Obituaries Obituaries (September 17, 2003)

Nancy Katherine Boone

37-year resident of Woodside

Nancy Katherine Boone, who was an active member of the Woodside community, died September 4 at Sequoia Hospital. She was 80.

Born in Quincy, Massachusetts, Mrs. Boone graduated in 1945 from Boston University, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

She met her husband, Howard, in 1945 on an airplane -- she was a stewardess on board. They married in 1946.

The Boones lived in Woodside from 1960 to 1997, when they moved to Redwood City.

Mrs. Boone was active in community affairs, including the Girl Scouts and the PTA. She was a member and past president of the Children's Home Society. As a member of the Service League of San Mateo County, she worked with prison inmates and their families.

In Woodside, she was chairperson of the Livestock and Animal Control Committee and the Trails Committee, and was a deacon at the Woodside Village Church.

She is survived by her husband, Howard, of Redwood City; daughters Kathleen Boone of Palo Alto, Betsy Harms of Half Moon Bay and Bonnie Boone-Altshuld of Portland; and six grandchildren.

A memorial service was held at the Woodside Village Church.

The family prefers donations to Rosener House, 500 Arbor Road, Menlo Park 94023.

Perry Hall Lisman

Worked at SRI

Perry Hall Lisman of Menlo Park died August 26 after being struck by a car in Redwood City while riding a motor scooter. He was 71.

Mr. Lisman was born in 1932 in Sweetwater, Texas. He attended high school in Japan and graduated from the University of Texas, Austin.

He served in the Navy from 1953 to 1968 on active duty and in the Naval reserve. He was a fighter pilot in the Mediterranean on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt.

After leaving the Navy, he worked for Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in defense research. From 1974 to 1991 Mr. Lisman worked for SRI in Menlo Park as the deputy division director in research and development.

Mr. Perry was an active member of the Sierra Club, volunteering as a hike leader. He was an active skier, hiker and backpacker, and enjoyed hiking in Edgewood Park, family members said.

A memorial service celebrating his life is planned. The family prefers donations to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, Utah 84741.

James Henry Black

Chemical company co-founder

James Henry Black, who lived in Atherton and Menlo Park, died at Stanford Hospital on September 2 from cancer. He was 81.

In 1951, Mr. Black and his friend J. Kern Hamilton founded Jones-Hamilton, a chemical-producing and distribution company headquartered in Newark, California.

Born in Hugo, Oklahoma, Mr. Black graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1942. He moved with his family in 1948 to Menlo Park, where they lived for many years.

Mr. Black was president of the Newark Rotary, president of the Chemical Industrial Council of California, and a member of the American Chemistry Council.

In the 1950s he was president of the PTA and was elected to the Menlo Park school board. He was an avid fisherman and hunter, family members said.

He is survived by his wife, Gamalier, of Atherton; children John Black of Palo Alto, Judith Barath-Black of Santa Cruz, and Richard C. Minnis of Sacramento; and a brother, William Black of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A memorial service was held at the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto. The family requests donations be made to Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Radiation-Oncology, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 94301.

Alan Strain

Educator, social justice advocate

Memorial services for Alan Strain, an educator, Stanford University assistant dean and former Portola Valley resident, were held September 13 at the Santa Cruz Friends Meeting House in Santa Cruz.

Mr. Strain, 79, died August 26 of congestive heart failure at his home in Santa Cruz. He was known for his commitment to social justice.

He graduated from Stanford University, where he majored in psychology. While at Stanford, he helped to organize a group of students to bring horses to Poland as part of a relief effort after World War II.

He also met his first wife, Joanne Hunnicutt, at Stanford. She is remembered by many as the helpful children's librarian at the Menlo Park Library for many years.

After he received a teaching credential from Stanford, he taught at Woodside Elementary School. During the 1960s, he taught at and served as director of the Peninsula School in Menlo Park. He later helped found Pacific High School, an alternative school near Los Gatos, and taught there until he left to serve as the western field secretary of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors.

In the 1970s, he joined the Dean of Students Office as director of special services, responsible for all draft counseling at Stanford.

After the Vietnam War ended, he was appointed associate dean of Student Affairs at Stanford and served as interim dean of Native American Affairs. He helped organize the first spring Inter-Tribal Pow Wow at Stanford, and helped found Synergy, a cooperative house on campus.

Mr. Strain anchored an important era at Stanford, said Jim Lyons, emeritus dean of student affairs, who worked with Mr. Strain.

"Alan had magical qualities that enriched the lives of students and colleagues. He had special qualities of person, principle, social mission and compassion, and was a master teacher in the informal curriculum of student affairs," said Mr. Lyons. "His work bears fruits even today -- 30 years later."

In 1975, Mr. Strain was awarded the Lloyd D. Dinkelspiel Award for outstanding service to undergraduate education.

He loved to design and build houses, said his son, Larry Strain. He built a home in Portola Valley off Westridge Drive, then renovated the family home, a 26-year project on Wayside Road in Portola Valley.

Mr. Strain also was active with the religious Society of Friends throughout his life. He served on the National Board of the American Friends Service Committee, and on two occasions, was a Friend in Residence at Pendle Hill, a Quaker study center in Pennsylvania.

He was born in Fairfield, Idaho, in 1924 and moved to California with his family in 1935. During World War II, he was a conscientious objector and served his alternative service at boys' ranch in the San Fernando Valley.

He is survived by his wife, Rosalie Pizzo Strain; his sons, David Strain and Larry Strain of Berkeley; his daughter, Laurie Friedman of Davis; 16 grandchildren; and his brothers, Douglas Strain of Oregon and Robert Smith of Illinois.

Contributions in Mr. Strain's memory may be made to the Santa Cruz Friends Meeting Building Fund, 220 Rooney St., Santa Cruz, CA 95065; or the Stroke Center, 501 Upper Park Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95065.

Mary Elizabeth Kaattari

Longtime community volunteer of Menlo Park

A memorial service is scheduled at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park on September 20 at 3 p.m. for Mary Elizabeth Kaattari, a Menlo Park resident for more than 40 years, who died at home on July 27. She was 88.

Mrs. Kaattari was born in Ogden, Utah, and studied business English and office procedures at Ogden Business College.

She was an active volunteer and community worker in the Bay Area. She served in the American Red Cross in the chaplaincy of the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital; the Stanford University Medical Center Auxiliary; and the Altar Guild and the council of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Menlo Park. She also was a member of the Peninsula Volunteers Little House and Retired Seniors Volunteer program.

She taught English to foreign students in Menlo Park middle schools for six years, and she tutored English to adults in her home.

Mrs. Kaattari is survived by her children, Stephen Kaattari of Yorktown, Virginia, and Katie Ann Kaattari of San Carlos; three grandchildren; and sisters Eugenia Piersanti and Kathleen Peterson of Ogden, Utah.

Carol Dempster Bliss

48-year resident of Menlo Park

Carol Dempster Bliss of Menlo Park died in Palo Alto on September 8. She was 81.

Born in San Francisco in 1921, Mrs. Bliss worked as a telephone operator for 25 years in Burlingame and Redwood City.

She is survived by her children, Lyn Ulrich of Menlo Park, Patti Jean Verwey of Fremont, and Edwin Dempster Bliss of Sparks, Nevada; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood Tinney of Palo Alto.