By Edith 'Alberta' Hyson

Edith “Alberta” Hyson died Feb. 9 at her Los Altos home. A native of California, she was 77.

Mrs. Hyson was a cook manager for the Los Altos School District.

She is survived by her husband, Virgil; children, Bob and his wife Barbara, and Peg Bickmore; and grandchildren, Brian and Wendy.

Yoshiko Takayesu

Yoshiko Takayesu died Feb. 19 in Mountain View. A native of Japan, she was 94.

Mrs. Takayesu is survived by her six children, including Geraldine Bradley and her husband Richard of Mountain View; and 12 grandchildren.

Mary Fisher

Mary Fisher died Feb. 23. A native of Colorado, she was 92.

Mrs. Fisher’s family owned the last working apricot orchard in Palo Alto, on Arastradero Road. She was a longtime Palo Alto resident.

Mrs. Fisher was preceded in death by her husband, Roy; and sons, Mel and Joe. She is survived by her daughter, Lillian Beltramo of Los Altos; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Bascom ‘Mac’ Mackey

Bascom “Mac” Mackey died Dec. 2. A native of Washington, D.C., he was 81.

Mr. Mackey served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He enjoyed entertaining his family and friends.

Mr. Mackey was preceded in death by his son Lloyd. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara; children James of Mountain View, Thomas, Barbara Keller, Joan Mealy and Ruth Snecker; 15 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Peggy Matthews

Peggy Matthews died at her Mountain View home Jan. 30 while taking a nap. A native of Alberta, Canada, she was 84.

Mrs. Matthews graduated from Mountain View High School in 1934 and attended San Jose State College, where she studied piano and voice.

Mrs. Matthews gave continuously to the community throughout her life. She received her 50-year pin in the Eastern Star in 1987 and was active in the Peninsula Symphony Association and the Mountain View Presbyterian Church.

She was the organist for her Eastern Star chapter and played piano for weekly sing-alongs at a convalescent hospital. She sang in the church choir, performing often as a soloist and piano accompanist.

Mrs. Matthews is survived by her husband, Alec; niece, Mary-Margaret Anderson; grandnephews, Brett and Scott Spencer; and numerous cousins.

William Brooks Rippey

William Brooks Rippey, a lifelong Mountain View resident, died Feb. 9. He was 74.

Mr. Rippey served in the Air Force from 1946 to 1952. He and his family owned the R Club on Castro Street in Mountain View during the mid-1960s.

Mr. Rippey is survived by his children, Mem and her husband Tom Owens, Michael and his wife Trish, and John and his wife Stephanie; grandchildren, Christopher, Matthew and Eloise; and great-grandson, Bryant.

Mildred Lynette Boss

Mildred Lynette Boss, a former Mountain View and Los Altos resident, died Feb. 15. A native of Oregon, she was 85.

Mrs. Boss was a homemaker, artist and volunteer. After attending college for two years at the University of Oregon, she supported herself by painting portraits and landscapes, a passion she maintained throughout her life. She later developed an interest in bird-watching. She volunteered at local hospitals and supported many nature organizations.

Mrs. Boss was the widow of Halbert D. Boss. She is survived by her children, Cathy Wentz and her husband Leon, and Gary and his wife Carol; siblings, Gene and Frances Doran; grandchildren, Todd Boss, Eric Boss, Missy Boss and Tom Dutra; and four-legged best friend, Toby.

Thelma Salayon

Thelma Salayon died Feb. 11. A native of Florida, she was 74.

Mrs. Salayon was a day-care provider.

She was the widow of Luciano Salayon. She is survived by her children, Judy Aquino, Janet Kinsman, Steven Salayon and Gina Schetgen; siblings, Anne Costales of Mountain View and Irene Prebis; 11 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

Robert Joseph Faris

Robert Joseph Faris died Feb. 23 after a lengthy struggle with diabetes-related health issues. A native of Chicago, he was 77.

Mr. Faris served in the U.S. Army during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He received a master’s degree in library science from the University of Southern California and was a law librarian at UCLA from 1952 to 1981.

Mr. Faris’ passion was music. He was a tenor in several singing groups, including the UCLA A Cappella Choir, the Roger Wagner Chorale and the Neo-Renaissance Singers of Los Angeles.

Mr. Faris was preceded in death by his parents, Harvey Samuel and Josephine Fugate Faris. He is survived by his siblings, David Gordon Faris and Nancy Faris Sleeper; and cousins, nieces and nephews.

Tanya Holzmayer

Tanya Holzmayer died Feb. 27. A Russian native, she was 46.

Mrs. Holzmayer was a scientist for PPD Discovery.

She is survived by her son, Alex Rozinov of Mountain View; parents, Andrew and Alexandra Holzmayer; brother, Andrew and his wife Vera; son’s father, Michael Rozinov; and nephew, Paul Holzmayer.

