Clayton Valley High - Class of 1966
In Memory: Jeffery Tucey - Myra 'Tooty' (Williams) Fazio

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These classmates are no longer with us. Given the size of our class, it doesn't claim to be a complete list. If you have additions, corrections or a memories, please send them to me.

Jeffery Taylor, 31 Jan 1948 - 24 Sep 2005. Jeff's obituary: Jefferson "Jeff" Paris Taylor, 57 years of age, died in Merced, CA on Sept. 24 following a sudden illness. Jeff was a native of Richmond, CA and had lived in Eastern Contra Costa County for all his life. Jeff was a landscaper for the past 25 years. He was an avid Senior Softball player and played on the Renny Russell Team, and enjoyed motorcycles and model cars. Survivors include his wife, Debbie Taylor of Oakley; children, Brandi Robertson of Oakley, Shanel Detrick of Orangevale, Nathan Taylor of Antioch and Benjamin Taylor of Oakley; brothers and sisters, Frank, David, Alana, Brooke and Cathy; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles also survive.

Jeffery Tucey, 24 Jan 1948 - 27 Aug 2000. Jeff was living in the Sacramento area. He died of a heart attack.

John Micheli, 01 Nov 1948 - 08 Feb 2014. John, age 65, of Fresno, died on Saturday, February 8, 2014, surrounded by family and friends. He was an estimator for Lyles Mechanical Co., an avid bicyclist, music lover, and wine enthusiast. John is survived by his daughters, Corinne Binsfield and Janelle Hernandez; three grandchildren; his partner, Sherrie Flynn; and many friends. (Fresno Bee)

(1965)

(1971)

Keith Godchaux, 19 Jul 1948 - Jul 1980. Keith transferred into CVHS as a Junior. He was a talented pianist who went on to play with the Grateful Dead on keyboards. He was killed in a traffic accident. Greg Jilks, CVHS 1965, sent us these links: Short biographies in Wikipedia,   Nation Master and GratefulDead.com; Pictures from GratefulDead.com and a fan site

Lauren Green, 20 Feb 1948 - 26 Jul 2019. Lauren met her husband, Dr. Renato Jose Zarate Castaneda, in college where they were pursuing advanced degrees (and shared a mutual interest) in a specific insect-related disease. Both earned their PhD's and upon marriage settled in San Cristobal, Mexico where they lived and raised their children. On the night of 26 July 2019, when they were looking for nocturnal insects, they were murdered. It is possible they were murdered for being environemtal activists.

Laurence Terry, 26 Sep 1947 - 30 Jan 2004. Laurence's wife told us he had passed on when we wrote to invite him to the 45th reunion.

Linda Hess, 25 Nov 1948 - 02 Dec 1989. Linda was killed in an automobie accident in Orange County. She is survived by a daughter, Amy, her mother and two sisters. She was working for an insurance company in Manteca at the time.

Lynette Sumerlin Webb, 09 Dec 1947 - 07 Sep 1998. Born in Spokane, Washington, she was living in Incline Village, Nevada. She and her husband, Joe Webb, had a real estate appraisal business there. Lynette had a Masters degree in Psychology from Sacramento State, and had worked with troubled youth for a number of years before getting into the appraisal business. She is survived by her husband and a daughter from a previous marriage.

Margaret Boyce, 13 Jun 1948 - 06 Feb 1990. Margaret died of lung cancer. She was survived by two sons, Dustin and Thomas.

Martha (Luer) Paxton, 30 Oct 1948 - 01 Jan 2011 Martha's obituary ran in the Contra Costa Times: Martha Jean Paxton, wife, mother, friend, passed away on Saturday morning at home with her family at her side after a hard-fought 15-year battle with cancer. She was 62. Jean was born Martha Jean Luer in San Francisco. She moved with her family to the East Bay, where she attended Clayton Valley High School class of 1966. Martha went on to get her AA at Diablo Valley College, her BA in Psychology at San Jose State and her Bachelors in Nursing from Contra Costa College in 1982. She worked at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland as a pediatric nurse until she retired. Jean will be sorely missed. She had a kind and gentle spirit that touched everyone she knew. Jean loved her family, her animals, any place warm and sunny, and shopping with her daughter. Jean is survived by her husband of 39 years, Fred; her son Will; and her daughter Kate; 2 grandchildren; and brothers David and Thomas. Her parents, Henry and Lois Luer, and her brother, John W. Luer preceded her in death. Family and friends will hold a private Celebration of Life on Sunday, January 9th, 2011. The family is asking donations in lieu of flowers to: Kaiser Permanente Hospice, 2080 West MacArthur Blvd, Oakland CA 94611.

