In Memoriam

2024

 
   

Denny O'Loughlin

Sir Denny O'Loughlin November 25, 1925 - February 8, 2024.

   

2023

 
   

Chuck Denney

Sir Chuck Denney March 19,1938 - December 21, 2023.

Chuck Denney was born in Everett, Washington in 1938 and was raised there. He graduated from Everett High School in 1954 and enrolled at the University of Washington. He then received an appointment to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and graduated from there in 1961. From 1961 to 1968, he served in the US Navy on submarine duty. He left the Navy as a lieutenant commander.

Chuck’s civilian career included working for Fibreboard Corporation and C&H Sugar Company prior to becoming a residential real estate broker at Century 21, Remax, and Better Homes real estate companies. During that period, he received an MBA from Golden Gate University in 1975.

Chuck retired in 2010. He and his wife Mary have lived in Walnut Creek since 1969. They have a son, two daughters, and four grandchildren. His interests included golf, yardwork, poker, and SIR social activities.

   

Bill Weinberg

Sir Bill Weinberg October 26, 1935 - August 24, 2023.

Bill Weinberg was born in Van Nuys, California on October 26, 1935. He graduated from Huntington Park High School and then attended California Polytechnical Institute for two years, majoring in animal husbandry.

Bill then joined the Naval Air Corps and was stationed at North Island in Coronado, California. He spent two years in the Navy and was discharged with the rate of personnelman (records) PNA second class.

After discharge from the Navy, Bill embarked on a 23 year career in management at J.C. Penney. He began in the Compton store in 1957. In 1960, he was transferred to the new Westgate Mall store in San Jose as merchandise manager. In 1970, he transferred to the Eastmont Mall store in Oakland as operations manager. That transfer caused Bill to move his family to Walnut Creek.

In 1975, Bill was transferred to the Sun Valley Mall store in Concord as general manager. He left J.C. Penney in 1980 to start his own business as a manufacturer's representative in gift lines. He operated this business until 1998, when he retired.

Bill was a widower and had a son and daughter. He enjoyed golf, pool, and target shooting and reloading his own ammunition.

   

Dick Richmond

Sir Dick Richmond December 2, 1940 - July 11, 2023.

Dick Richmond was born in Yakima, Washington in 1940 and was raised in eastern Washington and western Oregon.

Dick worked for Boeing Aircraft from 1961 to 1965. He was a member of the US Army from 1965 to 1967 and spent the last two years of his tour in Viet Nam. He was discharged as an E5.

After his discharge from the Army, Dick joined AT&T and worked there until his retirement in 1995.

Dick and his wife Judy moved to Walnut Creek in 1984.

Dick enjoyed golf and German Shepherd rescue and was a volunteer for Sentinels of Freedom.

   

Joe Nelms

Sir Joe Nelms September 29, 1939 - April 30, 2023.

   

Ed Hewitson

Sir Edward (Ed) Hewitson November 19, 1937 - January 2023.

Ed Hewitson was born in Los Banos in 1937 and grew up in Martinez. He graduated from Alhambra High School in Martinez and then earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Oregon. Later, he received a master of arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Ed also spent eight years in the US Naval Reserve.

Ed began his working career as a teacher at Santa Maria High School in 1960. At the same time, he ran the German program at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which was offered through Hancock College in Santa Maria This was during the Cold War when American military personnel and their families were being sent to Germany.

In 1963, Ed joined the faculty at Campolindo High School. Ed mostly taught English at Campolindo, but he also taught French and German, where he put his 40 years of European travel with his wife to good use. He retired from Campolindo in 1999.

Ed was a widower and lived in Alamo. He had three grandchildren. His son Matt is a principal at a high school in San Jose. Ed had given up skiing, but he still likes to travel abroad and he enjoyed gardening, cooking, reading, music, pinochle, wine tasting, visiting museums, walking tours, and the theatre. He was a regular attendee at the Lesher Theatre, ACT, the Berkeley Rep, the Commonwealth Club, and the San Francisco Symphony.

