William Alff died on April 19 in Saratoga. He was 78.

Born in New Jersey in 1924, Alff served as a radar technician for the U.S. Navy during World War II and was an engineering graduate of UC-Berkeley. Alff worked as an engineer for 36 years at Lockheed-Martin, assisting with projects such as the Hubble Space Telescope and Mauna Kea Observatory. After their 1984 wedding, he and his wife, Denny, moved to Saratoga.

Alff is survived by his wife, Denny Vawter Alff, daughter Jan Alff Wiegel, son Jon Alff, stepdaughter Margaret McWhinney and stepson Mark S. McWhinney. Private services have been held. Memorial contributions may be made to The Sandusky Maritime Museum, 125 Meigs St., Sandusky, OH 44870.


Steele

Raymond Steele died of pneumonia on April 11 at the Palo Alto division of the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. He was 75 years old.

Steele was born on Sept. 4, 1927, in Los Angeles. At a young age he entered the Merchant Marines and then enlisted in the U.S. Army. After fulfilling his commitments to the service, he became a B-747 captain with Pan American World Airways, where he worked for 25 years while living in Saratoga.

Steele is survived by his wife, Dorothy, daughter Susan and son-in-law Dan DeLeuw, daughter Karen and son-in-law John Boncher, and one grandson.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Veterans Hospital, Attn: Vickii Ellis, CNF, 3801 Miranda Ave., Palo Alto, 94304. Cards may be sent to Dorothy Steele at P.O. Box 66312, Scotts Valley, 95067-6312. Private services will be held next month.


Tasker

Lotte Emeline Cox Tasker died of ovarian cancer on May 23 in her Scotts Valley home. She was 53.

Tasker was born in San Jose and raised in Saratoga. She attended Saratoga elementary schools, Saratoga High School and San José State University, where she earned an English degree and a teaching credential. She was very active at Saratoga High School, playing clarinet in the school marching band and serving in student government. She was a member of the Los Gatos chapter of the Rainbow and became the leader of the chapter in 1967.

Her father, the late Dr. Jack Cox, was a longtime Saratoga physician and an early leader in the formation of the city of Saratoga in 1957. He also served on the Saratoga School Board of Education.

Tasker met her husband, Jim, in 1969 at San José State, where she was a Sigma Kappa and he was a Delta Sigma Phi member. The couple married in 1972. Three years later they traveled to Australia to teach elementary and junior high school. Later, they lived in San Jose for many years before moving to Scotts Valley in 1987.

Tasker was a committed educator who taught at several Santa Clara Valley schools, including Valley Christian School in Los Altos. Family members say that her greatest accomplishment was the K­12 home education of her daughters, who are now in college.

She was active in her community, including Santa Cruz Bible Church, where for four years she helped minister to others suffering from cancer in a support group. She also volunteered with 4-H, and her daughters took home several statewide awards.

She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Jim Tasker of Scotts Valley; daughter and son-in-law Emily and Matthew Bertholic of Scotts Valley; daughter Jennifer Tasker of Scotts Valley; granddaughter Whitney Bertholic; mother Flora Cox Pinschmidt of Saratoga; sister Maggie Johnson of San Jose; brother Jack Cox of Northridge; three nieces; one nephew; and several cousins.

Services have been held. Contributions in her name should be directed to Santa Cruz Bible Church, 440 Frederick St., Santa Cruz, 95060.