Claremont Obituaries
Grandmother, pastor, traveler, artist Virginia Kennedy Bergfalk died peacefully on April 17 due to complications from diverticulitis and pneumonia infections. In the five weeks preceding her death, she was blessed to have been visited by all three of her daughters and one granddaughter, who all assisted in her care during this challenging time. She is […]
Artist, sculptor, imaginative color aficionado Artist Robert Stillwell died at his home at the Claremont Manor on Christmas Eve. He was 93. The son of Edith Agee Stillwell and Matthew Stillwell, he was born on January 17, 1925 in Grain Valley, Missouri. Bob’s mother died shortly after he was born, and he was adopted by […]
Friend, teacher, oma Longtime Claremont resident Marja (Van Leijenhorst) Van Rosmalen died peacefully in her sleep December 13, 2018 after a long battle with dementia. She was 74 years old. Marja was born in Groningen, The Netherlands in 1944. She graduated high school in Groningen and her first job was as a laboratory technician at Theodorus Niemeyer. […]
Anthropology professor, traveler, feminist Kimberly Porter Martin, professor of anthropology at the University of La Verne and 40 year resident of Claremont, died peacefully on January 7 in South Bend, Indiana. She was 69 years old. Ms. Martin dedicated her life to the communities of Southern California by helping her students, many of them from […]
Chemistry professor, rocket scientist, passionate musician, family man Walter Maya died from lung cancer at his home in Claremont December 16, 2018. He was surrounded by family, had been on hospice care and was 89 years old. Walter was born in New York City on October 25, 1929, and liked to say that his birth […]
Adventurer, animal lover, horologist, ham radio enthusiast Claremont resident Kevin Dean Kearney died December 19 at the age of 55. The son of James Dean and Joyce Inez Kearney, he was born at Pomona Valley Hospital the morning of August 14, 1963. The first year of his life he lived in a cabin at the […]
Great grandmother, longtime Claremonter, devout Catholic Longtime Claremont resident Theresa B. Kolodge, 97, died at her daughter Ann Marie’s home on Christmas Day. She was born Theresa Barbara Price to a large Polish-American family on April 14, 1921 in Cloquet, Minnesota and was the last surviving sibling of 11 children. Theresa (“Terry”) moved to Claremont […]
Pastor, counselor, passionate advocate for Civil Rights, LGBTQ, women’s causes Ralph Click died peacefully on September 22, 2018 in his home at Woods Health Services in La Verne. He was 89. The eldest of three children to Agnes (Deal) and Ernest Click, he was born into a Brethren family in Wenatchee, Washington. Agnes and Ernest […]
Tireless legal advocate, gifted athlete, grandfather Claremont native Stephen Ewing Ronfeldt, 76, died December 1 in Berkeley, California after a long battle with cancer. Steve was born October 28, 1942 in Pomona to Louis and Emily (Lyon) Ronfeldt. He was raised in Claremont, attending Webb School then Claremont High School (class of 1960), where he […]
Early space program engineer, US Navy veteran, grandfather Henry Boland died peacefully on December 3, surrounded by his cats Motley and Charlie, his son Hank, and one of his wonderful caregivers, Catalina. He was born July 31, 1924 and grew up in the small mining town of Globe, Arizona. There he worked in a copper […]
Veterinarian, avid reader, loving family man Former Claremont resident Lawrence August Rothe, loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, died peacefully on November 26. He was 70. The son of Lawrence Sr. and Dorothy Downey Rothe, Larry was born September 28, 1948 and grew up in D’Hanis, Texas, the oldest of seven children. After studying […]
Educator, world traveler, grandmother Virginia Ruth (Smith) Johnson died peacefully September 30 at age 91 in Murrieta, California. She was born May 22, 1927 in Detroit to parents Dorothy (Hollis) Smith and Edward Smith, on the same day that Charles Lindbergh landed in France. She lived in Detroit until setting off to attend Albion College […]
Pioneering female elected official, tireless volunteer, proud naturalized American “It is with great sadness we announce that Muriel Faith O’Brien died—her word exactly—November 6, 2018 at the age of 96 to join her husband, Judge Edmond O’Brien and her parents in the next adventure of their lives,” Ms. O’Brien’s friends shared. “Muriel will be remembered […]
Teacher, traveler, artist, gardener, champion of Claremont’s international students Louise W. Bell died peacefully, surrounded by her family, on August 16, 2018. Louise, who deeply appreciated the global community and its international culture, arts and people, was born in Turkey in 1929. Her parents worked for the American Board Service Committee. By the time she […]
Devoted friend to hundreds, talented athlete, 2009 Claremont High graduate Taylor Kristofer Meyer, 27, who attended Mountain View and Condit elementary schools, El Roble Intermediate, and was a 2009 Claremont High School graduate, was robbed and brutally murdered by three attackers on November 9 in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where he had been vacationing with […]
Minister, grandfather, devoted missionary Much loved husband, father, grandfather, son and brother, Richard Clement Elwell died October 13. “Full of faith in God, he bravely fought liver disease while waiting for a liver transplant at the Mayo Clinic in Florida,” his family shared. He was 66 years old. Richard was born June 12, 1952, to […]
US Marine, construction manager, certified building official, instructor Theodore (Ted) Newman died October 24 in San Dimas after several years of declining health. He was 70 years old. Ted was born in Washington, DC in 1948, the sixth of seven children to Dorothy and Cave Newman. Following graduation in 1968 from Calvin Coolidge High School, […]