Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Peter Nelson

Obituaries

Peter Nelson

Peter "Pete" Douglas Nelson died Sept. 11 in his Redwood Estates home of complications from asthma. He was 45.

Nelson was a San Jose State University graduate and worked as a parks maintenance supervisor for the county of Santa Cruz.

In both Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties, he was an avid participant in softball leagues and also served as a Little League baseball coach. This past year, he coached 12-year-olds in the Los Gatos All-Stars, which he described as a "super season with super kids and super supporting parents and coaches."

He is survived by wife Sheila of Redwood Estates and children Adam, Matthew and Emily, all of Redwood Estates; parents Roger and Virginia of Saratoga; sister Susan Nelson of Buena Vista, Colo.; and brothers Steven of Poolesville, Md., David of Roanoke, Va., and Richard of San Martin.

A memorial service and gathering celebrating Nelson's life was held in a Ben Lomond park. Donations may be made to the Northern California Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Alliance, 1201 K St., Suite 1850, Sacramento, 95814. The Nelsons lost an infant daughter to SIDS.

Eleanor Paul

Longtime Los Gatan Eleanor Mary Balfour Meynell Paul died Sept. 16 at the age of 93 in La Selva Beach, where she had been residing for the past month.

Paul was born June 27, 1904, in Dorchester, New Brunswick, Canada. She once took flying lessons in an open-cockpit airplane in the 1920s but decided on a career in nursing.

In the 1930s, she traveled to Fairbanks, Alaska, on a nursing job and met John W. Paul, who would later become her husband. The couple's three daughters were born there; a son was born in Hayward.

In 1953, Paul moved to Los Gatos after her husband's death. She worked as a nurse at San Jose Hospital and the Odd Fellows infirmary, among other places. She was a charter member of the Professional Women's Club and belonged to the Republican Women's Club.

"Her stories were wonderful to listen to, and people always stopped by her home in Los Gatos to hear and talk with her," recalls daughter Jody.

Paul was predeceased by daughter Margaret Paul. Survivors include daughters Susan Ferguson of Campbell and Jody White of Los Gatos; son and daughter-in-law Henry and Frances Paul of La Selva Beach; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Memorial services have been held, with interment at Lone Tree Cemetery in Hayward. Donations may be made to the Live Oak Senior Nutrition and Service Center, 19 High School Court, Los Gatos, 95030.

Eula Beatty

Former Los Gatos resident Eula M. Beatty died in Gilroy Sept. 16 at the age of 75.

Born and raised in Santa Clara, she resided in Los Gatos from 1952 to 1990, after which time she moved to Gilroy. She worked as a self-employed cosmetologist for 35 years at various local beauty salons. She was a member of the Los Gatos Rebekah Lodge as well as the Thousand Trails Camping Group and other camping organizations.

Beatty was predeceased by husband Thomas H. Beatty. Survivors include son Ken Beatty of Gilroy; daughter and son-in-law Jan and Tim Pyzer of Gilroy; grandsons Rick and Jason Pyzer of Fresno and Kristofer Pyzer of Gilroy; great-grandsons Travis and Jordan Pyzer of Fresno; brothers George Folks of King City and Tim Folks of Lemoore; also numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial services have been held, with interment at Los Gatos Memorial Park. Donations may be made to Home Help Plus Hospice, 2005 De La Cruz Blvd., Suite 271, Santa Clara, 95050.

Ellen Gilkey

Ellen Paige Gilkey, a former Los Gatos resident, died Sept. 30 in Folsom at the age of 94.

Born Oct. 6, 1902, in Davenport, Wash., she graduated from what was then called San Jose State College in 1925, married husband Winfield Gilkey and moved to Los Gatos in 1926. Widowed in 1932, she raised their sons as a single mother. She lived in the same house until 1995, when she moved to the Folsom area.

Survivors include sons Paige and Scott; sister Fermine Fergison of Portland, Ore.; six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Her cremated remains have been interred with her husband's at Los Gatos Memorial Park.

Duke Powers

Former Los Gatan Duke E. Powers died Oct. 3 of cancer in Wallace, Calif., where he had been residing. He was 45.

Born Jan. 14, 1953, in Illinois, Powers moved to Los Gatos with his family when he was not yet 2 years old. He attended Los Gatos schools and then went to Heald Business College in Stockton. He was employed doing computer work with Omni HMO in Sacramento. In his free time, he was active with Little League in Valley Springs.

Survivors include wife Holly Powers of Wallace; children Amy and Nathan Powers of Wallace; sisters Alma Robertson of San Jose and Marian Anders of Campbell; brothers Clyde Powers of Chico and William Powers of Hollister; and mother Irene B. Powers of Los Gatos.

Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the Hospice of San Joaquin Valley, based in Stockton.

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