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Here are the local residents who have died recently:
Edward Hollis, 79, raised in Palo Alto and a skilled woodworker, musician and an avid reader. Edward spent his time volunteering for local theater groups and with his local congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved a wide range of music, composed his own songs and was a founding member of the 1960s band The Vejtables. His passion in life was the importance of valuing people, and he often reminded anyone who would listen of how nothing should replace spending time together.
Heather Vail, 59, born in Berkeley and raised in Ashland, Oregon, she attended San Francisco State and Southern Oregon University before pursuing a career as a corporate secretary in Palo Alto. She lived in Redwood City for almost 30 years, where she raised her two children and enjoyed a life full of music, playing piano and violin in addition to the trumpet, even playing trumpet in two of her son’s school musicals. A bright and fun person, Heather had a great sense of humor and a passion for telling the stories of her life.
Dr. Clayton Wilson Bates, Jr., 91, born and raised in Harlem, New York City, excelled as an engineer and in his athletic pursuits before earning a Bachelor of Science from Manhattan College and master’s degrees from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and Harvard University, and later a Ph.D. in physics from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. His illustrious career spanned several decades and included pioneering work at Stanford and Howard Universities that paved the way for groundbreaking discoveries and patents. A devoted husband and loving father, he cherished his family and was a source of inspiration and support to all who knew him.
Richard Clark, 89, born in Detroit, Michigan, received his bachelor’s degree in industrial design before enlisting in the U.S. Navy, where he served for four years. After finishing his military duty, Dick headed west and never looked back, pursuing a career in aerospace systems and later devoting himself to artistic pursuits and activism from his Palo Alto home, a place for art, design, collaboration, healthy debate and beauty — both natural and hand-crafted — and where he was known as a “sustainer of community” via his political, religious and social activism.
Jane Trautmann, 84, born in Oakland and raised in Piedmont, received a bachelor’s degree from UCLA where she met her husband before settling in Palo Alto. Full of determination, adventure and spirit, Jane was an eager life participant: teaching, coaching, volunteering, traveling, learning and immersing herself with spirit in everything she did. She had a successful career selling real estate, raised three children with her husband and served as a mentor to other breast cancer survivors.
William Meyer, 88, born in Nashville, Tennessee, grew up and attended college in the Midwest before serving as a naval officer. Settling in Menlo Park and later Monterey and Davis, he has a deep faith in God, was patriotic to his country, dedicated to his family and enthusiastic to his various professional pursuits. When Bill was less busy, he enjoyed the game of golf, kept fit through swimming. and was active in many community activities.
John Casterman, 83, of Redwood City grew up in Pittsburg, Kansas, and graduated from the University of Kansas before volunteering for the Vietnam War, where he served three tours, was awarded many accolades and designed the now-famous patch for the Blackhorse Regiment. Even outside of combat, John had an extraordinary appetite for adventure and was confidently original, practical and hyper-social. He effortlessly related to people whom others did not see, and he believed that everyone had a story worth hearing.
To read full obituaries, leave remembrances and post photos, go to Lasting Memories at AlmanacNews.com/obituaries.
