Lynne Saunders, a much loved father, brother, son, uncle, grandfather, great grandfather and friend, died July 31 of natural causes in Hemet, with family and friends by his side. He was 74 years old.
Daniel Robert “Rob” DeChaine III died peacefully on August 9, surrounded by family and friends, due to complications from kidney cancer.
He fought the disease for more than 18 years with courage and strength, his family shared. He said he hated the term “battle” in relation to cancer because he did not feel as though either side won, and there were no agreed upon terms of engagement.
Ann Lindstaedt Copple was born January 6, 1927 to Arthur and Erma (Smith) Lindstaedt in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1949 she earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts. This was followed in 1951 with a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a PhD in romance languages from Evanston, Illinois’ Northwestern University in 1956. Her studies and research for the doctorate included post-graduate work in Russian language and literature, and were supported by a Northwestern University fellowship.
Claremont resident John E. Ekelund died peacefully Monday, August 6 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center from myelodysplastic syndromes, a form of bone marrow cancer. He was 83.
Mr. Ekelund was a mathematician, who enjoyed a 40-year career with Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he calculated orbit determination and trajectory for unmanned spacecraft.
Sam Mowbray, a kind, even-handed presence in Claremont public life for decades, has died. Mr. Mowbray died Thursday, July 19 at San Antonio Regional Hospital in Upland after suffering a heart attack. He was 74 years old.
Mr. Mowbray was a longtime volunteer and educational advocate for Claremont students. “Sam understood the importance of public service. In my opinion he was the model for the phrase, ‘service above self,’” said CUSD Superintendent Jim Elsasser.
Leah Naomi Horowitz was born June 21, 1983 in Pasadena to Marci and Larry Horowitz. She grew up in Claremont, attending Sycamore Elementary, El Roble Intermediate School and graduating from Claremont High School in 2001.
Leah had a deep reverence for life and was in awe of the natural beauty and wonder of the world around her. Even as a very young child she would comment on the beauty of the sun’s rays emanating from beyond the clouds. As a child, she loved dinosaurs, archeology and Egyptian history.
Loving wife, mother, grandmother, musician, community volunteer
Ann Louise (Ritchey) Gray died peacefully with her husband and children at her side in Claremont on June 26, after a series of recent health setbacks.
She was born on May 22, 1937 in Emporium, Pennsylvania to Clarence LaVelle and Helen (Gundy) Ritchey. After World War II she moved to Bayside, Long Island, New York and then to Scotia, New York, where she worked with her family in operating a small neighborhood movie theater, restaurant, Laundromat and beauty salon.
George Aki, former US Army chaplain, retired minister, and longtime Claremont resident died July 4. He was 103 years old.
Mr. Aki was born in Livingston, California on September 11, 1914 and was raised in Fresno. He became the first non-white civil servant in that city and later attended Fresno State College (now California State University, Fresno). After graduation, he enrolled at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.
