Nevin Kay Hiester, first mayor of Portola Valley, dies at 82 Nevin Kay Hiester, first mayor of Portola Valley, dies at 82 (September 25, 2002)

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

Nevin Kay Hiester, a leader in the drive to incorporate Portola Valley and its first mayor from 1964 to 1968, died in Saratoga September 15, after a long battle with Parkinson's disease, later complicated by Alzheimer's. He was 82.

After moving to Portola Valley in 1960, Dr. Hiester saw the need to keep Portola Valley rural, and joined the fight to incorporate the town. After serving as the first mayor, he remained on the council for another term until 1972. At that time, the Town Council issued a proclamation naming him "Founding Father."

Bill Lane, who worked with Dr. Hiester on incorporation and served with him on the original Town Council, recalls the challenges of converting a rural community in San Mateo County into a self-governing town. "Nevin was a wonderful leader; he got along with everybody," Mr. Lane says.

George Mader, who has been town planner ever since incorporation, remembers how Dr. Hiester, a scientist, worked personally on developing new regulations to relate the density of housing development to slope in the fledgling town. "He was very involved in working out the technical aspects; he wanted to see something elegant," Mr. Mader said. "He was always very, very helpful."

Nevin Hiester was born in 1919 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After his mother died when he was 10, he lived with relatives, ending up in Seattle, where he attended high school and college. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, then a brand new field, and an Army commission as an artillery officer.

During World War II, Lt. Hiester first served with the Coastal Artillery Defense in San Francisco before transferring to the Army Air Corps -- later the U.S. Air Force. He served as an air liaison officer until December 1945, when he left the service as a major after serving both at home and in Italy.

While stationed in San Francisco, he met Audrey Stewart, daughter of Charles Stewart, CFO of the City of Paris store, at an officers' dance. They were married in July 1944.

After the war, the newlyweds lived in San Francisco and Seattle while Mr. Hiester pursued his education. He eventually earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1949.

The Hiesters moved to the Peninsula when Dr. Hiester took a job at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) as employee #91. He rose to be chairman of the High Technologies Department at SRI, and he taught chemical engineering classes at Stanford and edited chemical engineering textbooks. They lived in Menlo Park and Atherton before moving to Portola Valley in 1960.

The Hiesters moved to Los Altos Hills in 1976. Dr. Hiester retired from SRI in 1984 as associate director of business planning. Then they moved to other rural communities and took cruises to many parts of the world, climaxing with a cruise to Alaska to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary -- a present from their children.

Last year they moved to the new Saratoga Retirement Community, where they could enjoy the deer roaming the grounds.

Dr. Hiester is survived by his wife, Audrey Stewart Hiester of Saratoga; a sister, Harriet Heckman of Port Angeles, Washington; three children, Stewart Hiester of Bellingham, Washington, Harriet Girdley of Los Altos, and Hilary Swartz of Morgan Hill; and one grandson.

A celebration of Dr. Hiester's life will be held at a later date.

The family requests donations to Heartland Health Care & Hospice, 2005, De La Cruz Blvd., Suite 281, Santa Clara, CA 95050, 800 873-8524.