People

April 11, 1953-December 29, 2018 William Davis Ramsey passed away December 29, 2018, after falling ill with the flu this winter and consequently fighting a short battle with ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) at Renown Hospital in Reno. He led a full life sharing his love, laughter, gift of gab, and sometimes off-color sense of humor with his many friends, family, and acquaintances. Bill was an incredibly selfless soul who showed unwavering, unconditional, wholehearted love to all those around him and in turn was loved and will be fondly remembered by everyone who knew him. Born April 11, 1953, in Palo Alto, CA, to James and Betty Ramsey, he grew up in Los Altos, CA. He attended Santa Rita Elementary, Egan Junior High, and graduated from Los Altos High School in 1971. He completed his AA at Columbia College in Sonora and his BA in Business Administration at Humboldt State University. He settled in South Lake Tahoe where he happily enjoyed the Tahoe lifestyle for over 45 years. Bill began his career working at Tahoe’s casinos, but found he enjoyed being self-employed.

Age 98 passed away on Monday, January 21, 2019 at The Terraces Los Altos, a loving and active retirement community where she had thrived happily for eighteen years. She was born in Burlingame, California on March 20, 1920 to Zela Harrell Morris and Don Morris. They moved to San Francisco for a year, and then to Manilla for two years while her father was stationed there. The family moved back to San Francisco and then to Palo Alto in 1927. Norma graduated from Palo Alto High School with honors in 1937 and then attended San Jose State until 1938 when father her died and she had to quit school and go home to work to support her mother. In 1943 she joined the WAVES and became a storekeeper in the Navy. After being discharged in February 1946, Norma went back to school at San Jose State and in 1947 was offered a three-month job at the U S Fish and Wildlife Service and stayed for twenty-three years! She met James Ray McBride on a blind date to an opera at Stern Grove, San Francisco.

Born August 13, 1922, died peacefully in her home in Los Altos on February 11, 2019; she was 96. Margaret was born in Kansas and was the 6th of 10 children. Known as “Midge” to her family due to her diminutive status, she grew up helping her father with work on his small dairy farm. She graduated from St Peter’s and Paul’s Catholic school where she played basketball, softball and volleyball. After high school, she attended business college for a year in St. Joseph’s, Missouri before heading west to California in 1941. During WWII, she worked in a water analysis lab in Los Angeles. While in LA, she met her husband Joseph Teresi on a blind date while chaperoning a Sadie Hawkins dance at a local middle school. The two were married for 55 years and raised six children in Los Altos California. After the youngest was born, she went back to school for additional training, eventually becoming a medical technician for a local medical group where she worked for another twenty years before retiring.

December 7, 1938 – February 2, 2019 Alan Kaganov, 80, died in his home in Los Altos Hills on February 2, 2019 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, which he fought with his characteristic combination of optimism, scientific analysis and creativity. Even two days before he died, he was in discussion with colleagues on ways to improve the oxygen delivery systems that were sustaining his life. Holder of 15 US patents, Dr. Kaganov was a pioneer in biomedical engineering. He helped to develop treatments for many conditions including heart arrhythmia, internal issues, spinal and circulatory diseases and drug-delivery systems. In 2017, Alan and his wife, Carol M. Kaganov, established the Kaganov Research Initiative at Duke University. This unique program aims to advance the diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of pulmonary diseases by fostering new collaborations across Engineering and Medicine at Duke, where he earned his BS in 1960 in Mechanical Engineering.