Obituaries Obituaries (January 12, 2005)

Barbara Oswald

Woodside, Menlo Park resident

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 22, at St. Denis Church in Menlo Park for Barbara Oswald, who was active in her family's restaurant businesses for many years.

Ms. Oswald died November 10 at her Menlo Park home after a two-year battle against cancer.

Ms. Oswald was born in San Francisco, the daughter of Angela and William Puccinelli. Her father opened San Francisco's famed Blue Fox restaurant.

In 1953 she married Ralph Oswald and the young couple moved to Woodside where they operated the Skywood Lodge. "She did everything: planned the menus, made the salads, waited on tables," said her husband.

In 1958 the Oswalds opened the Village Pub, which became a favorite haunt for Woodside residents. In 1965 they opened Carousel du Soleil restaurant at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos, which ran for five years. They also owned the Lobster Trap in Foster City. In 1999 they sold the Village Pub to Tim Stannard.

During her children's school years, Ms. Oswald was active in the Portola Valley PTA, and helped found parents' clubs at the Woodside Priory and at Sacred Heart Prep, according to Mr. Oswald.

After the children were grown, she worked at Neiman-Marcus at Stanford Shopping Center for 10 years.

Ms. Oswald is survived by her husband of 52 years, Ralph Oswald of Menlo Park; sons Bill of Santa Rosa and Chris of Redwood City; daughters Gina Landy of Jamestown, New York, and Vicki Hall of San Francisco; and seven grandchildren.

The family prefers contributions to St. Vincent's School for Boys, #1 St. Vincent Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903.

Winona Waites

Native of Canada

Winona Waites, a resident of Menlo Park for 44 years, died at her home in Palo Alto on December 26. She was 97.

Ms. Waites was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She graduated from the University of British Columbia when she was 19. During World War II, she and her husband, G. Frank Waites, moved to California and became U.S. citizens.

Ms. Waites was active in the Stanford Mothers' Club and the Menlo-Atherton branch of the American Association of University Women. She lived in Menlo Park from 1955 until 1999.

She is survived by daughter Margaret Bergeson of Lompoc and son Robert Waites of Menlo Park; brother Byron Straight and sister Norma Straight of Vancouver, British Columbia; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

At her request, no services were held.

Nancy Francis Jones

Former AAUW president

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 22, at the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, 1140 Cowper St., for Nancy Francis Jones of Atherton. Ms. Jones died December 29 after a long battle with Alzheimer disease. She was 73.

Ms. Jones was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and grew up in Woodbury, New Jersey. She majored in textiles and apparel at Cornell University, where she met her future husband, Paul. They were married following her junior year and moved to San Diego, the homeport of her husband's ship. She graduated from Cornell in 1954.

The Joneses moved to San Francisco in 1952 and moved to Atherton in 1963. She was active in the parent-teacher associations at Encinal School and Menlo-Atherton High School.

She served two terms as president of the Menlo-Atherton chapter of the American Association of University Women and edited the newsletter of the League of Women Voters for many years. She was an elder of the Presbyterian Church, serving one term on the session and three terms as a deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto.

Ms. Jones was an artist, gourmet cook and gardener, say family members. She studied Japanese brush painting for many years. She and her husband, Paul, largely rebuilt their Atherton home, incorporating many of her design ideas. She visited all 50 states and 60 foreign countries.

In addition to her husband of 53 years, she is survived by daughter Lucy E. Jones of Hartwick, N.Y.; sons Richard L. Jones of Atherton, Peter D. Jones of Auburn, Alabama, Philip K. Jones of Orefield, Pennsylvania, and Andrew D. Jones of Richardson, Texas; and eight grandchildren.

Memorial gifts may be sent to Pathways Hospice Foundation, 201 San Antonio Circle, Suite 104, Mountain View, CA 94040; the AAUW Education Foundation, 1109 Valparaiso Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025; or the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto.

Robert Neuman

Native of Sweden

A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 15, for Robert Fritz Neuman, a Menlo Park resident for 47 years who died January 4. He was 85.

The service will start at 1 p.m. in Redwood Chapel at 847 Woodside Road in Redwood City.

Mr. Neuman was born in Goteborg, Sweden, and in 1957 came to the United States, where he worked two jobs and studied electronics to become an electronic technician. He worked for Ampex Corp. in Redwood City for 16 years.

Mr. Neuman was a music lover who made his own tapes, especially big-band and Hawaiian music, say family members. He also enjoyed soccer and played with the Grasshoppers team in Menlo Park.

Mr. and Mrs. Neuman belonged to the Swedish Lodge, Lindberg #494, and the family enjoyed celebrating Swedish traditions with friends, say family members.

Mr. Neuman is survived by his wife, Majken L.V. Neuman; son Gary R. Neuman; daughter Eva-Lena Lyssand; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

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