Obituaries

Marguerite Jean English was born and raised in Los Altos, California, the youngest of four children born to Mike and Ann English. Due to a severe bout of meningitis as a baby, Maggie had serious health and learning issues throughout her life. She attended The Morgan Center School for many years. Maggie was so dearly loved by her family and is missed every day. Maggie died of COVID/respiratory failure on April 24th, 2020. 

Michael Thomas English was born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he was a part of a big Italian family. He attended Catholic school in Norwalk. He was in the Engineering program at University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, graduating at the top of his class with degrees in mechanical and electrical engineering. He was also a member of Mensa. 

Mike's senior year of college was sidetracked when his Navy reserveship was activated to be part of the Russian Blockade in Cuba. He spent a year and a half in Cuba and at sea in the Caribbean and the North Sea. At the end of his tour, Mike was offered an appointment to Naval O.C.S. which he declined, preferring to finish college. 

Resident of Los Altos, CA

Katie passed away on Saturday, January 9, 2021 at the age of 56 from metastatic breast cancer.

Katie lived an inspirational and valiant life full of service to others. She will be greatly missed and will be most remembered for her devotion to God and her family.

Katie is survived by her parents, Boyd and Jill Smith and her four children: Parker Samuel Fields, Elizabeth Christena Fields, Wilson Gabriel Fields and Cache Johnson Fields; her two daughter in-laws: Megan Richardson Fields and Lauryn Walker Fields; her 3 grandchildren: Hudson Samuel Fields, Blair Elizabeth Fields and Remi Jean Fields; the father of her children, Roger Allen Fields; her 4 siblings and their spouses: Christena Smith Larney (Brian), Charlotte Smith Jessop (Tad), Boyd Carpenter Smith (Hilary), and Lund Johnson Smith (Jenn) and her 16 nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Katie’s memory to BYU- Pathway Worldwide or give a little money or time to someone in need.

July 18, 1915 - December 16, 2020 

San Jose, CA

Margery, or Marge, passed away peacefully of natural causes at the astounding age of 105. It was 25 years to the day of her husband, Adrian Hatfield’s passing. Marge was at home, visited by family and friends in the weeks before.

Marge was born in New Orleans to Benjamin Wall Kernan and Alice Marie Lange, where she spent  her childhood and young adulthood. She developed a lifelong appreciation for the cuisine and culture of the region, and could often be heard reverting to her native southern accent many years after leaving the South for the West Coast. Her father Benjamin, who served as President of the Louisiana Bar Association, passed away when she was still a young girl, and she and her four sisters developed independence and a strong work ethic as they helped their mother Alice (“Mere”) make ends meet through the Great Depression. 

Long-time Los Altos resident Robert R Claypool died from Covid-19 on December 30^th at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Gatos.  He was 93 years old.

Bob was born and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  He was a good student who loved learning.  The school principal let him come to school early and use her office to study.  He rode his bicycle to the other side of Milwaukee to visit his aunt and uncle, who taught him his love for classical music. 

He graduated early from high school in 1944, in order to join the Naval Air Corps.  He learned to fly in an open cockpit, fabric-covered biplane, and thus began his lifelong love of flying.  Though the war ended before he flew in combat, he always considered himself a Navy man. 

Bob attended The University of Wisconsin and became a civil engineer. He used his engineering in many ways.  He started his family as he designed and built custom homes in the Milwaukee area.  Bob loved Porsches and became a founder and first president of the region’s Porsche Club of America. 

Dr. John Doiron Jr., formerly of Los Altos Hills, passed away in Palm Springs, CA on December 24, 2020 at the age of 90. John was born in Lawrence, MA on December 18, 1930 to John and Flora Doiron. Dad was a very accomplished student and athlete throughout his academic years. He graduated Central Catholic High School (C.C.H.S.) in 1948 where he lettered in cross country, basketball, track, and was a low hurdles champion as well as class Valedictorian. He was elected to their Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. During the summers, he fondly recalled his job as a life guard at Salisbury Beach, MA where his family still owns the same beach cottage. John was awarded academic scholarships to multiple colleges and Ivy league schools. Ultimately he chose the University of Notre Dame (ND). At ND, he ran track for a short time but chose to devote his time to finishing his pre-med requirements in 3 years. He was proud of the fact that he was one of the first students at Notre Dame to be allowed to test out of several classes and was granted early acceptance to Georgetown Medical School. After graduation he joined the Navy where he interned in Philly and CA. During this time he married our mom, Lois Deshler who was a Navy RN and subsequently started our family. Following retirement from the Navy and a residency at Jamaica Plains VA Hospital, Dad accepted a research grant from Kaiser Hospital in CA. After a few years he entered into private practice in San Jose and continued there for over 25 years. Mom (Lois), passed in 1989 and Dad later married Jean Sherman and lived in Aptos and Palm Springs. Dad enjoyed travel, tennis, art and especially the beach. Jean passed in 2018 and dad continued on in Palm Springs watching his old Westerns at full volume, lunching daily at his favorite restaurant, and rooting for his beloved Fighting Irish.

Christine (Chris) Camp passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on December 13, 2020, after a 1 ½ year battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. 

Chris was born in Palo Alto, California in 1950 to Rutur and Solveig Thor. She was the third of four daughters. She graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in German and she received an M.B.A. in accounting from Santa Clara University. Chris really enjoyed her job as CFO at Denark Construction from 2004-2020. She loved traveling, playing bridge, spending time with family and friends, and being involved in The Rotary Club of Farragut. She served as president of The Rotary Club of Farragut from 2017-2018. In 2016, she represented her Rotary club in Seoul, South Korea at the Rotary International Convention. In 2018, she went with Rotary to India to help vaccinate children against polio. 

Chris is survived by her former husband, David Camp, and their children, Tina, Diana (Dana), and Charlie (Maria); grandchildren, Ellie and Sean; sisters, Ruth (Gerry), Vicki (Ralph), and Laurie (Eric); and ten nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Rutur and Solveig Thor, and her niece, Jennifer Camp. 

Contributions in honor of Chris can be made to the Rotary Club of Farragut (Rotary Club of Farragut / P.O. Box 22158 / Knoxville, TN 37933) or to Pancreatic Cancer Research (https://secure.pancan.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2681&mfc_pref=T&2681.donation=form1 to go to their donation page).