Saratoga News Obituaries Clara Powers Saratogan Clara Landgrebe Powers died Aug. 28 at the age of 85. Born July 31, 1913, in Huntingburg, Ind., Powers was a graduate of the Indiana State Teachers College, Terre Haute. She was a music teacher in the Indiana public school system as well as at schools in Maryland and Ohio. She moved to California in the early 1970s, first living in Cupertino before settling in Saratoga. She was active in the Saratoga Federated Church, the Fellowship Plaza, the Saratoga Senior Center and the Friends of the Saratoga Libraries. Powers was preceded in death by her husband, Jess E. Powers. Survivors include sister and brother-in-law Martha and Andrew Beverett of San Jose; nephews Andrew "Drew" of Sunnyvale and James of Phoenix; and niece Faye Beverett of San Francisco. Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1715 S. Bascom Ave., Campbell, 95008. Gail Harkness Former longtime Saratogan Gail McInerney Harkness died Sept. 15 in Colorado Springs, Colo., of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was 77. Born Aug. 7, 1921, in Berkeley, Harkness was a fourth-generation Bay Area resident; her family founded Berkeley Farms Dairy. She was a graduate of Oak Street Grammar School in Saratoga, Los Gatos High School and Stanford University. Harkness was a staff writer for the former San Jose Mercury Herald, a dispatcher for the California Division of Forestry and a civil defense bomb warden for Santa Clara County during World War II; she was one of the first female firefighters in the Department of Forestry. She was active in community affairs and was a member of the Eastfield Society Board and the Stanford Convalescent Hospital. She served as vice president of Starlite Homes, a Bay Area residential home-builder based in Milpitas during the 1950s-70s. She was also a member of the Saratoga Tennis Club Together with her late husband, Richard, Harkness moved to Indian Wells, Calif., in 1981. He died in 1993; in 1995, she moved to Colorado Springs. Survivors include son and daughter-in-law Richard and Lorrie Harkness of Colorado Springs; daughter and son-in-law Marny and Bill Hannan of Sequim, Wash.; and grandchildren Cassandra, Andy and Sven Bjerkhoel, Erin and Ryan Harkness and Kelley and Charlie Sargent. Memorial services were held at Saratoga Federated Church, where Harkness was newsletter editor in the 1950s. Donations may be made to Pikes Peak Hospice, 3630 Sinton Road, Suite 302, Colorado Springs, CO. 80907 or to the Special Olympics. Rita Floyd Rita Agnes Floyd, a former resident of Saratoga and Los Gatos, died Sept. 21 at the age of 83. Born June 5, 1915, in Danbury, Conn., Floyd was a dental office receptionist. She was also a member of the Young Ladies Institute (YLI) of Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga. Floyd was preceded in death by her husband, Albert Floyd. Survivors include daughter Carron Afflixio of San Jose; sons and daughters-in-law Daniel and Kelley Floyd of Santa Cruz, Ronald and Happy of Sutter Creek, James and Laura of Jackson, Jerry and Linda of San Jose, Richard and Joanna of Sutter Creek, and Brian and Elizabeth of Los Gatos; grandchildren Craig, Debbie, Christopher, Stephanie, Keli, Scott, Jill, Kristin, Robert, Matthew, Michelle, Traci, Ryan, Tyler and Jennifer; nine great-grandchildren, four sisters and many nieces and nephews. Memorial services have been held, with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Los Altos. Donations may be made to Catholic Charities, 2625 Zanker Road, San Jose, 95134. Shirley Diemer Saratogan and native Californian E. Shirley Diemer died of heart failure on Sept. 27 at the age of 74. Born April 9, 1924, in Palo Alto, Diemer resided in Saratoga for the past 47 years and was a former teacher's assistant in Redwood Middle School's special education department. Since the fall of 1995, she worked as an instructional assistant at De Anza College in Cupertino, teaching reading and writing labs. She also was a private tutor. Diemer was a volunteer instructor with the Arthritis Foundation and an active member of the Saratoga Presbyterian Church, where she served as both an elder and a deacon. She is survived by son Doug Diemer of Saratoga, sister Patricia Elmis Cleaver of Oregon, and several nieces and nephews. Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the Humane Society of Santa Clara Valley, 2530 Lafayette St., Santa Clara, 95050. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, October 21, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.