Gaspare A. De Fazio

Gaspare Angelo De Fazio, 78, a longtime resident of Saratoga, died Nov. 26.

De Fazio was born in New York City and lived in Saratoga for 33 years. He worked for IBM Corporation for 35 years, was a docent at the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University and was active in Sacred Heart Parish in Saratoga, where he was a lector for many years.

De Fazio is survived by his wife, Marta De Fazio; his children, Laura Lewis, Karl De Fazio, Valeria Makroginnis and Daniel De Fazio; grandchildren, Kevan, Christa and Shawn Lewis and Zackary De Fazio; and great-grandson, Jonathan Lewis.

Joan E. Schreiner

The town of Los Gatos lost a woman of many talents when Joan Schreiner, 50, died on Dec. 21 from breast cancer.

She was trained in biochemistry and nutrition science at UC-Berkeley, where she graduated with highest honors and became a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She went on to earn an MBA at Berkeley and spent most of her professional life as a finance executive and CFO at several Silicon Valley high-tech companies. She also served as the town treasurer from 1988 to 1992. Other hobbies included photography and at-home winemaking.

Schreiner discovered she had late-stage breast cancer in 1992, and was told she didn't have long to live. However, she wasn't willing to go so quietly into the night. She began tirelessly educating herself on the subject of breast cancer, possible treatments and keeping her health. What resulted from her efforts were many incredible accomplishments.

She became known as an effective patient advocate for advances in breast cancer treatment. She and a colleague, Joanne Tyler, founded the Breast Cancer Registry Project at UCSF, a new medical information service focused on matching patients with cancer treatment clinical trials supported by the National Cancer Institute. She also wrote a book about everything she had learned and all her experiences-- Still Here! Taking Charge of Your Healthcare has served as a personal disease treatment and management manual for many facing serious illnesses.

Schreiner is survived by her husband, David Nagel; her stepdaughter, Rebecca Taylor; her parents, Robert and Dorothea Schreiner; her brother, Tim Schreiner, and her sister, Lynn Hutchings. Memorial donations in her name can be sent to BreastCancerTrials.org, Attention: Elly Cohen, Project Manager, UCSF, PO Box 1941, San Francisco, CA 94143-1941.