Obituaries

August 13, 1921 - November 26, 2018 Longtime Los Altos resident, Mason Clark, passed away peacefully on November 26, 2018 at age 97 from natural causes. Mason will be dearly missed by all who knew him. He was born in Ladysmith, Wisconsin on August 13, 1921. Mason’s family moved to Park Ridge, Illinois in 1927 so his father, Lester, could find work as a carpenter in the Chicago-area building boom. Mason graduated from Maine Township High School and the associated two-year junior college. As a teenager in high school he became a licensed amateur radio operator, W9JGM, which led to his interest in electronics. While Mason was an engineering student at Maine Township Junior College, he was served a draft notice in July 1942. He joined the Navy radio school in Chicago with the third-class petty officer rank the school guaranteed.

1931-Nov.11, 2018 Harriet was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and graduated from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education.  Harriet first taught school in Hawaii in the late 1950’s and it was during this period of her young life that she first met her future husband, Carl Stenberg, Jr. through mutual friends.  After teaching for a few years in Hawaii, she moved to California and began teaching in the Mountain View School District as a 4th grade elementary teacher.  Shortly after she had settled in California, she was hosting a small party at her apartment and one of her friends suggested she invite Carl, since he was living in Sunnyvale at the time.  The rest is history! Carl and Harriet were married in 1963 at the Los Altos United Methodist Church (LAUMC). 

Mrs. Allebaugh

Hildegarde R. Allebaugh, the mother of longtime Los Altos Hills resident Gay Krause, died peacefully Nov. 9 near her home in Lake Barcroft, Falls Church, Va. She was 107 years old.

Mrs. Allebaugh was born in Warsaw, Va., March 16, 1911, to William and Effie Rose Rock.

(Longtime Los Altos resident Elaine Woulfe, 94, passed away peacefully Sunday, October 28. 2018. Elaine was born March 30, 1924 in St. Paul, Minnesota to John and Mary (May) Houlihan. Shortly after graduating from St. Catherine University School of Nursing, she moved to California. On January 15, 1949 she married Robert Woulfe in San Francisco. She worked as a psychiatric nurse at El Camino Hospital, Valley Medical, and Crystal Springs. She loved to travel, paint watercolors, and do crossword puzzles. She was an avid, competitive bridge and Scrabble player and thoroughly loved her coffee! 

June 17, 1921 – October 14, 2018. Long time Los Altos resident Mary Jane (Herby) Beck, has passed away after a long battle with dementia, and a short skirmish with pneumonia. She was 97. Mary Jane was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. She was also a writer, a poet, a musician, an animal lover, a self-proclaimed women’s libber before there was such a thing and she was always up for an adventure. Born in Jamestown, New York, to Irene and Charles Herby, she proudly played clarinet in the Jamestown High School Marching Band. She went on to get a degree in International Relations from Mt. Holyoke College, and shortly after, landed a job as a newspaper reporter for the Rochester Times Union in Rochester, New York.

Estelle Newcomb passed away suddenly and peacefully from respiratory failure on October 18, 2018. Prior to becoming a recent resident of Palo Alto, she was a longtime resident of Los Altos and Pleasanton. Pre-deceased by her husband, Peter, and son, Steve, she is survived by her daughters, Caroline and Lucie, extended family and many friends.. Canadian by birth, Estelle, who became an American citizen, was known for being a kind, thoughtful contributor. She truly loved helping others. She was active in local charitable organizations wherever she lived. Her prior projects include the founding of the Livermore-Amador Symphony Guild and 40 years of volunteer leadership with the Mulberry Branch of Oakland Children's Hospital Auxiliary. Small in stature, great in heart, long on impact, Estelle will be remembered and cherished always. A Memorial Mass will be held locally in the coming months.