was a Life Master bridge player, family members said.

Mrs. Coffman was married for 59 years to James Coffman II, who died in 1996. She is survived by her son, Jim Coffman of Newport Beach; and one grandson.

Arrangements were under the direction of Menlo Colonial Chapel, Menlo Park.

Edna Elam

Retired chemist

Edna Elizabeth Elam, a longtime resident of Menlo Park, died January 7 after a brief illness. She was 87.

Born August 31, 1914, in Olds Ferry, Idaho, she married Daniel Wesley Elam on December 31, 1935. They moved to the Bay Area in the early 1940s, originally settling in Berkeley.

Mrs. Elam received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the College of Idaho in 1935 and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Washington in 1940. She did extensive research for many years on vitamins B and C at the University of California at San Francisco and at the University of California at Berkeley before becoming a full-time homemaker.

Her family moved to Menlo Park in 1956. A devout Catholic, Mrs. Elam was attracted to the city in part because of its large Catholic community, the family said. She was an active parishioner at St. Raymond Catholic Church.

Mrs. Elam was often seen walking with her familiar, tall, wooden stick in the West Menlo neighborhood where she lived for the last 46 years. Few realized that the stick was originally used to mark her children's height as they grew, said a family member.

An advocate of organic foods, she ate only food that was organically grown and prepared, the family said.

Mrs. Elam is survived by her sister Frances Byer of Berkeley; daughters Barbara Key Coburn of Mission Viejo and Cherie Ann Elam of Hayward; son Charles Gary Elam of Corvallis, Oregon; and two grandchildren.

Services were held January 18 at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Menlo Park.

Virginia Nielsen Gradiska

Arts patron

Virginia Nielsen Gradiska, a 32-year resident of Portola Valley, died March 31 while on vacation in Kenya. She was 65.

Born in Chicago, Mrs. Gradiska attended Stanford University and graduated from Northwestern University. She moved to Portola Valley in 1970 with her two children from a previous marriage. While working as a volunteer at Woodside High School she met her future husband, vice principal Millord V. Gradiska.

Mrs. Gradiska showed her appreciation for the arts through her support of the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Symphony, and Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco, family members said.

Her other interests included the work of her favorite charities, the World Wildlife Fund, UNICEF, the Arthritis Foundation and the Elephant Sanctuary. She was also passionate about travel, her family said.

She is survived by Millord, her husband of 22 years; her children Karen Hust of Hartford, Connecticut, and Audrey Hust Gow of Houston; her stepchildren Diana M. Gradiska of Portola Valley and Ken Gradiska of Los Altos; and seven grandchildren.

Services were held under the direction of Spangler Mortuary in Los Altos.