Saratoga News


Dr. Allen Curtis Riggle	Frank Dutro

Obituaries

Allen Riggle

Dr. Allen Curtis Riggle of Saratoga died Dec. 8 at the age of 69.

Riggle was born March 3, 1928, in Chicago. He attended the University of Illinois and earned his doctorate from the medical school there in 1953. He later served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, then completed his surgical residency at UC-San Francisco.

He served as chief of staff at Los Gatos Community Hospital and practiced medicine in the San Jose area for 32 years. He was also a member of the Santa Clara County Medical Society and was a member of Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church in Saratoga.

Son Mark Allen Riggle preceded his father in death. Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Gladys Anne Baumgartner Riggle of Saratoga; daughters Katie Jo Hall of San Jose, Nancy Riggle Gadzala of San Diego and Sally Marie Borello of San Jose; son Dr. Paul Curtis Riggle of Davis; grandchildren Hailey, Sam, Michael, Kelly, Kevin, Jamie, Trevor, Melissa, Christina, John, Holly and Clara; and brother Joel Riggle of Bedford, Pa.

Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to Saint Andrews Church, P.O. Box 2789, Saratoga, 95070.

Luis Rizo

Longtime Saratogan Luis Rizo Sr. died Jan. 3 at the age of 84.

Rizo was born Jan. 15, 1914, in Pomona, Calif. He was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army and worked as an agricultural foreman. He resided in Saratoga for more than 40 years.

Survivors include his wife, Josie Rizo of Saratoga; children Robert, Louis, David, Bedelia, Filbert and Danny, all of Saratoga; 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services have been held, with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Los Altos.

Frank Vail

Frank Waverley Vail died Jan. 13 at Our Lady of Fatima Villa in Saratoga at the age of 101.

A California native, Vail was born Nov. 21, 1896, in Healdsburg. His family moved to San Francisco when Vail was still a baby, and he lived there for most of his life. He did film work for the U.S. military, including during World War I, which mainly consisted of internal films and movies used within the military.

For many years after that, he worked as a Warner Brothers Pathe News correspondent, filming newsreel footage and writing the scripts. His daughter, Betty Heil, says Warner Brothers recently presented Vail with a recognition award for the pioneering work he did in the newsreel field. "Before he died, he said he'd done and seen everything he wanted to do and see in life," Heil recalls of her father's myriad experiences.

Survivors include daughter Betty Heil of Saratoga; grandchildren Wendy Aikin of Italy, Kris Heil of Woodland, Calif., Judy Stabile of Watsonville and Kelly Heil of Campbell; and seven great-grandchildren.

Memorial services have been held, with interment at Saratoga's Madronia Cemetery.

Frank Dutro

Marion Francis "Frank" Dutro died in his Saratoga residence Jan. 15 at the age of 80.

Born Feb. 21, 1917, in Colorado Springs, he graduated from Grass Valley High School, Sacramento City College and the Los Angeles Art Center. During World War II, he belonged to the 165th Signal Photographic Company and worked as a combat photographer with the U.S. Army. Although assigned to the 1st Army unit, Dutro's three-man team did not limit themselves to one division or regiment. Among the images he captured on film was the D-Day invasion at Utah Beach.

For six months, Dutro was a prisoner of war, held by the Germans. Dutro was able to slip past German troops and rejoined his unit for the remainder of the war.

Dutro began working for Lockheed Corp. after the war's conclusion, but then picked up his camera again as a Korean War combat photographer. After rejoining Lockheed, he was assigned to the Missiles and Space Division at White Sands testing range near Holoman Air Force Base in New Mexico. This gave him more photographic opportunities.

From 1960 to 1983, Dutro worked at Lockheed Missiles and Space in Sunnyvale in the motion picture department, where he did cinematography and writing. He also made a historical video of Saratoga, where he was a member of the Saratoga Historical Foundation, the Saratoga Heritage Preservation Commission, Friends of Villa Montalvo and Friends of Hakone Gardens.

He is survived by his wife, Mary Lynn Dutro of Saratoga; sons Frank Dutro Jr. of LaCrescenta and John Blake of Woodland Hills; and grandchildren Kelly Blake and Charles Dutro.

Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the Saratoga Historical Foundation, the Saratoga Federated Church, or to the Diabetes Society of Santa Clara County.

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