By TRINCHERO, Virginia Hunter, a 50-year Los Altos resident, died July 26. A native of San Francisco, she was 88.

Mrs. Trinchero is survived by her children, Donna Vocke and Paul Trinchero; grandchildren, Paul and Andrea; and great-grandchildren, Jacob and Alexander. She was the widow of Henry Trinchero.

MCNEELY, the Rev. George Gardiner died July 26. A native of New Jersey, he was 85.

Rev. McNeely was an engineer at GTE Lenkurt. He is best remembered by the Los Altos Hills community as Rector of St. Luke’s Chapel in the Hills. Rev. McNeely was a retired Commander in the U.S. Navy. He served during World War II on the USS Black Hawk and the USS Nevada.

While raising his family in Los ALtos hIlls, he was an engineer for GTE Lenkurt in San Carlos, which gave him an opportunity to travel to every continent in the world building microwave communications systems. His service to the religious community began in 1964 when he was a founding member of the Episcopal Layman’s Group of Los Altos , which later became St. Luke’s Chapel in the Hills, an independent Anglican Episcopal Church. He followed in his own father’s footsteps by eventually becoming a minister and serving the Chapel congregation as minister and then as Rector emeritus until his death.

Rev. McNeely is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary “Mickey” Mc Neely; children, Julia McNeely; Lee Ann Vojvoda and her husband John of Los Altos Hills; sister, Julia McNeely Vance; grandchildren, Lauren and Jackie Vojvoda; and nieces and nephew.

ESPINOSA, Maria Margarita, head of Castilleja School from 1941 to 1971, died June 21. A native of New Mexico, she was 96.

Ms. Espinosa moved to Palo Alto with her family at age four when her father, Aurelio Macedonio Espinosa, became one of the founding faculty members of the language department at Stanford University. Ms. Espinosa enrolled as a Castilleja School student in the Class of 1922 after her mother, Maria Margarita Garcia Espinosa, became acquainted with the school’s founder at the Stanford Women’s Faculty Club.

After graduating from Stanford with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she returned to Castilleja as a part-time Spanish instructor in 1928. While teaching at Castilleja, she was on the board of the Peninsula Center for the Blind. She was appointed head of the school 13 years later.

Ms. Espinosa served as principal at Castilleja for 30 years and was the driving force behind the economic survival of the school and its academic tradition. Two weeks after she was named head of the school in 1941, she was informed that the school was bankrupt and would have to close. The faculty agreed to finish the year without pay so that the seniors could graduate. parents rallied and raised the funds needed to pay faculty and staff.

The following September, the school reopened with 95 students from kindergarten to Grade 12, a $57,000 mortgage, $12,750 in bills and no credit.

Over the next several years, Ms. Espinosa worked tirelessly to rebuild the school. By 1949, all the previous bills and the mortgage were paid. During her tenure, the school added a 30,000-square-foot dormitory, a new swimming pool and remodeled several of the buildings on campus. by the time she retired, enrollment had grown to 200 students in six grades.

Ms. Espinosa retired in 1971 and joined th e Peace Corps, where she served for two years as an English professor at South Korea’s Ewha university. She returned to Palo Alto and was active in the Senior Auxiliary of Children’s Hospital.

Ms. Espinosa received many awards during her lifetime, including the Palo Alto Senior Coordinating Council’s LIfetime of Achievement Award in 1992.

She was inducted into Stanford University’s Minority Hall of Fame in 1996.

Ms. Espinosa is survived by her brother, Aurelio Espinosa, a retired Stanford professor, and his wife, Iraida; eight nieces and nephews; and 12 grand-nieces and -nephews, including Sara Espinosa, scheduled to graduate from Castilleja in 2006, exactly 100 years after her great-aunt’s birth.

Private family services were held.

NAKANO, Grace Yukimi died July 10 in Sunnyvale. A native of California, she was 79. Mrs. Nakano was the widow of Mas Nakano. She is survived by children, Faye Nakamoto, Jeanne Pazmany of Mountain View and Mitchell Nakano; sibling, Irene Sato; and grandchildren, Terri Spivey, Darin Nakamoto and Jesson Pazmany.

TAYLOR, Michael died July 17 in Mountain View. A native of Oklahoma, he was 52.

Mr. Taylor was a self-employed public relations consultant. He is survived by his father, Mack Taylor Sr. and siblings, Jan, Merle and Mack Taylor.

TURNER, Elsie Jane died July 19 of cancer. She was 79. Mrs. Turner graduated from Samuel Merritt College of Nursing and was among the first nursing cadets in the Bay Area to volunteer for active military duty, though she was not called to service.

Mrs. Turner has a passion for quilting. She is survived by her children, Kathi Settle and her husband, Allen, Kristi Turner, March and his wife, Erin Turner; grandchildren, Scott and Matthew Settle and RJ and Daniel Turner; cousin, Ina Rathert; God-daughter, Jean Palm; niece, Corinne Hunt; grand-nephews, Dylan and Alec Hunt; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard, and brother, Ed.

MACGOWAN, Elinore died July 30 following a massive stroke. She was a native of San Francisco. Mrs. MacGowan attended Presentation High School and graduated from San Francisco State with a degree in English.

She is survived by her husband, Jack, and son, Dale.

BELFOR, Bettie June died Aug. 2 in Mountain View. A native of San Francisco, she was 75. Mrs. Belfor was a homemaker for 56 years. She is survived by her husband, Max Belfor; children, Jeff, David and his wife, Jan, of Mountain View; sister, Lynn Wuytowicz; and grandchildren, Heather, Lauren and Ryan Belfor.

HUTTS, Peggy, a 50-year Los Altos resident, died Aug. 6. A native of Kansas, she was 75. Mrs. Hutts appeared on the cover of “Life Magazine” in 1939 while performing in the Drum and Bugle Corp during the San Francisco World Fair.

She volunteered much of her time to community organizations, including the Children’s Health Council in Palo Alto and the Discovery Shop, Cancer Society in Los Altos.

Mrs. Hutts is survived by her husband, Al; children, Steve, Scott and Randy; grandchildren, Justin, Ryan and Eather; sister- and brother-in-laws, Francine and Gorodon.

REYNARD, Duncan Lawrence died of complications from non-Hodgkins lymphoma. A native of San Mateo, he was 69.

Mr. Reynard was a graduate of Santa Clara University. He worked at Lockheed from 1959 to 1966, during which time he was responsible for several flight experiments to measure radiation damage in space. At Philco-Ford, later Space Systems Loral, he held several managerial and executive positions from 1967-1999.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah Reynard, and children, Duncan David, Brian, Nima and Mark.