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Colleen Greer
Colleen Greer, a resident of Half Moon Bay for the past 10 years, died suddenly at her Half Moon Bay home Nov. 3. She was 46.
Ms. Greer was born May 28, 1958 on the Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, where her father was stationed as a medical officer. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Utah, where Ms. Greer grew up in the town of Taylorsville.
She attended Brighton High School, graduating in 1977, and the University of Utah, where she graduated, cum laude, around 1981, with a bachelor's degree in art. Soon after graduation, she married her college sweetheart, Jamie Chipman. The pair remained married for 21 years until divorcing in 2003.
Ms. Greer put her artistic skills to work as a freelance artist in many capacities, including Web page design and software for elementary school education programs on the Coastside. She also branched out in her own artistic pursuits, designing quilts, painting, and doing silkscreen and batik, for which she had won a national contest when she was in high school. Her work had been chosen from out of a field of 25,000 entries.
"She was funny, smart, generous, loving, beautiful and talented," said Ms. Greer's mother, Barbara Greer of Salt Lake City. "Our hearts are broken."
Ms. Greer is survived by her parents, Dr. Robert and Barbara Greer, brother Bruce Greer and sister Andrea Love, all of Salt Lake City, brother Michael Greer, his wife Angie and baby Alea, all of San Diego, and nephew James Love of Arizona.
Ms. Greer had requested cremation. A memorial and party will be held in Salt Lake City, as per her wishes.
Diane Marie Lahym Kertz
Diane Marie Lahym Kertz had deep roots on the Coastside with family going back several generations. She was raised on the Coastside and left for a few years following her first marriage, but came back. A single mother at the time, she chose the Coastside as the place to raise her three children.
Ms. Kertz died Nov. 6 at her daughter's home in San Ramon, at age 68, following a lengthy illness.
"She was just the strongest woman I ever met," said her son, Gerald Johnson of Castro Valley. "I so admire her raising three children and bringing us back to the coast. Just the fondest memories of being raised here."
Ms. Kertz was born July 11, 1936, in San Francisco, but was raised on the Coastside. She attended local schools and graduated early at age 16, from Half Moon Bay High School. From there she went on to the College of San Mateo, from which she also graduated early - at 18 - with a business degree.
"She was intelligent, and very strong," said her son.
Upon her first marriage, she relocated to San Francisco, but came back to the Coastside in 1975 and stayed.
Ms. Kertz worked in bookkeeping in San Francisco for more than 40 years. Much of that work was for construction companies based in the city. Recently, after she took early retirement, she worked for H&R Block in Half Moon Bay, also in bookkeeping, for a few years.
For more than 50 years she was a member of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, of Vista Del Mar Parlor No. 155, where she also served as state president for Past Presidents' Association No. 26. She was also a member of the Spanishtown Historical Society.
Ms. Kertz loved quilting, and quilted for the majority of her life, her son said. She was a member of Peninsula Quilters and the Sew 'N' Sews, and on the Coastside, of the Piecemakers by the Sea.
"She was always quilting," said her son, adding that over the years she frequently entered her quilts in the San Mateo County Fair, from which "she was always bringing home ribbons."
Ms. Kertz is survived by her children Antone C. Johnson of Renton, Wash., Gerald E. Johnson of Castro Valley and Julia E. Evans of San Ramon, and grandchildren MacKenzie Johnson and Alyssa and Bradley Evans.
She is also survived by a brother, Eugene D. Lahym, of Half Moon Bay.
Ms. Kertz had requested to be cremated. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, at Sneider & Sullivan Funeral Home at 977 S. El Camino Real in San Mateo, followed by a reception at 1239 Moonsail in Foster City.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to the American Lung Association at 2171 Junipero Serra Blvd., No. 720, Daly City, CA 94014, or to the Native Daughters of the Golden West Nursing Scholarship Fund at 543 Baker St., San Francisco, CA 94117.
Please send acknowledgements to Julia Evans, 3242 Veracruz Dr., Ran Ramon, CA 94583.
Edwin Oscar Olsen
Edwin Oscar Olsen was a well-known and beloved figure in Pescadero, whether serving on the school board or town council, or as the friendly face behind the meat counter at Norm's Market.
"He was known to his customers for his great good humor and excellent listening skills," said Mr. Olsen's eldest daughter, Christina "Tina" Olsen of Brookings, Ore.
Mr. Olsen died Nov. 12 at the Thornton Medical Center, part of the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center in San Diego, at age 86, due to congestive heart failure. He had gone to San Diego to be cared for by his son-in-law, Dr. Thomas Kipps, the center's chief of staff.
