OBITUARIES OF MEMBERS OF SIR's
The following are obituaries of members of Branch Number 1 of Sons in Retirement who have passed away within the past year. The obituaries have been obtained from the Obituary Column of either the San Francisco Chronicle or the San Mateo County Times. Please click on the person's name for additional details.
The following is a list of those who passed away in 2011:
For Obituaries of SIR's Branch Number 1 members in the past years, click on the following years:
Obituary Details of Deceased Members
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January 2, 2011 |
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January 5, 2011 |
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Albert Gabriel Ratto Born July 20, 1920, passed peacefully at home with
family by his side on January 5, 2011. Throughout Al's colorful life of 90
years, there was always one consistency, his 'love of family and friends'.
Al was the loving husband of Josephine Ratto for 62 years, the adoring
father of Joan Tezak (Bill Tezak) and John Ratto (Helen Ratto), the proud
grandfather of Sage Tezak and Jeffrey Ratto (Kim Ratto) and the caring uncle
of many nephews and nieces. Al leaves behind many fond memories that forever
will be cherished in the hearts of many. Al was an All-American football
player, a soldier, a florist, a nurseryman and a school teacher whose
profound sense of humor brought smiles to everyone who knew him. Al was an
alumnus of Galleo High School in San Francisco and one of the eleven 'Men of
Iron' from the class of 1938. He graduated from Saint Marys College in 1942
and was inducted into the Saint Mary's Football Hall of Fame. Al was a
veteran of the
U.S. Coast Guard and was an active member of the San Mateo Elks, the
SIRS, Old Timers Association and St. Bartholomews Church for over 50 years.
A Rosary will be held at Sneider & Sullivan O'Connell's at 977 S. El Camino
Real, San Mateo, CA on Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. A funeral mass
will be held at St. Bartholomews Church at 300 Alameda de Las Pulgas, San
Mateo, CA on Monday, January 10, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.
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December 30, 2010 |
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January 25, 2011 |
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Stanley Easter, a retired music professor from Canada College, passed away on January 25, 2011. An informal graveside funeral was held on Friday, January 28, 2011 at 10:30 A.M. at the Soquel Cemetery, 550 Ol San Jose Road, Soquel, California. Stan joined SIR's on February 9, 2005.
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December 3, 2010 |
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April 5, 2011 |
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Paul J. Six passed away on April 5, 2011 at 2:00 A.M. Visitation will be on Friday, Apr 8, 6-9pm including rosary prayer at 7pm at: Snyder & Sullivan FH 977 El Camino, San Mateo, 343-1804
A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Sat, Apr 9 at 1pm: Saint Luke Catholic Church, 1111 Beach Park Blvd., Foster City, 345-6660
Paul Joseph Six October 5, 1932 - April 5, 2011 Born in Chicago, IL and
resident of Foster City, CA for 38 years. Devoted husband to Dr. Ellen Six for
47 years and father of Laura, Michele, and Renee. Brother of Alyce Forgue and
Larry Six. Beloved grandfather of Robert, Kyle and John-Paul Lim and William
and Tommy Jessen. Son of Harriet and Paul Six, Sr. (deceased). Paul was an
Electrical Engineer for 55 years. He was the proud owner of Accurate
Engineering and Title 24. He graduated from USF with a Bachelors of Science in
Business and continued his education with many electrical rating
certifications. Paul was a political candidate for City Council for Foster
City and State Legislature. He was a distinguished Life Senior Member of IEEE.
Paul judged the Science Symposium for SCVSEFA, educating youth in the fields
of engineering and science. He was also an active member of SIRS, Branch One.
Paul attended daily mass at St. Luke's parish, where he was a lector and choir
member. Paul was active in many charities including: St. Vincent dePaul, St.
Jude's Children's Hospital, WWF, and Nature Conservation. In the past 5 years
he learned to balance his technical abilities with his newly found passion of
the arts. As an artist, he won the 2010 Community Choice photography award in
FC. He had multiple gallery showings for his international travel and
landscape photography. Paul we thank you for the joy, love and home you
provided. The corny jokes, the smiles and the basketball games you guided. But
mostly thank you for the prayerful way you lived your life as a grandfather,
father and husband to your wife. Please join us in a Prayer Service and Rosary
on April 8th at 7pm at Sneider + Sullivan + O'Connells Funeral Home @ 977 S.
El Camino Real in San Mateo. There will be a funeral mass on April 9th at 1pm
at St. Luke's Catholic Church @ 1111 Beach Park Blvd in Foster City. This will
be followed by a reception.
Published in the San Francisco Chronicle from April 8 to April 9, 2011.
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April 1, 2011 |
No Biography at thenpresent time.
