Obituaries Obituaries (September 14, 2005)

Gretchen Hargis

Technical editor, writer

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 17, at Wesley United Methodist Church, 470 Cambridge Ave. in Palo Alto, for Gretchen Hargis of Menlo Park, who died August 17 of respiratory failure due to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She was 61.

Ms. Hargis and her husband, Thomas Sharp, were politically active in the Willows in the early 1990s after becoming concerned about traffic in their neighborhood. They helped elect Menlo Park city council members who were sympathetic to their cause.

Ms. Hargis was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Wilmette and Northfield, Illinois. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal, and worked as an editor for Science Research Associates, a textbook and exam publisher in Chicago.

In 1969, she moved to Palo Alto. After the Palo Alto branch of Science Research Associates closed in 1984, she became a technical editor, writer and manager at the IBM Silicon Valley Laboratory.

She was a member of the Dymaxion Dance group, a regular at the Yoga Center of Palo Alto, and a member of Wesley United Methodist Church. She enjoyed gardening, sewing and riding her bicycle, and loved languages, say family members.

She is survived by her husband, Thomas Sharp; daughter Kathryn Hargis; and brother Gerrit Wolf.

Donations may be made in her name to the Helen Sprietsma Wolf and Gretchen Hargis Memorial Fund at Hope College, Advancement Office, P.O. Box 9000, Holland, MI 49422-9000.

Ruth Humphrey Swan

Retired Stanford medical school secretary

Ruth Humphrey Swan, a retired secretary for Stanford University's School of Medicine, died at her home in Emerald Hills on August 11. She was 83.

She was born and raised in Methuen, Massachusetts, and was an active member of the Rainbow Girl service organization; she served as the "grand worthy advisor" of the Massachusetts Grand Assembly in 1942 and 1943.

She met her future husband, Lawrence W. Swan, during World War II while working as a colonel's secretary in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The couple settled in Redwood City. She worked as a secretary for the medical microbiology department at Stanford from 1966 to 1987.

Family and friends remember her as an accomplished pianist and organist with a friendly smile who combined organization, charisma and appreciation for imagination.

She was preceded in death by Lawrence, her husband of 54 years. Ms. Swan is survived by her children Rhonda Jane Swan of Pasco, Washington, Sharon Swan Schaller of Emerald Hills, and Pamela Diane Swan of Chandler, Arizona; her sister Dorothy Wickersham of Tucson; and one granddaughter.

No service is planned, but memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice Foundation of America, 12000 Biscayne Blvd. #505, Miami, FL 33181; or to the Sempervirens Fund, Drawer BE, Los Altos, CA 94023.

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