Ardith Ann Carey Bannen

Ardith Ann Carey Bannen died Feb. 21 at her Los Altos home. A native of Minnesota, she was 92.

Mrs. Boyd was a medical secretary at Mercy Hospital.

She was the widow of William Patrick Bannen. She is survived by her children, Colleen Boyd of Los Altos Hills, Annie Woodbridge of Mountain View, and William Bannen III; brother, Jack Carey; grandchildren, Kerry Boyd, Robert Boyd, Steven Boyd, Kelly Zwijack and Tracy Wolfe; great-grandchildren, Chloe Boyd, Jamie Zwijack, Danielle Wolfe and Joshua Wolfe; sons-in-law, David Boyd and Brec Woodbridge; and daughter-in-law, Charlotte Bannen.

Franklin D. ‘Bud’ Neer

Franklin D. “Bud” Neer, a 38-year Los Altos resident, died Feb. 22 of pneumonia. A native of Chicago, he was 76.

Mr. Neer served in the U.S. Marines during World War II in the South Pacific Fleet. He graduated from De Paul University in business and the UCLA Graduate School of Management.

Mr. Neer’s sales management career spanned over 35 years. He worked for Admiral, Panasonic and Motorola. At the time of his retirement, he was president and CEO of MBC Corp., a distributor of Epson.

Mr. Neer was the widower of Marilyn. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Cathy and Dennis Voelker of Los Altos; and grandchildren, Brittany and Brandon Voelker.

Marie G. ‘Gerry’ Strapp

Marie G. “Gerry” Strapp, nee Gaffney, died Feb. 24 at her Los Altos home. A native of Cleveland, she was 72.

Mrs. Strapp was born on Christmas eve in 1929. She attended Ursuline College for women and Cleveland State University in Ohio for more than two years, majoring in chemistry and mathematics. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at San Jose State University.

Mrs. Strapp worked as an associate engineer at Hiller Aircraft Company and joined Lockheed in 1960, proud to be pioneering the profession as a woman engineer. Her career culminated in 1991 as manager, cost proposal/control center development O/67-51.

Mrs. Strapp was the widow of Joe. She is survived by three sisters-in-law and 11 nieces and nephews.

Edward Sharnee

Edward Sharnee died Feb. 25 at his Los Altos home. A native of Wisconsin, he was 92.

Mr. Sharnee was a postal clerk for SLA Corp.

He is survived by his wife, Gertrude; daughter, Carrie Bender; siblings, Marcelle Miller and Antoinette Worzalla; and five grandchildren.

Jean Fowkes

Jean Fowkes, landscape designer and retired Palo Alto Parks Department employee, died Feb. 28. She was 70.

Mrs. Fowkes was one of the first women to do park maintenance work for Palo Alto, making front-page headlines when the city ordered “women working” road signs to replace the traditional “men working” signs.

Mrs. Fowkes was a longtime member of the Western Horticulture Society.

She is survived by her mother, Floss; brother, Gus; children, Steve, Darcy, Bob, Ken, Rick and Dale; grandchildren, Katie, Wilson, Cari and Morgan; and Burmese house cat, Kofi.

Frank R. Norton

Frank R. Norton, a former longtime Mountain View resident, died Feb. 24. He was 79.

Mr. Norton was a cost accountant with the Linear Accelerator Program at Stanford University for many years. He was an Army veteran of World War II. He was a past member of the Masonic Lodge and the Elks Lodge, where he participated as a clown in the lodge’s programs for children.

Mr. Norton is survived by his wife, Dorothy; children, Ken and his wife Rene, and Sheryl Fields and her husband Rick; sister, Grace Norton; and grandchildren, Allison and Erich Fields and Kendra and Kristin Church.

Sandra Richardson

Sandra Richardson died Feb. 26 at her Los Altos home. A native of Maryland, she was 59.

Mrs. Richardson is survived by her daughter, Mariah Leigh Pospisil of Los Altos; and siblings, Nancy Winkler and Gilda Richardson.

Mary Louise V. Wilson

Obituaries run on a space-available basis. All items will be edited for length and newspaper style. Notices must include name of the deceased, death date, age, connection to Los Altos, Los Altos Hills or Mountain View and names of surviving family members. Please include a contact name and phone number. Mail obituaries to Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022; fax 948-6647; or e-mail lindat@latc.com.

Mary Louise V. Wilson, a 46-year Mountain View resident, died March 3. A native of New Jersey, she was 84.

Mrs. Wilson was born on her grandfather’s New Jersey farm. She graduated from New Jersey State Teachers College in 1937.

Mrs. Wilson taught second grade at Springer Elementary School from 1965 to 1981. She was an active member of the Los Altos United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her husband, John Walter Wilson; son, John Arthur Wilson and his wife Marilyn; and granddaughters, Whitney and Lauren.