Obituaries Obituaries (December 25, 2002)

Mary Augusta Grant Hodgson

Homemaker

Mary Augusta Grant Hodgson, a longtime resident of Woodside, died peacefully at her home December 16 after a long illness. She was 71.

Born March 22, 1931, in San Francisco, Mrs. Hodgson graduated from Mercy High School in Burlingame and Lone Mountain College in San Francisco.

She met her husband Pete in 1957 and they were married at Fort Benning, Georgia. Soon after, they returned to California to raise their family.

Mrs. Hodgson helped her husband build his contracting firm and worked with him until her retirement in 1993. Family members said she enjoyed gardening, and the company of her dog and cats, but most of all she enjoyed her family.

Mrs. Hodgson is survived by her husband Pete Hodgson of Woodside; her children Carol Ebner of Portola Valley, Ann Greth of Minden, Nevada, C.R. Hodgson of Santa Clara, and William Hodgson of Mountain View; and 10 grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was held December 21 at Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic Church in Portola Valley. Arrangements were under the direction of the Woodside Chapel of Crippen & Flynn in Redwood City.

Donations in Mrs. Hodgson's memory may be made to Sequoia Hospital Foundation, 170 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City, CA 94062.

Louis Giurlani

Former president of Star Fine Foods

Louis Giurlani of Atherton, former president of his family's Star Fine Foods wholesale grocery company, died December 11. He was 86.

A memorial Mass is set for January 11.

Mr. Giurlani was the son of Angelo Giurlani, who founded Star Fine Foods in San Francisco in 1898. Angelo Giurlani's family operated one of Italy's largest olive oil production businesses, Star Olive Oil, in Tuscany.

Mr. Giurlani grew up in San Francisco and attended Armstrong Business School in Berkeley. In 1939 he married Beverly Rosenberg, and the couple raised four children in San Francisco, later moving to Atherton. Beverly Giurlani died in 1972.

Mr. Giurlani and his brother, Gaetano, took over Star Fine Foods after their father's death in 1950.

In the mid-1970s, the company was purchased by Carbonnel, a Spanish olive oil firm. The Giurlani brothers then turned to real estate investments, including an industrial park in Silicon Valley that was later bought by Hewlett-Packard.

Mr. Giurlani was a longtime member of the Olympic Club, University of San Francisco Presidents' and Ambassadors' Club, and Il Cenacolo Club; he was also a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. He loved to travel and cook, say family members.

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Yolanda Ciutto Giurlani of Atherton; brother Gaetano Giurlani of Los Altos; daughters Carol Chiantelli of San Francisco and Shirley Alberts of Santa Fe; sons Louis "Buff' Giurlani of Menlo Park and Steven Giurlani of Portland; stepdaughters Susan Tonjum of San Francisco and Jacqueline McCall of Novato; and 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, January 11, at St. Ignatius Church, 650 Parker Ave., San Francisco.

The family prefers donations in Mr. Giurlani's memory be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor, 300 Lake Ave., San Francisco, CA 94118; or to the Michael Basso Foundation, P.O. Box 6112, San Rafael, CA 94903. Arrangements are under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney, Palo Alto.

Don Hirsch

Building contractor

Don Hirsch, who built many homes on the Peninsula including his own homes in Atherton and Menlo Park, died December 12 at Sharon Heights Care and Rehabilitation Center. He was 85.

Mr. Hirsch was born in Oakland and moved to Redwood City as a young child. He attended San Jose State University and graduated from San Mateo Community College.

For more than 20 years, he was a general contractor. Before going into the building business, he worked as a chemical analyst at the Pacific Portland Cement Co. at the Port of Redwood City.

He built his last house in Sharon Heights, where he lived in retirement, spending his time traveling with his wife, Ann, and taking care of his extensive garden.

Mr. Hirsch is survived by his wife Ann; sons James D. Hirsch of South San Francisco and Robert N. Hirsch of Los Altos; sister Mardell Graham of Santa Rosa; and three grandchildren.

Private family services were held. Memorials may be made to Pathways Hospice Foundation, 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 104, Mountain View, or to a charity of choice.

Philip O'Donnell

SRI executive

A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 4, at the Crippen & Flynn Memorial Chapel, 400 Woodside Road, Redwood City, for Philip J. O'Donnell, 80, who died November 20. A reception will immediately follow at Woodside Terrace, 485 Woodside Road, Redwood City.

A native of Butte, Montana, Mr. O'Donnell earned a scholarship to Stanford University in 1940. He volunteered for the Army Air Corps in 1943 and flew 35 missions with the Eighth Air Force as a bomber pilot, earning five air medals. After the war, he graduated from Stanford School of Law.

He was an attorney in private practice until 1961, when he became a contract administrator for Lockheed Martin. He concluded his career at SRI International, retiring in 1978. He lived in Menlo Park and Atherton with his family for 51 years.

Mr. O'Donnell is survived by his wife Beatrice; sons James and Scott of the San Francisco Bay Area and William of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and one grandson.

Donations in Mr. O'Donnell's name may be made to the Beatrice B. and Philip O'Donnell Scholarship Fund, Account 2000303152 at Wells Fargo Bank, 735 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025.

D. May Phillips Phillips

Native of Barbados

D. May Phillips, a 20-year resident of Menlo Park, died December 13 at the age of 86.

Born in Barbados, West Indies, Mrs. Phillips grew up on a sugar-cane plantation in the colonial days of the British Empire. She married John David Hunter Phillips and moved to Guyana, formerly British Guiana, in South America. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Phillips left England to be with her two daughters in the States.

Mrs. Phillips was an active and well-liked member of Trinity Parish, and enjoyed spending time with her many friends, children and grandchildren, her family said.

She is survived by her daughters, Ellie Ferrari of PortolaValley and Heather Borcherds of Menlo Park; a brother, Charles McKenzie of Victoria, Australia; a sister, Eulalie Evans of Great Britain; and four grandchildren.

A memorial service was held December 21 at Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park.