Beloved family physician, advocate for the mentally ill and addicted
Dr. Louis Joseph Biscotti died at his home in San Diego on August 24 at the age of 73 after years of failing health.
Dr. Biscotti raised his three children Dina, Bridget and Michael Biscotti in Claremont. From 1980 to 2008 he had a thriving business as a family practice physician specializing in allergy in Montclair, Upland and Rancho Cucamonga. He saw patients at Doctor’s Hospital of Montclair, Upland’s San Antonio Community Hospital and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. He was also an adjunct professor of addiction medicine at Loma Linda University, and served as medical director at Loma Linda Behavioral Medical Center for several years.
Pioneering aerospace engineer, baseball, movie and music fan, great grandfather
John George Gabel, 90, died peacefully at his home in Claremont on August 31 after a very brief illness.
John was born in Tonawanda, New York, August 4, 1928 to Josef Gebel and Terese Svarczkopf, both of whom immigrated as teenagers from the same village in Tur Terebes, Hungary. He was proud of his Hungarian ancestry and visited his parents’ village (now Turulung, Romania) on his 80th birthday.
Philip Cushman Myhre, emeritus professor and former chair of the Department of Chemistry at Claremont’s Harvey Mudd College, died of Alzheimer’s disease on August 26 in Tennessee at the age of 85.
He had been cared for at home for many years, and with increased urgency as his struggles with the disease intensified over the last month.
Mr. Myhre was born in Tacoma, Washington to Ardnt Edwin Myhre, a minister, and Selma Alfrieda Peterson, a teacher.
Nurse, friend, devoted ‘prayer warrior’
On August 20, at the age of 83, Diana Speakman died while surrounded by her family and friends.
Her life was filled with helping and nurturing others as a wife, mother, friend and registered nurse, and she lived a productive, fruitful life, always faithful to her family and savior, her family shared.
Claremont High School English teacher, loving mother and grandmother
Beloved mother, wife and longtime Claremont High School English teacher Sue Peterson died peacefully at her Rancho Cucamonga home on Saturday, July 14. She was 74.
Postwar missionary in Asia, educator, peace activist, great grandfather
Hallam C. Shorrock, Jr., a former missionary to Japan and South Korea with a long career in international education, died in Claremont on August 8. He was 94.
Mr. Shorrock was born December 1, 1923. He married late wife Helen Savage Shorrock on June 6, 1947.
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.
