Claremont Obituaries

Allen Joe Moore, a longtime professor and administrator at Claremont School of Theology, died on September 18, 2016. He was 89. Born September 7, 1927, he was named after his two grandfathers, whom he liked to call “the heretic” and “the preacher.” He inherited the free-thinking of Pa Crider and the preaching enthusiasm of his […]

James “Jim” Kay Hightower, a longtime Claremont resident, died on October 3, 2016 at the age of 79. Causes of death were advanced prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. He was born March 22, 1937 in Kalamazoo, Michigan to Raymond Lee Hightower and Jeanne Matthews Hightower. His father was a professor of sociology at Kalamazoo College […]

Dedicated educator, proud veteran John Mann, former principal of Claremont High School, died peacefully at home in La Verne on August 17, 2016.  He was 85 years old. He was born on February 25, 1931 in his grandmother’s house in York, Nebraska and grew up in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska. Mr. Mann attended York […]

Loving wife and mother, Latin scholar Jane Barr, a longtime resident of the Mt. San Antonio Gardens retirement community in Claremont, died on August 7, 2016. She was 89. She was born February 18, 1927 in Perth, Scotland to James and Catherine Hepburn. Dux (i.e., “top pupil”) of her graduating class in Perth Academy, Jane […]

Alma Charlotte (Miller) Schneider, a longtime resident of the Pilgrim Place retirement community in Claremont, died Saturday, August 6, 2016. She was 98. She was born February 17, 1918 in Orella, Nebraska to Alva Theodore and Amelia (Smith) Miller. After receiving her teaching certificate from Chadron State Teacher’s College in 1937, she taught in various […]

Dedicated professor, loving husband Jack Holmes Waggoner, a longtime Harvey Mudd College physics professor, died Saturday, July 2, 2016. He was 88. He was born September 4, 1927 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His family soon moved to Newark, Ohio where he attended public schools, graduating from Newark High School in 1945. He earned a Bachelor of […]

Teacher, musician, loving wife Yasuko Fukada Shorrock died peacefully in the late afternoon of June 12, 2016 in the Health Services Center of Pilgrim Place. She was 88. She was born February 24, 1928 to Tanetsugu and Shisa Fukada in a suburban town near Tokyo. Both her parents were led to the Christian faith by […]

Historic conservationist, world traveler Mary Ann Barkey, who was Claremont’s 2002 Honored Citizen, died peacefully in her home on June 3, 2016 with family by her side. She was 81. Mrs. Barkey, a resident of Claremont for 40-plus years, was for many years an active fixture on the local scene, from leading the volunteer effort […]

Teacher, watercolor painter, devoted wife and mother Anne Davenport, a 65-year Claremont resident, died Thursday, June 16 at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. She was 90. Anne Geoghegan was born in Pasadena, California on March 26, 1926 to Gladys and Hugh Geoghegan. She, her parents and her sister Jane moved to the San Joaquin […]

Loving father, financial advisor, lover of the outdoors Bruce Charles White, a former longtime resident of Claremont, died on May 31, 2016 in Whitefish, Montana. He was 61. He was born on January 15, 1955 to Milton R. “Bob” and Annadale White. Bruce attended Sumner Elementary and El Roble Intermediate School and graduated from Claremont […]

Community leader, champion of sustainability Liz Allen, a longtime resident actively engaged with the Claremont community, died peacefully on April 29, 2016 at Pilgrim Place Health Services Center following a stroke in February. She was 88. She was born Elizabeth Farol in Chicago in 1928 while her father was attending the university. Six days later […]

Champion camper, happy woman Mary “Happy” Virginia Fredendall Garner Nelson died peacefully on February 17, 2016 in Claremont, surrounded by her loved ones. She was 90. She was born November 9, 1925 in Upland to Martha Idella (Fowlkes) and Thomas Benton Fredendall. She was nicknamed Happy by her father, as she was a happy baby. […]

Professor, writer, multi-talent Ross Figgins, professor emeritus at Cal Poly Pomona, died peacefully March 26, 2016 at his home in Claremont. His wife Jenny was with him. He was born March 10, 1936 in Plainfield, New Jersey, the only child of Fred Figgins and Frances McAlvanah Figgins. The family moved to the San Fernando Valley […]

Entomologist, professor, writer Don C. Force died at Mt. San Antonio Gardens on December 3, 2015. He had been a Claremont resident since 2000, after living in Pomona since 1965. He was born on July 5, 1928 in Clear Lake, South Dakota, a small town near the Minnesota border, the fourth child of Hazel (Clement) […]

Veteran, internationally-renowned coach   William “Bill” Benjamin Arce Jr., a longtime resident of Claremont, died on March 7, 2016 at the age of 90. He passed in peace, surrounded and comforted by his loving family. Born in Oakland, California to William Benjamin Arce Sr. and Edith Caroline Friberg Arce, Bill was raised with his older […]

Missionary, traveler, loving wife Doris Caldwell Rhoades died on March 19, 2016 at the age of 97. She was in the presence of loving family and friends at Pilgrim Place in Claremont, where she had been a resident since 1992. She was born in 1918 on the Caldwell Homestead, a dairy farm in central Pennsylvania, […]