Maureen (Silvia) Rose, 16 Nov 1948 - 27 Oct 2018 (Maureen contributed Trying to Fit In (One girl's struggle) to our "What Was It Like?" essay collection.) Maureen Evelyn Rose (nee Silvia) passed away on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 69 years of age in Arcata after sustaining internal injuries from a fall. She was just a few weeks shy of her 70th birthday, a milestone we all coveted. She was born in Massachusetts on November 16, 1948 to Frank and Jeanette Silvia, and was the youngest of four siblings: Dianne, Ron, Gary and Dan - who sadly all preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughter, Truth Doyle and Son-In-Law Britt Doyle, of Tiburon, California; her son, Justin Wirthman and daughter-In-Law, Selene Wirthman, of McKinleyville; her nephew, Victor Cross, of Santa Cruz; her niece Melody Hatch, of Tulalip, Washington, and her grandchildren Julian, Indy, Preston, Harry and Britt, whom she loved more than anything. Besides her family, she left behind her very beloved "Beast-Child," Meggles, as well as countless friends along her journey. She founded the Eternal Art Glass Studio in the 80s as a venue for her stained glass artwork, which later became the Eternal Art Community Center in McKinleyville, a beloved hub for artists of all sorts. One of her most noteworthy projects was the Holy Trinity Church in Trinidad, where she created all the stained-glass windows that remain there today. It will always be one of our familyÆs most treasured memories. She was a resident student at the Heartwood Institute in Garberville, where she studied the arts of massage and Reiki, among other healing crafts. As a result, her hands were considered magical by many.

Mel Hassenpflug, 1948 - 04 May 2010 Mel wrote, in 2008: I lived in northern Idaho for 32 years. Moved to San Tan Valley, Arizona, in November 2008. It is 30 miles east of Phoenix. I'm on my second marriage - nine years with Kathie, a real sweet gal. Wife works, I stay at home, got this figured out pretty well. I have 2 children and 9 grandchildren. I was a Bread Man for 22 years. I spent 1968 - 1969 in Viet Nam with the U.S. Army.

Norm Van Brocklin wrote, in 2010:
For those of you that might need a refresher course going back to 1964, Mel "Tex" Hassenpflug moved to Concord from Friona, Texas, living with his sister and brother-in-law. I met him during the summer while working out for the football team and we became instant friends. After his junior year his brother-in-law was re-assigned out of state, so in a whimsical move I asked my parents if he could finish his senior year living with us. He became an instant "son" to my parents and definitely my "brother."

One small anecdote (and believe me there are many, many more): on the way to one of our football games (we suited up in the uniforms for the trip), I put white tape over a few letters on the back of his jersey. The letters covered were H, e, n and f! [_ass__p_lug]

A few years after high school Mel joined the army and went off to Viet Nam and fortunately he came back. I lost contact with him for many years but found him living in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho working as a he called himself, a "breadman." He and his wife Kathy moved to Arizona a few years ago. My wife, Pat, and I had a few visits with them recently.

There is so much more to say about Tex and so many memories many could share, but a few memories for me are: he loved his 55 Chevy, Cruising Creek Town with Murph, Holtzer and myself and most definitely football. (CVHS and University of Texas- "Hook Em' Horns."). He had a great outlook on life even with a condition that he knew could take his life any day. So may he rest asleep in death peacefully and await the assured expectation of the resurrection.

May we all consider each day of life precious.

Michael A. Clarke, 07 Jun 1948 - 07 Apr 2010 From the Contra Costa Times, May 30 2010: Former Concord resident Michael A. Clarke passed away at his home in San Francisco on April 7, 2010. He was born in Stockton to Ivan (deceased) and Letty Clarke on June 7, 1948. He is survived by his sister Carol Zaninovich, his niece Jennifer Glynn (Robert), his nephew Joshua Zaninovich (Kristin) and many beloved relatives and friends. He graduated from Clayton Valley High, U.C. Davis and U.C.L.A. and served with the U.S. Navy. His many interests included music, books, theater and travel. Read a much longer account of Michael's life, loves and accomplishments.

Myra "Tooty" (Williams) Fazio, 18 May 1948 - 01 Aug 2005. Myra is survived by her loving husband, Gary; mother, Casemira Racanello; sister, Debra Sino; brother, Randy Williams; and her two dogs, Sadie & Cody. Myra was a lifelong resident of Concord. She retired from Shell Oil Company in 2003 after 34 years of service. Donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association or the Best Friends Animal Society in Myra's name. (Contra Costa Times, Aug 2005.)

Patricia (Trish) Stanionis, 15 Nov 1948 - 11 Apr 2015: Trisha Stanionis, devoted sister, loyal friend, favorite aunt, outrageous colleague, fierce advocate, fearless leader, and faithful parishioner, passed away on Saturday April 11, 2015. For years she was the Executive Director of Project Help, www.projecthelp.org, "a coalition of leaders from all sectors of the community dedicated to the elimination of substance abuse by youth and adults." Her obituary is well worth the read.

Read Reflections on the Big Chill, an eloquent and moving piece by Doug Perez on time and classmates passing.

If you enjoyed reading about these people, they will enjoy reading about you. Send an entry via the e-mail below.