Claremont Obituaries

Beloved mother, advertising stylist, producer, long-time Claremonter Beloved mother, LA commercial advertising stylist, producer, long-time Claremont resident California native Deanna Despard Rusch died unexpectedly on January 2. She was 58. Deanna was a multi-talented hair and makeup artist, stylist, and set designer, for print, catalog, and television advertising. She is best known as producer of […]

Innovative educator, champion of women writersBerkeley feminists and world poetry lovers are saddened to learn of the death of a pioneer translator and anthologizer of women’s poetry from around the world.  Deirdre Eberly Lashgari, professor emerita of English at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, died August 16, 2014 in Los Angeles. She was 73. She […]

Loving mother, grandmother, educator and entrepreneurPlease allow us to share our thoughts and memories of our mom, Dorothy “Dot” Sheehy. She loved her community and her family so much that we feel it fitting to bring the two together to try to capture her essence more than a standard formal obituary could ever do, although […]

YWCA leader, advocate for gender and racial equalityElizabeth Palmer, a resident of Pilgrim Place in Claremont, died early Saturday morning on October 4, 2014. She was 101 years old. A native New Yorker, Ms. Palmer’s lifelong dedication to the YWCA cause and her multiracial vision were significant factors in propelling the organization into the modern […]

Author, inventor, wife of Peter Drucker Doris Schmitz Drucker, entrepreneur, author, sportswoman and mountain climber, died on October 1, 2014 at age 103. She was the widow of the eminent management theorist and professor Peter F. Drucker. She was born in Koenigstein, Germany on June 14, 1911, the first of three children, to Fritz and […]

International educatorFred Baker was surrounded by his family when he died at his home in Claremont on September 15, 2014, after a valiant two-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 73. Dr. Baker was proud professor emeritus of Cal Poly Pomona where he worked in the Department of Education, College of Education and Integrative Studies […]

Loving mother and grandmother, prayer warriorDelores Quinn died on September 6, 2014 in Claremont, just two months shy of her 92nd birthday. A loving wife, mother of four children, grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of 13, she lived a life filled with family, friends and her strong faith.She was born to John and Caroline Proehl […]

Loving mother, tireless teacher, world travelerMary Katherine Courtney Wyatt, a longtime Claremont resident, died in Pomona on March 30, 2014 following a pacemaker implant that went awry. She was 99.She was born in Maryville, Missouri on September 24, 1914, the second daughter of William E. and Bess S. Courtney. She and her older sister Ellen […]

Barbara Bolinger Mitchell died on September 3, 2014 at her Palm Desert home after a valiant six-and-a-half-year battle with colorectal cancer. She was 68. She was surrounded by family and friends she loved, and who loved her deeply. Typical of her spirit, throughout her long illness she fiercely powered through every situation and obstacle that […]

Gifted athlete, college administrator Ray Eberle of Upland died August 15, 2014 at Silverado Sierra Vista Memory Care Community in Azusa from frontotemporal dementia. He was 73. He was born in Buffalo, New York on April 27, 1941, the son of Raymond and Genevieve Eberle. He grew up playing all kinds of sports but excelled […]

Professor, loving husband and father Langdon Elsbree, a longtime Claremont resident, died on June 21, 2014, two days before his 85th birthday. Mr. Elsbree began his life on June 23, 1929, becoming a “birthright Friend” and resident of Wallingford, Pennsylvania. His first formal education was at The School in Rose Valley, founded by a group […]

Professor, world traveler, loving grandmother Lore M. Dormer, a longtime Claremont resident, died on July 2, 2014. She was 89. She was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1925 and earned a master’s degree from Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, Germany. In 1954, she met Major Thomas L. Dormer, then a captain in the US Army […]

Ruth Bobo, a longtime Claremont High School teacher, died peacefully on Saturday, June 7, 2014 surrounded by family and friends. She was 76. Mrs. Bobo was born on March 16, 1938 in Parker, California to Arlie Moultrie and Evelyn Moultrie (née Moats). Soon, the family returned to Moulton, Alabama. While her father, a carpenter, ran […]

School counselor, loving mother and grandmother Kay Smith, a longtime Claremont resident, died on April 15, 2014 at home due to complications from pulmonary fibrosis. She was surrounded by family and by the love and prayers of her numerous friends. Mrs. Smith was born in Richmond, Indiana on February 17, 1941 to George and Virginia […]

Patricia “Trish” Branley, a longtime COURIER photographer, died on January 6, 2014 after a battle with cancer. She was born in Florida, the second of four children who were doted on by their father, John Branley. Young Trish was a real beach lover while living in the Sunshine State, her sister Pam shared. She enjoyed […]

Conservationist, community-builder, jazz lover Michael Zachary Heilpern died peacefully at his home in Claremont on February 15, 2014. He was 63 years old. He was born December 15, 1950 in the Bronx, New York. Much of his childhood was spent in the idyllic Westchester County neighborhood of Peekskill. He was the first child born to […]

Adoring wife, supportive mother Anita Gwen Shanahan died at her home on December 30, 2013 after a 10-month battle with bile duct cancer. She was 57. Mrs. Shanahan was born in the small coal mining town of Dante, Virginia in August 1956. She lived there for several years with her aunt Maggie Kiser and her […]