Services for The Almanac’s Jeanne Hueffed

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, at St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Belmont for Jeanne Hueffed, the longtime voice and face of The Almanac who answered calls and greeted visitors to our offices at 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas.

The church is at 325 Marine View Ave. in Belmont.

Ms. Hueffed, who was the receptionist for The Almanac over a period of 14 years, died Jan. 12 after a year-long battle with lung cancer. She died, surrounded by her children, at home in Foster City. She was 83.

Ms. Hueffed began working at The Almanac in 1988, when it was located on Oak Grove Avenue in downtown Menlo Park. In her job, she was a goodwill ambassador to the public, problem solver, room mother, quartermaster, party planner and event coordinator.

She presented The Almanac’s best face to the public and created a pleasant atmosphere, with fresh flowers on her desk and a well-filled candy jar.

“Jeanne did so much more for me and The Almanac than greet customers and answer the phone,” said publisher Tom Gibboney. “She would handle correspondence, plan parties and a million other things that were far beyond her job description. And she always had a smile and was happy to do it. She never wanted to sit still.”

Ms. Hueffed retired from The Almanac in 2002 when her husband became seriously ill. Mr. Hueffed died in 2004.

Born May 21, 1926, in Saginaw, Michigan, she attended local parochial schools and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in Saginaw.

She graduated from Marygrove College in Detroit in 1949 and went to work as an assistant buyer for Higbee’s department store in Cleveland. She developed an interest in fashion, which lasted all her life. She was always well dressed, with a passion for shoes.

She met her future husband, Theodor Kundrz Hueffed, in Cleveland on St. Patrick’s Day, and they were married Feb. 3, 1951, at St. Luke’s Church in Lakewood, Ohio. The couple lived in the Cleveland suburb of Bay Village, before moving to California in 1959.

Ms. Hueffed devoted her life to raising her six children, often volunteering at their schools or taking part in parent activities. After they were grown, she worked for a few years for the Swensen Ice Cream Co., before coming to The Almanac.

Although her maiden name was Kessel, she took great pride in her Irish heritage, gained through her grandmother, Bridget, who lived next door when she was growing up. St. Patrick’s Day would always find her sporting a green outfit and a shamrock pin, oftentimes with a pot of shamrocks on her desk.

Ms. Hueffed is survived by her six children: Martha Riviello, Lisa Hueffed, Ted Hueffed, Mary Ann Hubbard, Mark Hueffed and Molly Hueffed; 10 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

The family prefers that memorials in her name be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.