|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Pleasanton’s first female planning commissioner. A school district trustee before unification. A former City Council candidate. A downtown bar and restaurant owner.
Those may be the headlines from among the dozen or so obituaries that have caught my eye on our Lasting Memories webpage or in our print editions this fall, but there is so much more to each individual story.
They are people of family, people of service, people of heart, people of community. Their lives are part of the fabric of the Tri-Valley — and beyond.
Let’s get to learn a little more about these impactful residents and the remembrances from their loved ones. (And special shoutout to Ken MacLennan at the Museum on Main, Pam Ott in the Pleasanton city offices and Patrick Gannon at Pleasanton Unified School District for helping me get some additional context.)
I was saddened to hear that Joyce Shapiro died on Nov. 2 after suffering a stroke. She and husband Bob had been such great supporters of the Pleasanton Weekly, along with so many community organizations and initiatives.
Her obituary was illuminating; she packed so much into her 82 years. Focusing just on her accomplishments in Pleasanton, Joyce (Getty, her first married name) was the first woman appointed to the city’s Planning Commission, serving from 1978 to 1985 – she was also designated as a standby City Council member in case of emergency in 1980.
She was also former president of the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, Pleasanton Downtown Association (which she helped establish) and the California Downtown Association. Shapiro gave back to the Pleasanton 2000 Committee, Firehouse Arts Center, Senior Center and the Committee for the “Great Race”. She and Bob previously shared the Mayor’s Award, the Weekly’s Couple of the Year honor and Ed Kinney Community Patriot Awards, plus the distinction of being profiled in our paper for the annual Christmas decorations.
Another late resident whose fingerprints – maybe more literally – are all over Pleasanton was J. Jack Bras, who passed on Nov. 9 at 95 years old.
Oklahoma-born before the family migrated to California in the Great Depression (“a childhood straight out of ‘Grapes of Wrath'”), Bras and wife Florence settled in Pleasanton in 1964 and he opened an architecture office on First Street.
Bras designed or remodeled many recognizable buildings in town: The Cheese Factory, Pleasanton Hotel, The Adobe Plaza, the fairgrounds’ amphitheater and the Pleasanton Police Department, to name a few. His obituary also said he even stepped in to influence the city against removing the then-shabby Pleasanton Arch.
He also held elected office, serving on the old Amador Valley Joint Union High School Board of Trustees from 1981-85, not long before unification occurred in 1988.
“Topics during his first year of service included: full funding for special education state mandates, school funding and staff reductions. The high number of early graduation requests (from high school seniors) and student behavior/discipline was also a concern,” Gannon told me after checking the PUSD archives.
Going back a few papers ago, George Bowen’s family remembered him close to his birthday in October. A man with music always in his heart, Bowen first made his way in insurance and found a second career building guitars died on Aug. 19 at 69 after battling ALS. Voters may also recall Bowen bid for Pleasanton City Council in 2014.
Restaurateur John Luevano, the palette and soul behind Pairings in downtown Pleasanton, passed following a “hard-fought fight with cancer” on Sept. 21 at age 64. “His delicious Bolognese became a local favorite, much like the man himself — rich, comforting, and filled with heart,” his obituary stated.
On Page 18 in this week’s paper, you can read more about the life and legacy of 73-year-old Ed Heuer III, who spent his career in wastewater treatment. Golfers at Callippe Preserve might recognize him from his retirement gig as a course marshal for some 15 years.
There are so many other fascinating tales near the top of our Lasting Memories page: Dan Stober was a journalist for years with the San Jose Mercury News and Stanford News Service; 103-year-old Fred Weakley had careers in hatmaking and real estate; Sandra Manifesto was attendance secretary at Bishop O’Dowd High School; and Ron Otvos “will always be remembered for his generosity of time, his kind words, and his ability to bring people together.”
Even as I was getting ready to write this column on Wednesday, two new obituaries arrived online for me to approve.
Barbara Jean Davis passed peacefully in Manteca last Friday surrounded by family at the age of 78. During her full life, the former Danville resident had a connection to our industry, working for years at the Valley Times in Livermore.
And Pleasanton resident Shirley Roehl, a retired teacher primarily at Briar Elementary in Fremont, died back on Oct. 8 at the age of 95. “She impacted many lives in a positive and lasting way. She is greatly missed,” her daughter wrote in the obit.
Learn more about all of these wonderful folks online at obituaries.pleasantonweekly.com.
Editor’s note: Jeremy Walsh is the editorial director for the Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. His “What a Week” column is a recurring feature in the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
Castlewood homeowners discuss where things stand with county following lawsuitJanuary 27, 2026 5:58 am
Great column highlighting many of the wonderful people who make our community so special. Thank you.