People

Dan Connelly was born in 1951; the son of Frank and Millie. He started school at Montclaire when it was a brand new building. He got a service award for helping teachers: the first of many. He rode his bicycle on a dirt path along the railroad tracks to Loyola corners. He was an altar boy at St. Simons church back in days when the mass was in Latin. He drove his red Jaguar to Homestead High where played football. He met Robin McGinnity, his future wife and popular cheerleader who cheered for that team regardless of the low numbers in the win column. One night Dan’s house was chosen to be toilet papered. Dan foiled that attack and turned the hose on them. He was happy about that. Some of his friends and teammates are still around to read this. Dan graduated from the Air Force academy. He went to Medical school at USC. He practiced vascular surgery at Andrews Airforce base in Washington DC until he retired from the air force as a Colonel. He became a partner and practiced in several hospitals in Kansas city. Dan taught his sons to ski and play lacrosse.

January 2, 1924 -July 22, 2020 Beloved wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother, Mary Francis (Pritchard) Gershuny passed away in Mountain View, CA on July 22, 2020. She is survived by her son Darryl Gershuny of Redondo Beach, CA; her daughter Dianne Gershuny of Mountain View, CA; grandchildren Eva Kaye-Zwiebel of Burlingame, CA; Aaron Kaye of London, England; and Carly Marchioni of Fairfax, VA, as well as three great grandchildren. Born in Silver City, MS, to Robert and Sarah (Wigley) Pritchard, she had four older sisters. Her first memory was of being rescued from the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. She left home for Washington, DC at 18 to join the WW II effort as a civilian. A year later, she decided to join the army (WAC), lying about her age because women had to be 21 to join. Achieving the rank of technical sergeant, she served in New Guinea, the Philippines, and then in the Japanese occupation where she met her husband, the late Josh Gershuny of Lafayette, IN. After several years working in the Chicago area, they moved to southern California where she worked as an administrator in the aerospace industry while raising a family, eventually settling in Woodland Hills, CA. Not having had the opportunity to pursue higher education when she was young, Mary frequently took community college classes in everything from interior design to horticulture.

Peter Husted Duxbury died peaceably July 13, 2020 at his home in Los Gatos, California surrounded by his wife of 34 years, Kathy, his only child, Elizabeth, and his son-in-law, Noe. Peter launched his residentially oriented practice, Duxbury Architects, in 1985 in San Francisco and eventually moved the practice to downtown Los Altos. He was especially proud of his design and construction of the Los Altos Hills Town Hall. He was passionate about architecture and design. The homes he designed for his clients were filled with light and warmth. His attention to architectural detail and proportion created beautiful unique buildings that harmonized with their surroundings. A memorial service celebrating Peter’s life will be held at a future date and place when able. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to Canine Companions, American Cancer Society, or Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For more information, please visit: funeralcremation.com/obits

Beloved mother and devoted wife, Jean Owen Pappas, 91, died April 13, 2020 in Yorba Linda. Born on March 1, 1929 in Kenmore, New York to Neva Hevner and John Malcom Owen, Jean was the youngest of 3 children and the only girl. Both brothers served during WWII, although her middle brother Richard died in battle in Europe, which was devastating to Jean. After graduating from East Aurora High School in New York, Jean attended Antioch College in Ohio where she met her future husband, Pete Pappas. They were married at Niagara Falls in 1952, and lived in Wisconsin for several years where she taught high school English. Pete accepted a huge promotion that required relocation to Southern California in1958, so the couple moved to Buena Park and later, in 1964, to Placentia where they lived happily for the next 51 years. Once in California, Jean became a full-time Mom raising her children Linda and Rich. During these years, she also became actively involved in various volunteer and leadership activities, including PTA groups and American Association of University Women (AAUW) programs which ultimately led to being honored as the 1970 Placentia Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.