Obituaries

Resident of Los Altos April 13, 1930 - March 2, 2019 Cherished wife, mother, sister, grammy and teacher passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 2nd. Jo was born in Alamosa, Colorado and was preceded in death by her parents, Thelma and Charles Elliott. She is survived by her beloved husband of 65 years, Jack, her children Kris (Alex) Ingram, Chuck Noll, Lorrie Noll, and grandchildren Brooke (Alex) Jigger, Tyler Ingram, Brayton and Caitlin Noll, and Connor and Aidan Wood. Jo is also survived by her brother Dr. Charles Robert (Mary Therese) Elliott and her sister Mary Michele (George) Kerin, her trusted nieces and her nephew. Jo loved her family and was deeply devoted to them. the life she lived in Los Altos with Jack and her three children was a blessed one. She loved to travel, snow ski and read. She was a woman of many gifts and she was dedicated to her career as a revered elementary school teacher for over 35 years.

May 26, 1928 - March 11, 2019 Resident of Los Altos At rest in Mountain View, CA Monday, March 11, 2019. A long time resident of Los Altos. A medical assistant for many years. Survived by her husband, Sal Lasala of Los Altos and her nephew, William Mongillo Jr. of Wisconsin. She will be missed by her many friends. Services were held at the Chapel at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Los Altos followed by interment. Arrangements under the directions of the Los Altos Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries

January 8, 1929 - March 1, 2019 Resident of Los Altos Hills John Savides passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 1, 2019 in Palo Alto at the age of 90. His spirit held strong until his final breath. John was born in New York City on January 8, 1929. His parents Michael and Susanna Savides immigrated to the U.S. from Greece for a better life. John lived with his parents and his older brother Chris in the Bronx until 1931 when his family returned to Greece due to the Great Depression. John’s family lived comfortably just outside of Athens in Piraeus where his father owned a small candy factory. During World War II, German Nazi officers occupied the first floor of the family home. John’s family survived World War II unscathed, but then civil war broke out in Greece and the communists tried to take over which caused further challenges for the family.

Age 76 Los Altos, California Died February 28, 2019, unexpectedly of heart failure Born September 23, 1942, in Tampa, Florida, to Marcus Henry Cohen, Sr., and Gretchen Geiger Cohen Married to Doreen van Assenderp Cohen Dec. 28, 1970. Resident of Los Altos CA since 1971. Received his BS in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1964, MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford in 1966, and MBA from Santa Clara University in 1975 Marc began his career in Space Communications at Watkins-Johnson in 1966 where he and his team developed and produced amplifiers and transmitters used for guidance and telemetry systems in the Saturn V rocket, which in 1969 propelled the Apollo 11 manned spacecraft destined to be the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon and the first successful Mars lander, Viking 1 and other deep space probes.

May 3, 1924 – March 2, 2019 Resident of Los Altos Rhona passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family. Beloved wife of John Gilkey for 63 years. Loving mother of Leigh Joyce Gilkey and Jann Lisa Gilkey. Grandmother of Allyson Gilkey and Malcolm Myles, and sister of Joyce Smith and her family. Rhona was a loving and devoted wife and mother. Born in British Columbia she came to the states in the 1950’s and met the love of her life a fellow teacher at Edison High School in Stockton. She loved singing, antiquing and taking walks in the beautiful outdoors. She loved her family and will never be forgotten. May she continue singing up in heaven. A funeral mass was held March 8 at St. Simon Church, Los Altos. Interment was at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Los Altos.

Whit Newton passed away at Stanford Hospital on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, surrounded by his large and loving family, who had watched him face his declining health with his trademark buoyancy and strength. He was and is incredibly loved by his wife, Marcia, his four children and their families including his nine grandchildren, and all the many other people (and animals) he nurtured and loved throughout his interesting and exuberant life. Whit was born and raised in Honolulu and graduated from Punahou School. He also lived in the Philippines, Guam and Hong Kong, moving to “the mainland” for college. He attended Oregon State and then University of California, Berkeley, where he met his wife Marcia. They lived in Hong Kong for 16 years, where Whit, his brother, John and his father, Robert founded the company American Marine, Ltd., which became best known for Grand Banks yachts.