Obituaries Obituaries (March 31, 2004)

Arthur Vane
Microwave engineer

Arthur Bayard Vane of Menlo Park, a pioneer in microwave engineering, died March 14 after a long illness. He was 88.

Mr. Vane was born in Portland, Maine. He received a bachelor's degree in physical chemistry from the University of Washington in 1937 and a master's degree in the same field from Oregon State College in 1941.

During World War II he was asked to work on the development of microwave radar at the radiation lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

From 1947 to 1949, Mr. Vane was a research associate at the Stanford Microwave Laboratory and received a degree of engineer from Stanford in 1949. That year, he joined Varian Associates, where he designed and produced a comprehensive line of microwave test equipment. Varian sold the line of equipment to Hewlett Packard, where it became the basis for Hewlett Packard's line of microwave test equipment.

He left Varian in 1962 to work at Melabs, Sonoma Engineering and Research and Addington Laboratories, returning to Varian three times for higher positions. He retired from Varian in 1978.

Mr. Vane held many patents on equipment he designed, and published extensively in engineering journals on his work with microwave devices, say family members.

He was a member of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Sigma Pi Sigma, Sigma Xi, the American Chemical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc.

After retiring, Mr. Vane and his wife, Sylvia, traveled with Stanford alumni groups and Elderhostel all over the globe. He was interested in stereophonic music, and, while his children were small, family camping, according to his family. He also was an avid reader all his life.

He was a member of the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto for more than 50 years. He was active with the Palo Alto-Stanford Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, and the Community Committee for International Students at Stanford.

Mr. Vane is survived by his wife, Sylvia; children Ronald Vane, Linda Vane, and Laura Ames; sisters Marjorie Carpentier and Ivy Williams; three grandchildren; and 15 nieces and nephews.

Memorial services were held March 27. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney. The family prefers memorials be made to the Stanford Engineering Fund or the Outreach Fund of the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto.

Doryce McKelvy
Business partner and developer

Doryce Kathryn McKelvy, who was a business partner with her husband, Alfred, in the McKelvy Oil Co., died March 16 at the Atherton home where she had lived since 1949.

Ms. McKelvy attended Columbia University in New York City and worked for the A.D. McKelvy Co., where she met her husband. They were married in 1947.

After many years in the company's cosmetics business, she helped her husband start and build the McKelvy Oil Co., a business of wildcatting for oil and gas-tapping into the Hugoton gas field. The couple also developed parcels of property in San Mateo, Redwood City, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Monterey, and Brazoria County, Texas.

Ms. McKelvy was a member of the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, and the Beach and Tennis Club of Pebble Beach. She was a Pink Lady at Stanford Hospital. In later years, she made philanthropic gifts to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Humane Society, the Kidney Foundation and the American Heart Association.

She is survived by her sons, Alfred "Tod" McKelvy and J. Dorian McKelvy; a sister, Eleanor Batyos of Teaneck, New Jersey; a brother, August Kellermann of New Canaan, Connecticut; and four grandchildren. Her husband, Arthur, preceded her in death.

Burial took place in Atchison, Kansas. Memorial services are pending. The family prefers donations be made to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.

Memorial services are pending. Arrangements are under the direction of Redwood Chapel, Redwood City.

Ruth Bonham
Longstanding church member

Ruth E. Bonham, who was born in what is now Atherton in 1913, died March 18 at age 90.

At the time of her death Ms. Bonham was the longest-standing member of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, according to church historian Bill Russ. Ms. Bonham joined the church in 1927 and was listed as member No. 194.

Ms. Bonham lived in Menlo Park in her earlier years and was a resident of Palo Alto at the time of her death. She worked as a seamstress with Roos-Atkins clothing store in Palo Alto, doing men's clothing alterations.

She was an avid traveler and enjoyed vacationing in Hawaii. She and a group of women friends called themselves the "Lunch Bunch" and would meet regularly at different restaurants, according to her nephew, Barry Johnson.

She is survived by her niece, Carolyn Gulledge, and nephews Brian and Barry Johnson, all of Menlo Park. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Bonham.

At her request, no services were held. She was buried at Alta Mesa Memorial Park. The family prefers memorials be made to a charity of choice. Arrangements were under the direction of Roller Hapgood & Tinney.

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