71445. Col. Martin Eager Willson
Ventura County Star
May 11, 2006Martin Eager "Marty" Willson, 88 years of age, a 20-year resident of Oxnard, died Saturday, May 6, 2006, at St. John's Regional Medical Center after a longtime battle with congestive heart failure and diabetes.
Born March 8, 1918, in Victorville, Calif., Martin graduated from Victor Valley High School in 1936 and enrolled in the College of Engineering at University of California at Berkeley. In 1939 Martin joined the Army Air Corps and was assigned to the 91st Bomb Group in England. He served as Gen. Curtis LeMay's personal pilot and flew 24 combat missions with the 305th Bomb Group (with Clark Gable as his tail gunner on one mission). Afterwards, he flew Pathfinder Squadron flights, looking for enemy air bases in Iceland and Greenland. He earned a War Department General Staff designation for work done with the OSS coordinating air electronics research and development projects.
After the war, Martin served as the director of plans, projects, engineering and inspection responsible for all Air Force communications and air navigational services in Europe. He served as director of communications and electronics for the Great Falls Air Defense Sector and as commanding officer of five Air Force organizations providing communications, air navigation and traffic control, and air defense services. His command received the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. His favorite assignments were planning and installing the communications system at Cape Canaveral Missile Test Station and NORAD.
He retired as a colonel in 1962 with many awards, including the Air Force Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Award, Air Medal (with three silver oak leaf clusters), World War II Victory Medal, Euro-African Middle Eastern Campaign (Bronze Star), American Campaign Medal, Aerial Achievement Award, American Defense Service Medal (Silver Star) and Army of Occupation Medal.
After his Air Force career, Martin worked for 20 years as a senior microwave engineer with General Telephone, retiring in 1986. His hobbies included playing the organ; travel; photography; square dancing; ham radio (W6KIK); golf; his pet cat, Max; and bird, ToyToy. He enjoyed many close friendships in the Gold Coast Organ Club and the 24 Hour Fitness senior class. He was a frequent guest at 8th Air Force gatherings and the Camarillo Air Show.
Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Joan Willson; son, Robert J. Willson (Carol); daughters, Susan A. Kauffman (Steve), Mary Ann Vejmola, Patricia Glossop (George) and Karen E. Willson (Chris Weber); grandchildren, Patricia Wheeler, Scott and Brian Willson, Jenna and Jeremy Kauffman, Rudy and Carol Ann Vejmola and Gerri Ann Moscone; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Arizona Daily Star
July 07, 2005Willson, Evelyn Anne (Shultis), was born January 31, 1922. in Oakland, California and died July 2, 2005 in Tucson.
She was preceded in death by daughter, Carol Ann and is survived by children, Robert Willson (Carol), Mary Ann Vejmola, and Susan Kauffman (Steve); eight grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; and close friend, Walter Ochse.
San Jose Mercury News (CA)
January 19, 2007Arthur Nelson Inman, well-known civic and community leader, died Monday, January 15 at his home at the Hyatt Classic Residence in Palo Alto.
Inman was born in 1922 in Chico, CA and grew up in Oroville, CA.
He attended San Jose State College in 1942 where he earned his BA in journalism and business. World War II sent him to the European theatre in the Army Air Corps and in 1946 Staff Sergeant Inman returned to marry Jeanette Rose Owen, a classmate at SJC. Inman immediately began work with the Palo Alto Times and then the Redwood City Tribune.
In 1948 he founded Peninsula Lithograph Co. in Redwood City which then expanded and moved to Menlo Park in 1960 where he printed Sunset Magazine books among others. In 1973 he published Oceans Magazine for six years at which time he donated it to the Oceanic Society. He then founded Golf Associates, a printing and distributing company of golf manuals.
Inman is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jeanette; daughters Linda Chilton and her husband Rand Chilton of Atherton, Diane Inman and her husband Verne Johnson of WA; and son Roger Inman and his wife Marla Inman of Menlo Park. Also, grandsons Joshua Chilton, Matthew Chilton, Kiel Johnson, Keith Inman and granddaughter Elizabeth Inman as well as great granddaughters Samantha and Natalie Chilton.
The Almanac online
Jeanette Owen Inman, 92, peacefully passed away Tuesday, April 28, in Palo Alto. She was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Arthur N. Inman.
Jeanette was born in San Jose in 1922, where she spent her childhood as a student of music and dance. She attended SJSC where she was active in Ero Sophian/Alpha Phi sorority, and her abilities in dance, playing piano, art, journalism and choreography were applied and appreciated.
After her marriage to Art Inman and the birth of their three children, Linda, Diane and Roger, her involvements increased to community volunteer, terrific cook, dance teacher and "hostess with the mostest." She is remembered for 60 years of creative and much-looked-forward-to Christmas cards which chronicled the family's activities in photos and stories.