"He left much the way he lived," said Mr. Olsen's daughter, "peacefully, with dignity and with the support and comfort of his family."
Mr. Olsen was born at the end of the influenza epidemic of 1918 in San Francisco, the son of Oscar Edwin Olsen and Josephina Ana Coralina Brussell Olsen. He had two sisters. His father and grandfather, Olaf, were builders whose buildings still stand in San Francisco and Woodside; his mother's family included seafarers.
Mr. Olsen was drafted into the army's Third Infantry Division just days before the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. He served for three years in North Africa, Italy and France. His division landed near Casablanca and, three years later, captured Hitler's Berchtesgarten. By the end of the way, the division had suffered 33,000 casualties.
From the war, said Tina Olsen, her father learned he loved peace. He had been distressed recently when the Third Infantry had gone into action in Iraq. "That was really disturbing to him," she said.
In 1950, he married Alice Lavelda Baldwin in Carson City, Nev. They settled in Pescadero in the mid-1960s and raised three daughters.
Mr. Olsen served on the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District board for several terms in the 1960s and early 1970s, and on the Pescadero town council for a couple of terms in the 1980s. He launched Olsen's Meats in 1965, selling meat at Norm's Market.
Earlier this year, the Olsens moved to Brookings to be near Tina Olsen and her family. There, Mr. Olsen enjoying living near the ocean, reading constantly and visiting the local bakery. "He liked to go get a doughnut," said his daughter. In September, he went to San Diego.
Mr. Olsen is survived by his wife of 54 years, Alice Olsen, of Brookings, his daughters and sons-in-law Tina Olsen and Donald Greene of Brookings, Janet and Thomas Phipps of San Diego and Mary Ann and Ray Tyrone of Cloverdale, and 10 grandchildren. He is also survived by a large extended family.
"His well-lived life is illustrated by the quality of love felt by so many for him," said his daughter. "He will be remembered for his youthful spirit, his great sense of humor, his very good stories, his sharp mind, kindness, integrity and fairness."
A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. Sunday Nov. 21, in Pescadero, at a location to be determined. The site will be posted at the Pescadero post office on Stage Road. Interment will be at Skylawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mr. Olsen's memory may be made to the Ed Olsen Memorial Scholarship Fund at First National Bank in Pescadero. Scholarships will be awarded annually to a Pescadero High School senior who exemplifies hard work, integrity and kindness, Tina Olsen said.
John Miller
Died November 2, 2004
HALF MOON BAY, CA - John Miller, 86, of Half Moon Bay, CA, was born Dec. 7, 1917 in Newark, NJ, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2004 in Moss Beach, CA.
John enlisted prior to World War II in the Army Air Corps and was assigned to the 8th Air Force stationed in Burtonwood, England soon after the outbreak of war. Here he was to meet his future wife, Jean Lomax.
John was a self-educated man who excelled in his chosen field of electroplating. He was a long time member of the American Legion, VFW and the Fraternal Order of Masons and participated in several volunteer activities through these and other organizations.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Maximillian and Elisabeth; three brothers, Maximillian, George and Peter; seven sisters, Marie, Lydia (Lee), Kathryn, Kathryn Amelia (Molly), Ruth, Florence and Doris (Dorothy); and two grandsons, Daniel and David.
Survivors include wife Jean of Traverse City, MI; sisters, Elisabeth and Frieda of New Jersey, and Emma of North Carolina; sons Conrad and daughter-in-law Vivien of Beulah, MI, John and daughter-in-law, Maria of El Granada, CA; grandchildren, Jason Miller of Santa Barbara, Ca, Christina Miller of Half Moon Bay, CA, Jennifer Lee and her husband Bruce of Maple City, MI, Carolyn Felknor and her husband Danniel of Lafayette, Co, Stefanie Simmons and her husband Matthew of Ann Arbor, MI; and great-grandchildren, Carter Conrad Lee, Jessica Jean Lee, Jacob Reed Felknor and Lauren Elizabeth Felknor.
A family memorial service is planned and will be held at a later date with internment at a Veterans National Cemetery
to be determined. It is appropriate that any contributions in his memory be made to any group supporting veterans and their families.
While we honor John for many things, we especially thank him for his legacy stressing the importance of education and lifelong learning. This legacy has and will continue to have a profound impact on his children and their children's children.
Thank you, Dad. Rest in peace.
