Saratoga News

Charlotte Meeker Bucaria

Obituaries

William Roths

William James Roths, a Saratoga resident for the past 25 years, died Nov. 22 of a heart attack at the age of 69.

Born Aug. 8, 1928, in Ransom, Kan., Roths held a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and worked as an engineering manager for General Electric.

He was an "engineer's engineer," according to his family, and was very civic-minded. He was an active member of the San Jose Historical Museum and the San Jose Museum of Art and was interested in restored antique trolleys.

Survivors include wife Jeanne of Saratoga; son Mark Roths; daughter Pam Morelas; and granddaughters Nikki and Gloria Jeanne.

Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the Trolley Barn, in care of Fred Bennett at the San Jose Historical Museum, 1600 Senter Road, San Jose, 95112.

Walter Hollingsworth

Walter "Walt" Hollingsworth died on Dec. 2 at his Saratoga residence at the age of 63.

Born Aug. 7, 1934, in Texas, Hollingsworth worked as an electrical engineer for 32 years. For the last 17 years, he worked in Santa Clara at Fairchild and Intergraph. He and his wife also owned M&W Printing and Graphics on S. DeAnza Boulevard.

Survivors include wife Marty of Saratoga; children Melinda Harris, MaryAnn Casias and Mike and Rondi Brooks; and granddaughters Sarah, Chelsea and Hannah.

Memorial services have been held.

Piers Wiezel

Saratogan Piers Wiezel died on Dec. 2 at the age of 76.

Born March 24, 1921, in Syracuse, N.Y., Wiezel was a salesman for Du Pont Pharmaceuticals.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Norma Wiezel of Saratoga; sons James Wiezel of Loomis, David Wiezel of Novato and Edward Wiezel of Poway; daughter Marie Wiessler of Moraga; grandchildren Edward, Kaitlyn and Scott Wiezel of Poway, Natalie and Gina Wiezel of Loomis and Trevor and Greg Wiessler of Moraga; and sisters Freda Baylard of Syracuse, N.Y., and Irma Busch of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Memorial services have been held.

Doris Bonn

Doris Bonn of Saratoga died on Dec. 6 at the age of 89.

She was born Nov. 4, 1908, in Ohio. A graduate of Kent State University, she began her 37-year teaching career in Lorain, Ohio, at Lincoln Elementary School. In 1963, she received the Jennings Scholarship for teaching excellence.

Bonn was active in the Delta Zeta sorority alumnae association and the Girl Scouts. In 1976, the family moved to Saratoga, where Bonn served as president of the Garden Club and was involved with a bridge club, the Saratoga Newcomers and a gourmet cooking club. She was also interested in dancing, golfing, boating and worldwide travel.

Survivors include her husband of 55 years, John Lewis Bonn of Saratoga; two daughters and three grandsons.

Memorial services have been held, with interment at Elmwood Cemetery in Lorain, Ohio.

Charlotte Bucaria

Longtime Saratoga resident Charlotte Wehmann Frey Meeker Bucaria died on Dec. 25 in her home at the age of 84.

Born Dec. 22, 1913, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bucaria graduated from high school at the age of 16. She graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1935 after completing the co-op program in commercial engineering. The co-op was a program during the Depression that enabled students to both work and go to school. A member of Alpha Gamma Delta and Pi Chi Epsilon, Bucaria met husband David Paul Meeker, a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps, while she was in the co-op.

The couple moved frequently during Meeker's Army career, during which time they had four children. The family settled in Saratoga in 1958, where Bucaria was proud to be a stay-at-home mother. She was a room mother and PTA member in her children's schools as well as a den mother and scout leader in the Boy and Girl Scouts.

She was also active in the choir, vacation Bible school and auxiliary groups of the Saratoga Federated Church. She also enjoyed singing and playing the piano and became a self-educated expert on interior decorating and home remodeling projects.

Bucaria later attended San Jose State University and obtained her secondary teaching credentials; she taught general business and typing classes at Los Gatos and Saratoga high schools and Foothill Junior College.

Her husband died in 1964; several years later, she married Pat Paul Bucaria, a longtime Saratoga barber and banjo player. Always a dog owner, she got involved in dog shows in the 1970s and owned several champion cocker spaniels. She began her professional real estate career in 1975, which she followed with a broker's license in 1978 and GRI designation in 1988.

Survivors include sons Daniel and Timothy Meeker; daughters Kathleen Gale and Cynthia Plencner; stepsons Charles and Garvan Bucaria; grandchildren Stephanie Shaffer; Jordan and Hillary Meeker; Tiffany and Alexander Plencner and Roxanne, Robin, Karen and Mary Bucaria; and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial services have been held, with interment at Golden Gate National Cemetery. Donations may be made to a local hospice or to a charity of choice.

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