She and Art were members of Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club and the Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and they were active in the Suburbans Social Club. She enjoyed homes in Redwood City, Atherton, Menlo Park, Pebble Beach and Truckee where she spent time with her family and friends. She and Art spent 40 summers fishing for salmon in Canada and loved the "big catch."
Jeanette leaves her children, Linda Chilton and her husband Rand of Atherton; Diane Inman and her husband Verne Johnson of Vashon, Washington; Roger Inman and his wife Marla of Menlo Park; grandchildren, Josh Chilton and his wife Stacey of Redwood City, Matt Chilton and his wife Holly of Atherton, Kiel Johnson of Portland, Keith Inman of Menlo Park and Elizabeth Inman of Menlo Park; great-grandchildren, Samantha and Natalie Chilton of Redwood City and Hunter and Aiden Major of Atherton.
71449. Maybelle Caroline Luther
Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
June 10, 2011Maybelle Luther, age 82, of Eureka, California passed away on Sunday morning, June 5, 2011 with her beloved niece Lilly by her side.
Born in Eureka, California on March 31, 1929, Maybelle graduated from Eureka High School in 1946. After High School she worked as a teacher's aide at Winzler's Children Center where she was encouraged to get teaching credentials. She went on to receive a BA from humboldt State University (HSU) in 1960. After graduation she taught kindergarten at Trinidad Elementary School and later served as an aide at Glenn Paul School while also caring for her dad until his death in 1989. She also volunteered with 4H for over 30 years.
After retirement, Maybelle continued working with children, volunteering at Pine Hill Elementary School and also watching the children of young mothers returning to school at Evenstart. She organized and inspired her church family to volunteer at the Multiple Assistance Center (MAC), working there every month for many years. Because of her work and inspiration, MAC gave her church First Congregational United Church of Christ, an award of special recognition. Maybelle loved and was devoted to her family and friends. She was like a mother to many of her family members as well as people in the community. She made clothing for kids needing clothing for school. She loved to garden and generously shared the bounty of her garden with her church, family, and friends. She also helped on church clean-up days where she could be found weeding and tending the flower beds. In her honor, the church's next clean up day on June 17th from 3pm t o 8pm is named in her honor. Always finding ways to be helpful, she even made seat covers for the chairs in the Social Hall. Maybelle was an especially warm, loving person in a congregation of warm loving people. Her life was a blessing and will remain a blessing for as long as there are people who remember her and benefit from the gifts she so generously shared with others. We will miss her.
Maybelle leaves to mourn her passing her sisters Grace Summers, Mary'l Atterbury and husband Don; brothers, Guy Luther and wife Judy; and Dexter Luther; nieces and nephews, Charles, Leslie (deceased), Diane, Erna, Roy, Karen, Chris, Bruce, Ken (deceased), Kathy, Carrie, Dana, Lilly, Tyler, Zaira, Damian; and dear friend Nova, friend of 70 years and her husband Myron.
Times-Standard
January 24, 2020Grace R. Summers (n�e Luther) was born Nov 28, 1930, in Eureka, CA and passed away Dec 4, 2019, in Poway, CA.
She was an extremely intelligent woman, who enjoyed reading, spent time teaching, and could recite pages of verse from memory decades after she learned it.
Though she found herself divorced at age 25 with two small children, she went on to rebuild her life very successfully with five children, ten grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and at least one great-great-grandchild.
Grace had a lifelong love of church activities and found many ways to contribute, from bringing refreshments to working on the fellowship newsletter, organizing bible studies or hosting Sunday school for the children. She was outgoing, found it easy to make friends with strangers as she inspired and found the best in their nature. Grace was a lover of books and poetry, and of voices raised in song, stubbornly independent to the end.
Preceded in death by her eldest daughter Leslie Wall, she is survived by her loving children Charles Keith, Diana Kennett, Roy Summers and Erna Harbison.
Los Angeles Times
February 17, 2008SUMMERS, Roy Died at home in Pasadena on February 8th. Born in Alaska on August 4th, 1933.
He is survived by his stepson Charles, daughter Diana, son Roy, daughter Erna and ten grandchildren.
Roy was a respected engineer at JPL for over 30 years. As someone who worked on Project Deal, he took part in the recent 50th anniversary celebrations for the Explorer 1 satellite. He was well read, and had lifelong interests in photography, science and technology. Roy had passions for digital photography, accurate measuring and for recording details of his life. He also loved good food and was happy to be a gracious host to many family get-togethers. He will be greatly missed and forever cherished by those who loved him.
December 26, 2012Douglas L Keith, beloved husband of Luise, died at home in Elk Grove on Thursday, December 20, 2012 at the age of 85. He had suffered a prolonged illness.