   

Bill Hansen

Sir William (Bill) Hansen December 8, 1927 - January 15,2023.

William "Bill" R Hansen was born December 3, 1927, to Myron and Gladys Hansen. He grew up in Berkley California where he attended Berkley High. After graduation, Bill volunteered for Military Service. He spent most of his enlistment in Alaska.

Following his service, he enrolled at San Francisco Community College where he met his future wife, Helen (Sandy) McKay. Bill transferred to SFSU where he played basketball and was the Activities Director for the college. During this time in SF, he also worked at the Golden Gate Theater. Bill and Sandy were married in 1951 and soon after accepted teaching jobs in Whittier, CA. They returned to the Bay Area in 1955.

Bill began his long tenure in the Mount Diablo School District as a History teacher at Pacifica High School, then Clayton Valley High School. He transferred to Ygnacio Valley High School in 1963 to become a vice principal. In 1966 Bill was offered his first principalship at Pleasant Hill High School where he remained until the district opened Northgate High School in 1973.

Northgate would prove to be the crowning achievement of Bill's long and storied career as an educator. He loved both the staff and students and attended every event put on by the student body. After retiring in 1988, he took an assignment at Chatman College working with student teachers.

He also remained active in the community by volunteering at Shadelands Museum, Walnut Creek Sister Cities, the Retired Teachers Assn. and local SIR group. He peacefully passed away on January 15, 2024.

He is survived by his son, Lon Hansen and wife Carla, his daughter, Jill Beechinor and husband Bill, his adopted daughter Christi and her husband Steve, 7 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.

A celebration of his life will be held on April 15th at Shadelands Museum in Walnut Creek from 1-3pm.

   

Max Burchett

Sir Max Burchett July 16, 1937 - January 4, 2023.

Max Burchett was born in Des Moines, Iowa in 1937. His family moved to Berkeley in 1940 and, when Max was in third grade in 1946, the family moved to Modesto, where Max spent the rest of his childhood.

Max graduated from Modesto High School in 1955 and then entered UC Berkeley. He earned a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and a master of science in civil /sanitary engineering from Berkeley.

After receiving his bachelors' degree, he served in the United States Public Health Service, achieving the rank of lieutenant. He was a sanitary engineer officer in the water and air pollution programs. Those functions are now under the umbrella of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In 1964, he joined Metcalf and Eddy Consulting Engineers in Palo Alto. He moved to Walnut Creek when he joined Yoder Trotter and Associates (later Trotter Yoder and Associates) in 1967. He remained employed with that firm through 1977, when he joined Brown and Caldwell, consulting engineers, also in Walnut Creek.

During his tour with Brown and Caldwell, Max was sent to Madrid, Spain in order to work on a large wastewater treatment plant project. The project was to take two years and so Max was allowed to bring his family with him and the time in Spain proved to be the highlight of his family's life. They loved Spain and especially Madrid. And though Max and his Spanish team members worked very hard in the engineering office, he learned that "manana lives". His Spanish co-workers reminded him that "you Americans live to work, but we Spaniards work to live". Max soon learned that nobody can party better than the Spanish.

Max left Brown and Caldwell in 1983 to form his own consulting engineering firm. In 1985, he joined with one of his classmates at Cal to form Whitley Burchett and Associates. Max retired in 2003.

Max and his wife Nancy lived in Walnut Creek. His son Jonathan is a social studies teacher at Northgate High School. His daughter, Christina Petersen, is an elementary teacher in Winters, California, and also co-owns Main Street Cellars in Winters, which is a "Cheers" kind of place.

Max enjoyed playing golf and traveling. He was also an A's fan and regularly went to spring training in Phoenix. In Branch 146, he was a member of the Retired Old Men Eating Out group, was active in couples golf, and was co-leader of the Macintosh Users Group.