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April 11, 2011 |
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Alto C. Moorbrink Born in S.F on May 1, 1922, passed away peacefully at home
on April 11, 2011. Al is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Esther; sons
Ron and Marty, daughters Randy, Vicky, and Katy; 6 grandchildren, 6 great
grandchildren; his sister in law Pauline Newton; 4 nephews and their families.
As a US Naval Aviator, Al flew the Hellcat. He is a graduate of Poly Tech
High, U.S.F., and Stanford. Al was a lifelong learner: a word wizard, a
Scrabble master, a "Rube Goldberg" problem solver. His sense of humor and dry
wit were infamous. In his professional life, as teacher and administrator for
the SFUSD, Al made many friends. Hiking, and a love of nature, lead Al to
build a family cabin on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe in 1957 where he spent
treasured time with family in the warm, renewing sun and water. Many of his
SFUSD colleagues built cabins as well. A lifelong contributor to the Boy
Scouts of America, Al was also an Eagle Scout. Later, he was an avid member of
SIRS. "Poppy" loved sports (golf, waterskiing, and HIS teams: the Giants,
Niners, and the Cardinal). Musically, he played the piano daily; read music
and played by ear. Trumpet, jazz, and Broadway musicals rounded out this love.
Service will be held on April 19, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. at the CHAPEL OF THE
HIGHLANDS in Millbrae, El Camino Real at 194 Millwood Drive. Remembrances may
be made to the Boy Scouts of America.
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April 15, 2011 |
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Funeral Services will be held at Temple Sholom Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 4:00 P.M. The Temple is located at 1655 Sebastian Drive in Burlingame. It is located one block south from the intersection of Sebastian Drive and Trousdale just off of Highaat 280.
Morton Isaac Levinson A founder and principal of Levinson Bros. Insurance,
died suddenly at his Hillsborough home of a massive heart attack on Friday
April 15, 2011. Mort is survived by Barbara Levinson, his loving wife of
55 years. He is survived by his three children Kate Van Zanten (Mark),
Daniel Levinson (Nora) and Elise Horwich; and his two brothers, Fred
(Marlene), Jon (Diane), sister-in-law Lenore (David, deceased),
brother-in-law Ron Israel (Linda) and many nieces and nephews. He is
survived by his grandchildren, that he loved so very much, Lauren Cohen,
Sarah Van Zanten, Alana Van Zanten, Jeremy Horwich, Katie Barrett and
Kacey Barrett. One of the defining moments of Mort's life was, at the age
of 17, serving as the youngest American volunteer in Israel's War of
Independence. In the US Army he was stationed in Paris, France where he
met his wife, Barbara, a teacher at the US Air Force base in Chatauroux.
He graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1954 with a degree in
agriculture. He was active at Peninsula Temple Shalom and Congregation
Beth Am where he enjoyed participating in weekly services. He served as a
Peninsula Temple Sholom board member and was an active leader in the
Saturday morning Minyan. He enjoyed working as a volunteer, in costume, at
San Francisco Opera productions. Mort also served on the San Mateo County
Grand Jury as a Deputy Sheriff. In retirement, Mort was a participant of
Sons in Retirement and a peer counselor with Family Services of San Mateo
County. He enjoyed playing tennis, gardening, traveling and reading but
most of all he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. Mort
loved his family and he loved his friends. He was a man of deep conviction
and that is how he led his life. Mort will be remembered as a generous man
of integrity and a loving heart. There will be a memorial service, Sunday
April 17, at Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame at 4:00 p.m. If you
would like to make a donation in Mort's name, the family suggests
Peninsula Temple Sholom, Congregation Beth Am or Magen David Adom.
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No obituary yet.
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May 15, 2011 |
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Our newest member, Archer Summers, passed away on May 15th.
The Rev. Dr. Landon Tracy Archer Summers, 51, died May 15, 2011.
Born Dec. 31, 1959, in Parkersburg,W. Va., Summers will be remembered as a loving father and husband, for his positive spirit, gentle manner, undying faith in God and overall love of life.
Summers graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor’s degree in classics and later returned to complete a law degree. He also graduated from Harvard University with two master’s degrees and a doctorate in divinity and education.
Summers traveled to all seven continents by the age of 24. He served as a Methodist minister to churches in Maine, Connecticut and California. He spoke and read Hebrew, Russian, Greek, Latin and some Korean to impress his in-laws. Summers served as program manager of the USDA Graduate School. He received a congressional award for his work to promote peace in the Middle East and in 2008 was given the Unsung Hero award from the San Francisco Jewish Community Relations Council. Summers was a member of the Washington State Bar Association, and served on the Washington State Board of Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, as a member of the District of Columbia Bar and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.