Doug was born in September of 1927 in Taft, California to Leslie and Ruth Keith. He is survived by his sister Lilly and children Charles, Margaret, Jude, step children Christa and Fred, and many beloved grandchildren.
In his professional life he taught at Cal Poly. He lived for much of his adult life in Santa Clara where he ran the Materials Research Lab at Stanford University. During his time at Stanford he also pursued his love of photography and gift for education by teaching photography at Foothill Community College. While working at Stanford he helped develop a "sputtering gun" that allowed very thin layers of metal to be combined in ways not previously possible. He and Luise moved to Elk Grove in 2001 and shortly thereafter became involved in the Sheldon Community Association. He was very interested in the history of the Sheldon Area and preservation of its rural roots.
71451. Mary'l Josephine Luther
Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
November 1, 2017MARY'L JOSEPHINE ATTERBURY Wife, mother, grandmother, teacher extraordinaire, passed away at home Saturday October 14th, 2017. She was 83. Mary'l was born here in Eureka to Erna and Slade Luther on November 9th, 1933.
She lived a rural life with her siblings Grace, Maybelle and later on Guy and Dexter. On any given morning you could find her out feeding chickens or milking her cow, whom she would later sell to attend Chico State. She would soon find her way back home to Humboldt State University, obtain her teaching credential in 1955, and promptly there after marry Don Atterbury on August 9th, 1956.
A loving, kind, diligent, thorough person, Mary'l then concentrated on giving her third grade Kindergarten or 1st graders- depending on the year- a good education. She always told her student's parents, "If you do only one thing with your children, read to them every night." It was a saying her children Chris, Karen & Bruce would remember and pass on to their children. Although she would modestly deny it, Mary'l had a strong operatic voice and formidable piano skills that echoed throughout the home. She showed those talents with her students at school, as well as her children's choir of the First Congregational Church, where she was a long standing member. As an avid gardener, Mary'l could be found digging in her garden on the weekends or kneeling next to seedlings, weeding between rows. Later, she took to pruning and tending the apple orchard that stood in their side yard. Mary'l will be remembered for her love of teaching, her kindness and big heart. One of her favorite sayings was, "If you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything at all." May we all be so wise. There are many threads that made up the tapestry that was Mary'l.
Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)
January 20, 2021On Saturday, January 9th, 2021, Donald Lee Atterbury of Eureka CA, passed away peacefully in his home at the age of 91. Don was born on May 11, 1929 in Portland, Oregon to Casper and Wretha (Mc Cormick) Atterbury.
After growing up in Portland, he moved to Humboldt County in the early 1950s and joined the Navy in 1952 where he was stationed in San Diego as an Aviation Machinist Mate 3rd Class, served on the USS Curtiss during 1954 Operation Castle atomic bomb testing in the Bikini Atolls, and then on the USS Oriskany at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan.
In August 1956, Don married the love of his life, Mary'l Luther in Eureka, CA. It was a marriage that would last for 61 years until Mary'l's death in 2017.
They built a house in Eureka, raised three children there, and both passed in that very same home. Don received a bachelor's degree and teaching credential from Humboldt State in 1960 and was a dedicated elementary school teacher in the South Bay Union School District until retirement in 1992. During the nearly 70 years living in Humboldt County, Don generously gave his time to the community sharing his love of singing and Humboldt Bay. He was an avid member of the Humboldt Harmonaires chorus, sang in numerous quartets, and was presented with his 50-year pin in 2020, an accomplishment he was quite proud of. Don was the skipper of the Sea Scout Ship Yankee for over forty years, mentoring kids in boating and life skills in and around Humboldt bay. He was one of the founding members in 1977 of the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum and volunteered until just a few years ago. Since 1983, Don assisted with restoring and then yearly maintenance on the Madaket while she was on the ways every year up to last. Don was a dedicated and loving husband, father, mentor and friend. His presence will be deeply missed by so many!
Don is preceded in death by his wife, Mary'l and is survived by his three children Bruce Atterbury, Chris (Jim) Andresen, and Karen Arruda, five grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, and 2 great-great grandchildren.
The Hopkinton Independent (MA)
December 11, 2014Walter Phillip Lang, 82, of Hopkinton, passed away Thursday, November 20, 2014 at Marlborough Hills Rehab. Born in Framingham, he was the son of the late Elsie (Riley) and Harold Lang. He was the husband of the late Nancy (Fredericks) Lang.
An Army Veteran, Walter had worked as a printer for Dennison Manufacturing. He is survived by his two sons, Charlie and Frederick Lang; his sister, June Prosser as well as several grandchildren. He is predeceased by two children, Walter and Deborah.