By Julia O. Nickon
Julia O. Nickon, a longtime area resident, died on Easter Sunday, April 15. A native of Illinois, she was 93.Mrs. Nickon exhibited exceptional mastery in baking, cooking and gardening. While in her 20s, she owned and operated a pie shop in Chicago. Mrs. Nickon is survived by her children, Joyce Altera of Los Altos, Nick Nickon and Dr. Don Nickon; six grandchildren; five-great-grandchildren; and one sister, Sibylla Ofner.
Visitation will be from 2-7 p.m., Friday, at Lima Family Mortuary in Sunnyvale. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, at Los Altos Lutheran Church.
Louis Secunda
Louis Secunda died April 3. A native of New York City, he was 92. Mr. Secunda was a former resident of the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
He was the widower of his wife of 58 years, Bernice Secunda. He is survived by children, Judy and her husband Larry William, and Alfred Secunda; sister, Rhoda DeChristoforo; grandchildren, Paul William and his wife Suzie Pan, and Lisa Rose William Zigmund and her husband Rodney Siegel; and great-grandchildren, Leila, Rose and Ray.
Seth Anderson
Seth Anderson died April 3. A native of New York, he was 82.
Mr. Anderson was an aeronautical engineer for NASA.He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Libby Anderson of Los Altos Hills; children, Kim Elizabeth Anderson and Thomas Arne Anderson; and two grandchildren. Services were held.
Paul Mauch
Paul Mauch died April 5. A native of Germany, he was 80. Mr. Mauch was an electronic engineer at Ampex Corp and a World War II veteran. He was a member of the Audio Engineers Society, SIRS’s #35 of Palo Alto, and the Felton Presbyterian Church. Mr. Mauch is survived by his wife, Phyllis Mauch; children, Janet Cetani, Ellen Boyd, and Robin Walwyn; and eight grandchildren. Services were held.
Adeline Magdalina Pancini
Adeline Magdalina Pancini, a longtime Mountain View resident, died April 5. A native of North Dakota, she was 84. Mrs. Pancini worked in the grape fields of the Central Valley. She moved to Oakland, where she worked as a cook and nanny. She later worked for Libby, McNeil & Libby Cannery in Sunnvale. Mrs. Pancini was a member of several fraternal organizations, most notably the Miramonte Chapter Order of the Eastern Star. She is the widow of Sam Poncini. She is survived by daughters, Cheryl Melissa Poncini and Katherine Louis McDowell; aunts, Elsie Brown and Maggie Heinitz; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Mr. Lawrence W. Gentry
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Mr. Lawrence W. Gentry, Los Altos Architect and Planning Commission member, died of pneumonia after a brief illness on March 9. A native of Dallas, Mr. Gentry was 91. Mr. Gentry graduated from the University of Southern California in 1932, where he received a degree in architecture. In the mid 1940s, he established his private architectural firm in Los Altos, where he designed a number of local homes and public buildings.
He is best known for designing and building a series of new elementary and middle schools in the 1950s for the growing Los Altos community, including St. Nicholas Parish School, the Los Altos Fire Department building, a number of churches and Rancho Shopping Center.
Mr. Gentry was a founder, active member and past-president of the Los Altos Rotary Club, and also served as committee chairman for Boy Scout Troop 37. He was president of the Northern California Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, an active member of the early Los Altos Planning Commission, and School Board Architect. Mr. Gentry closed his private practice and joined the San Jose offices of the architectural firm of Porter Jensen Hansen in the mid-1960s. He later moved to San Clemente, where he worked and consulted until his retirement.
Mr. Gentry is survived by his second wife, Laura Dale Anderson Gentry; children, Lee W. Gentry and Penelope Dolan Perry; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson. He was predeceased by his first wife, Nannette Rittler Gentry.
