Sue Baratian Hamamjian, 79, died on Oct. 6 at her home in Saratoga, following treatment for metastatic breast cancer.

Born in Massena, N.Y., Hamamjian was the daughter of Aram and Arak Baratian, both now deceased. Her parents were survivors of the genocide perpetrated by the government of Turkey upon its Armenian citizens prior to and during World War I, and immigrated to the United States.

Hamamjian worked as an executive assistant within the public school system and later at the Aluminum Company of America in Massena. Following her move to California in 1979, she worked at Fairchild Semiconductor and SENTRY Schlumberger corporations in the Silicon Valley. She retired from the corporate world in 1984 and brought her skills to the Bay Area's Tercera Galleries, owned by her son, Seb, and her daughter, JoAnn. She worked in Palo Alto until August of 2004. In her last few years of work, she also focused on the development of the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, co-founded by JoAnn and Seb, which opened on Oct. 23, 2004. The courtyard garden was anonymously donated in Hamamjian's name.

Hamamjian is survived by her son George Hamamjian of Sebastopol; her son Seb Hamamjian of Santa Cruz; her daughter, JoAnn Edwards of Palo Alto; and her grandson, Ara Hamamjian of San Francisco. She is also survived by her siblings Vi Baratian of New York, N.Y., Jenny Sellers of Quincy, Ill., and Vic Baratian of Leonard, Mich. She was preceded in death by her eldest sister, Mary.

A small gathering was held in honor of what would have been her 80th birthday on Oct. 9 at her home. Her ashes will be placed alongside her parents' and sister's at the Pine Grove Cemetary in Massena at a later date.

Niles E. Pinney II

Niles E. Pinney II, 83, died on Oct. 11 after a recurring illness.

Pinney was born in Venice, Ill. He started out as a bus driver and railway conductor while going to college to pursue teaching. He realized his goal in 1956 and became a teacher and administrator in Bay Area schools from Daly City to Millbrae and East Palo Alto, retiring as a vice principal in the Union School District in San Jose. He served in combat in both the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy in World War II and the Korean War. He lived in Saratoga for nearly 40 years.

Pinney also enjoyed traveling, and ballroom and folk dancing. He and his wife of 58 years, Marie, danced for pleasure, taught ballroom dancing and performed on cruise ships through the 1970s and 1980s.

Pinney is survived by his sisters, Mary Elliot of Granite City, Ill., and Margaret Nelson of Sand Point, Idaho; his sons and daughters-in-law, Patrick and Patricia of Healdsburg and Niles III and Dolla of Sarasota, Fla.; his grandchildren, Pauline, Patrick II, Phillip, Peter, Priscilla, Jason and Kaitlin; and three great-granddaughters and two great-grandsons.

Memorial mass for friends and family will be held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 13 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 13716 Saratoga Ave.