Summers is survived by his wife, the Rev. Dr. Boyung Lee, and his children, Clara Elaine and Landon Jack.
A celebration of life will be held 2 p.m. June 25 at the Burlingame United Methodist Church, 1443 Howard Ave., Burlingame. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the L.T. Archer Summers Memorial Education Fund at the Burlingame United Methodist Church, or to the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem for its Christian Leadership Initiative at www.shalomhartman.org or Shalom Hartman Institute, 1 Penn Plaza, Suite 1606, New York, NY 10119.
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June 17, 2011 |
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William Wanat
Resident of San Mateo
Bill died peacefully on June 17, 2011, with his wife Camele by his side,
after a long and courageous battle with Parkinson's disease.
He is preceded in death by his parents Frank and Josephine Wanat as well as
his sisters Joan Wanat and Celine Kryznel. He is survived by his loving
wife, Camele of 31 years: brother-in-law Stanley Kryznel: nieces, Kathleen
Furman (David), Carol McClellan (Shane) and grandnephews, Daniel and Michael
Furman and grandnieces Ashley, Catherine and Bridget McClellan.
Bill was born in Poland and moved with his parents and sister Celine to
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and
then went on to earn a BS and then a Master's Degree in Engineering from the
University of Alberta in 1953.
He worked at a petroleum refinery in Vancouver, BC and in 1960 was
transferred to Chevron Research Co. in Richmond, CA. He was a process design
engineer, specializing in petroleum refinery and chemical plant problem
solving and trouble-shooting. His assignments took him to 19 countries
besides the US and Canada. He worked for Chevron for 32 years, took early
retirement, then worked as a consultant for 10 more years. He loved his job
and continued to correspond with many business associates and acquaintances
after taking full retirement.
Bill will be remembered for his generous and meticulous nature, his quiet
dignity, diverse talents and interests. Among his hobbies were creative
woodworking and gardening. He loved the outdoors: ice-skated and played
hockey when he lived in Edmonton then took up tennis, golf, bridge when he
moved to California. He could dance a great polka and beautiful waltz. Bill
volunteered for many years at Filoli and was a member of the
Elks Lodge, and Sons in Retirement in San Mateo.
Friends are invited to visit with the family, on July 6, 2011 at 10:15 am
and are invited to attend a Memorial Mass at 11:00 am, Saint Gregory Church,
2715 Hacienda Street, San Mateo, CA 94403. A reception will follow.
In his last generous act, Bill donated his brain to Parkinson's research. In
lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Parkinson's
Institute & Clinical Center, 675 Almanor Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085 or St
Jude's Children's Hospital, P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101 or the charity of
your choice. SNEIDER & SULLIVAN & O'CONNELL'S FUNERAL HOME (650) 343-1804
www.ssofunerals.com
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July 29, 2011
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Hello to all friends and acquaintances of Richard. Dad passed away at about
9:00
a.m. at Gordon Manor in Redwood City on Friday, July 29. In the last two or
three weeks Richard had a very quick decline in his health. Over the weekend
of
July 23 he was taken to Kaiser for extensive testing and was found to have a
massive white blood cell count. The doctors suspected that he might have
leukemia but could only confirm that with a bone marrow biopsy. The doctors
and
the family agreed not to take any extraordinary measures to treat him as the
treatment would be worse than the disease, he was in very bad shape by this
time. He was not eating, drinking or communicating very well. Hospice care
was
set up immediately at Gordon Manor with only comfort care. Annette, my
younger
sister and I spent a lot of time with him during his last few days. He was
not
awake the last couple of days and passed quite peacefully. He was still
playing
music up until 2 months ago with his last gig being with the Elk's Lodge Band
up in Yountville. He was 95 years old. Not a bad way to go. Those of you who
knew
him well know that he lived for playing music, 65 years of that being in the
San Francisco Bay Area, and that he lived exactly the way he wanted to. He
stayed
independent up until 2 months ago when the family moved him into Gordon
Manor.
Not too many people get to stay in their home for that long and at that age.
The family will have a private ceremony up at Skylawn in San Mateo County on
August
8th. His ashes will be interred in the Veterans Columbarium next to his
wife,
our mother. He will also receive a military ceremony. I'm on the fence about
trying to prepare a memorial for him, I know that a lot of his friends,
musician buddies, and the old neighborhood would like to honor him. What you
could do
for me is to respond to this email if you are interested in coming to a
memorial if
I can get it together in a timely manner. Then I would have an idea as to
what
size facility, food, etc. I would need. We could all get together and talk
about Richard. I know I don't have every bodies contact so pass this on if you
want.
Thanks all, Janice, Suzanne, Gordon and Annette
My mail contact is
Gordon Snyder
609 Maple Street
Aptos, CA 95003
