Editor's note: Los Altos Patch begins a new feature, one that allows us to take note of the passing of members of our communities in Los Altos and Los Hills. This is in addition to the obituaries that we run with permission of Cusimano Colonial Mortuary.
In this week's article, we find Arline T. Harman, co-founder of the Los Altos company that would hold one of the first Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises and William B. Rieke, president of Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., which was once one of the largest employers in Santa Clara Valley.
The chronicling of the lives of these individuals, who lived and worked among us, originally appeared in one of the following publications: The San Jose Mercury News, San Mateo County Times, San Francisco Chronicle, the Deseret News, and the Sacramento Bee. Click on the links to read the full account or to sign the guest book via Legacy.com.
Herbert Ainsworth, 92, a resident of Los Altos. He passed away peacefully at home Dec. 23, 2012. His 36-year Navy career spanned three wars and took him all over the world. He was Commander, Fleet Air Wings Pacific Fleet/Fleet Air Moffett Field in 1972 until his retirement in 1974. A celebration of Ainsworth's life will be at the Moffett Field Chapel, on Moffett Field in Mountain View at 2:00 on Saturday, February 2, 2013.
Phyllis Bronstein, 73, a resident of Los Altos Hills, passed away Dec. 29, 2012. The Native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was a professor at University of Vermont and taught at San Jose State University after retiring. A memorial service will be held February 2, 2013 in the Los Altos area. For more information, email: phyllismemories@gmail.com.
Ray Bunt, 89, a longtime resident of Los Altos, passed away peacefully in Mountain View on Jan. 4, 2013. Served in the U.S. Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleet. He progressed in his career with John Hancock Insurance Co., and in 1961, moved his family of five to Los Altos from Connecticut. A Funeral Mass was held Jan. 12, 2013 at the Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga. Mr. Bunt's full obituary is found at Cusimano Colonial Mortuary's Web site.
William Glen Bushnell, 87, passed away peacefully in his sleep Jan. 11, 2013. He was the former accounting instructor, counselor and administrator at both Foothill and DeAnza colleges and Dean of DeAnza's Saturday College for 30 years. Services were held January 19, 2013 at at the Meadow LDS Ward Chapel, in his hometown of Meadow, Utah.
Judith S. Duque, 75, was a longtime resident of Los Altos Hills. She passed away Dec. 29, 2012 and was an active volunteer of the Los Altos Library, Bay Area Beast Cancer Network, and the Jr. League of Los Angeles and Northern California. A Funeral Mass was held Jan. 4, 2012 in St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Los Altos.
John C. Flesher, 95, resident of Los Altos. Lt. Col. John Chesnutt Flesher, USAF, ret. passed away on January 4, 2013, following a stroke. He was an active resident at BridgePoint of Los Altos, where he lived since 2009. During WWII he was a pilot, navigator and flight instructor in the Army Air Corps, and afterwards, lived in Palo Alto and he taught at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto for twenty years before retiring in 1982. A memorial service was held January 19 at Spangler Mortuary.
Kathy Gado, 59, died on Nov. 30 in her home. She grew up in Los Altos, graduated from Homestead High, received her AA from DeAnza College, BA from Stanislaus State, Teaching Credentials from Chico State, and law degree from UC Hastings in San Francisco and practiced immigration law in San Francisco, until illness forced an end to her career.
Arline T. Harman, 96, resident of Los Altos. The Lincoln, Nebraska native passed away on Jan. 3, 2013. With her husband, Leon W. "Pete" Harman. they purchased and operated a small, outdated restaurant and in the early 1950s a chance meeting with Colonel Harland Sanders led them to become the Colonel's first business partners and first franchisees of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The Harmans relocated back to Los Altos, in the 1950s, where they established their company headquarters and have lived ever since.
Jerry Clair Humpal, 77, resident of Los Altos. He passed away Dec. 30, 2012 after a courageous battle against cancer. A native of Bridgeport, Nebraska, he moved and graduated Mountain View High School. A memorial was held January 4 at 1pm at Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos.
John Joseph Miller, 89, was a 30-year member of the Los Altos Post Office. The former WWII submariner passed away Jan. 4, 2013 in his Milpitas home with family at his side and was interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Los Altos on Jan. 12.
John Burge Mason, 78, resident of Los Altos. The 42-year Los Altos resident died Jan. 14, 2013 after a short illness. He and his family settled in Los Altos in 1970. A memorial service will be held Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 at 2:00 pm at Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos.
Anka (Perisich) Ohman, passed away on January 15 at her home in Los Altos. The Oakland native, and master educator, was a mentor to others who became master educators. She taught at Watsonville High School and at City College of San Francisco. No memorial service was held.
Siegfried Pfendt, 78, resident of Los Altos. Passed away at home on January 4th, 2013. He immigrated to the United States from Europe as a teenager in 1951 with his mother and brothers. He enjoyed a successful professional civil engineering career and retired after 24 years with the City of San Jose.
Grant Lafe Powers, 88, resident of Los Altos. He was born Lafe J. Bottorff in Merced and was a prominent businessman with offices in San Francisco and San Jose. He also hosted an award-winning public access television program, Second Chance. A private service has been held.
William B. Rieke, 99, resident of Los Altos and former president of Lockheed Missles & Space Co. Passed away Dec. 21, 2012. His 40-year career with with Lockheed was capped by his appointment as President of Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. in Sunnyvale and Executive Vice President of Lockheed Corporation, before retiring in 1980.
Suzanne (Koch) Van Hooser, 61, a native of Los Altos, passed away Dec. 17, 2012 in Orangevale. A memorial service was held Jan. 5, 2013 in Fair Oaks.
Herwig von Morzé, 75, died in his Los Altos home, on December 20, 2013, after a long battle with multiple myeloma. He spent his first 37-1/2 years in Austria and Germany, then moved to the U.S. as a patent agent for Syntex Corporation, then Heller Ehrman White. A memorial service was held Jan. 3, 2013 at St. Simon Catholic Church in Los Altos.
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