The Sunnyvale Sun
Community
Obituaries
George J. Highstreet
George John Highstreet, who died March 27 at age 67, lived in Sunnyvale from 1940 until 1981. He attended McKinley Elementary and Benner Junior High and graduated from Fremont High School.
Family and friends say he was spontaneous. When the mood struck him, he would grab his wife, hop in the car and go--with no planned destination. He loved traveling the back roads of California, exploring the coast and snapping photos along the way.
"He loved taking roads he'd never been on before," said his wife, Barbara Highstreet.
Wherever the trip ended, that is where they would stay for the night.
The mountains, water and greenery of Lake Tahoe made it of one of his favorite spots, and he loved Yosemite, too.
His love of history took them to the California missions.
He also enjoyed another thing California is famous for--wine tasting.
Highstreet was known as a doting grandfather who was often seen watching his grandchildren play softball or soccer.
In the 1970s he coached his son's Little League teams in Sunnyvale National Little League.
Highstreet worked for Varian Associates from 1961 to 1981, and later for Hewlett-Packard both in Colorado and Roseville. He was retired and living in Foresthill.
He was in the Marines from 1956 to 1959. 'Though they were not high school sweethearts, he met his wife, Barbara, in 1950 when they were classmates. They began dating in 1960 and were married 45 years.
They attended St. Mark Lutheran Church in Sunnyvale, later making their home church St. Paul Lutheran in Mountain View.
After he attended his 50th high school reunion, classmates said the thing they remembered most about him was his hearty laugh.
An avid reader, he had a particular fondness for science fiction and military-themed books.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara, of Foresthill; son Bill Highstreet of Los Gatos; daughter Kris Needles of Orangevale; mother Betty Schessler of Citrus Heights; two brothers, Mel Highstreet of San Jose, and Dick Highstreet of Kennewick, Wash.; sister Diane Bennett of Gardnerville, Nev.; and four grandchildren.
At his request, no services were held. Donations can be made to Foresthill Fire District, P.O. Box 793, Foresthill, CA 95631.
Karen M. Ballantine
Karen Morris Ballantine, who lived in Sunnyvale and taught Sunday school at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, died March 27. She was 42.
She rarely let obstacles prevent her from personal success. She overcame dyslexia before she knew she had it. Ballantine was 18 and attending college at Cal Poly before she was diagnosed with the learning disability.
"She fought for everything that she had," said her mother, Peggy Morris. "She fought right up until the last."
Ballantine had cancer and refused to get in a hospital bed until the day before she died.
In her first year at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, one of her professors questioned her about an assignment she turned in.
When he asked her what she thought he was looking for in the assignment, she verbally gave him the correct answer--but it was not what she had turned in. He then asked her why she didn't write that down.
"She told him, 'I thought I did,' " Morris said.
It was the kind of dyslexia that could click on and off, she said. After years of struggling to achieve in school, the diagnosis of dyslexia came as a relief to Ballantine.
Morris said her daughter once told her that she was glad when they told her what she had because "I always thought I was stupid." Her diagnosis led to her career path.
She majored in learning disabilities and received a bachelor's degree from Cal Poly and a master's degree from the University of San Francisco.
After college she worked with learning-disabled students at Kainos Home and Training Center in Redwood City. She most recently worked at Beacon School in San Jose as a counselor for at-risk students.
Reared in Menlo Park, she was the youngest of four children and the only girl. When she graduated from 8th grade and had a choice of high schools, she selected Menlo-Atherton High School because that is where her friends were headed.
Not all her activities were academic; she enjoyed hiking, running and tennis.
She is survived by two children; Davene, 11, and Dakota, 5; her mother Margaret "Peggy" Morris of Menlo Park; brothers Roy Morris of Los Angeles, William Morris of Santa Cruz, and Kenneth Morris of Boulder, Colo.
Services were held on April 23 at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church.
Donations in Ballantine's name may be made to the Beacon School, 5670 Camden Ave., San Jose, CA 95124.
