Obituraries Obituraries (March 12, 2003)

John Phillips

Menlo Park resident, Rotarian

John Woodley Phillips, a member of Rotary for more than 47 years, died February 14 after a decade-long battle with cancer. He was 79.

Born in San Diego, Mr. Phillips spent his early adulthood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, near his family's oil business.

After he graduated from Tulsa High School in 1940, Mr. Phillips attended the University of California, Berkeley, before enlisting in the Navy in 1942.

He continued his studies after World War II at the University of Oklahoma and later Tulsa University, where he received a bachelor's degree in accounting.

Mr. Phillips married Marjorie King in 1951 and managed his family's mineral investments in Oklahoma before moving back to San Diego in 1969.

He was active in Rotary while living in San Diego, and continued his involvement when he and his wife moved to Menlo Park in 1987. His family said Mr. Phillips was a football fan and an avid collector of jazz recordings.

Mr. Phillips is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marjorie King Phillips; daughter Carol Hankins of Cincinnati, Ohio; son Joel Woodley Phillips of Portola Valley; and three grandchildren.

Graveside services at Skylawn Cemetery took place February 18. Memorials may be made through the Rotary Foundation of the Menlo Park Rotary Club, P.O. Box 876, Menlo Park, CA 94026.

Iris Vaden

Longtime Menlo resident

Iris Vaden, who had lived in Menlo Park since 1953, died February 13 at Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City after a short illness. She was 92.

Mrs. Vaden was born in Athens, Ohio, the youngest of four children. She attended Ohio University in Athens, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After graduation she taught in a rural school near Athens.

A sorority sister persuaded her to move to the Washington, D.C., area, where she became executive secretary to Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. A drama and English major in college, she became active in little theater groups.

While in Washington she met and married Jim Vaden. After living in Nashville, Tennessee, the family moved to Menlo Park in 1953. The next year they moved into their new Menlo Park home where Mrs. Vaden lived until her death. Mr. Vaden died in 1957.

Mrs. Vaden worked as a secretary at SRI, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and the Veterans Administration in Palo Alto. She retired in 1975.

She enjoyed her activities at Little House, working crossword puzzles, the television program "Jeopardy," and being with her family, say family members.

Mrs. Vaden is survived by her daughter, Jane Vaden of Los Altos, and two granddaughters. Her son, James Vaden III, died in 1986.

Memorials may be made to Peninsula Volunteers Inc., Meals on Wheels program, Little House Senior Center, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park 94025.

Charles Hutchison Jr.

Atherton resident

Charles Milton Hutchison Jr., a Stanford graduate and Navy veteran, died last week after a lengthy illness. He was 82.

Born in Los Angeles, he received his degree from Stanford in aeronautical engineering and played on the men's tennis team for three years, earning a varsity letter in 1941.

During World War II Mr. Hutchison served on the USS Makin Island, the flagship of the escort carrier fleet that saw action in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He retired from the Navy with a rank of lieutenant commander.

Mr. Hutchison was president of Kortick Manufacturing Co. and a member of the Bohemian Club, Merchants Exchange Club, Villa Taverna and the Menlo Circus Club.

He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, sons James and Easton, daughter Sara Fleischer, stepchildren Frederick and Alex Stamey, and Charline Quist Magrin.

Private funeral services under the direction of the Woodside Chapel of Crippen & Flynn will be held at a later date.