Memorial Day is about celebrating summer for most Pleasanton residents. It’s a time for barbeques, trips to the pool or, weather permitting, the first camp-out of the season.
But for those who have lost loved ones, Memorial Day is also a
time for reflection. Continuing this special day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service, families and friends, even organizations, have extended the observance to include special memorials that can be found throughout Pleasanton.
Community services are planned for 11 a.m. Monday to honor the nearly 600 veterans buried at St. Augustine Catholic and Pleasanton Memorial Gardens cemeteries. Besides remembering those who served, it’s also an opportunity for families to wander through these historic burial grounds to see the headstones that mark the graves of Pleasanton pioneers, including the Kottingers, Bernals, Neals and many others.
Then it’s only a short drive to other memorials that also commemorate the lives of lost loved ones.
Ryan’s Bench
Ryan Gordon led a typical Pleasanton childhood. He played soccer for Ballistic United and swam for the Del Prado Stingrays. He loved his dog, Clancy, and riding his bike, skate boarding and making pottery. When he lost his life in a tragic Jet Ski accident in July 2003, his broken-hearted family and friends wanted a unique way to remember him.So his friends started raising money for a fitting memorial. Eventually their efforts netted the teens $12,000, enough to hire an artist and commission a memorial to honor Ryan’s memory.
Today, on a meandering stretch of sidewalk in Val Vista Community Park, a colorful memorial bench offers park users a place to rest their weary legs. Like Ryan, the bench is unique. A large mosaic that was designed by artist Dmitry Grudsky to commemorate a life well lived, is a work of art with a purpose.
Ryan’s parents, Curt and Valerie Gordon, worked closely with the artist on its design and are happy with the results, which includes scenes that are personal reminders of their much-missed teenager’s life.
“I feel like his spirit is there with me,” said Valerie Gordon on one of her frequent visits to the Val Vista Park.
Local Hero
September 11, 2001 is one of those days. Everyone who lived through that day will never forget where they were when they heard the news: The U.S. was under attack.As the terrorists’ plan played out on national television, the employees of Pleasanton’s Thoratec Corporation were personally involved. One of their own, Tom Burnett Jr., who was senior vice president and chief operating officer, was returning to San Francisco on United Flight 93 from Newark, N.J. And that plane was missing.
For most of the morning, no one knew what happened to Flight 93. Accurate information was hard to come by early in the day on September 11, and the employees of Thoratec held their collective breath. When the nation learned the fate of Flight 93 and its passengers, including Burnett, Thoratec grieved. The plane went down in a field near Shanksville, Penn. The passengers’ fight for control of their plane made them the first soldiers in the war on terror.
The story of Flight 93 is legendary, with a movie now telling the story in graphic detail, including the role Burnett played in stopping the terrorists from ever reaching their destination, which was believed to be the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
In honor of Burnett’s sacrifice and to memorialize his bravery, Thoratec erected a flagpole and placed a memorial placard in the courtyard of the company’s headquarters just off Stoneridge Drive on a street now renamed Tom Burnett Lane.
A Grateful Community Remembers
In Pleasanton Sports Park, nestled in a glen of trees, a cluster of rocks surrounds and protects a flagpole. On a rock, facing field No. 7, a memorial acknowledges the many contributions of city residents who donated their efforts and energies to community sports programs.The names listed on the plaque are those of volunteers who refereed soccer games, tended Little League fields, coached countless kids and made Pleasanton the recognized youth sports community that it is today. The memorial reminds park users of the true spirit of those being remembered: “For the good of the game and the good of its players.”
A Bookcase of Memories
By all accounts, Sharon Cao was a bright girl. She loved to read, write and travel. She was a sophomore at Foothill High School, a member of the Interact Service Club and the treasurer of the Badminton Club. She hoped to attend Stanford University when she graduated. Then last June, her mother couldn’t awake her for school. Sharon had died in her sleep at the age of 15. The cause of her death remains a mystery.As devastated friends and family struggled to come to terms with the unexplained loss, they decided to create a living memorial: a bookcase, books and DVDs for the teen section of the Pleasanton Library. With funds raised by the Sharon Cao Foundation of the Chinese American Cooperative Council, the memorial bookcase has now been installed and is filled with mementos from Sharon’s life. General circulation books and other materials also have been purchased in her honor, with memorial name plaques on every item.
“We are so incapable of physically bringing Sharon back, but we are going to keep Sharon’s vibrant spirit everywhere and forever,” her memorial states.
Veterans Celebrated
On a sun-drenched spring afternoon, Pleasanton residents Marcia Bronnenberg and Lori Flannery were enjoying time at Veterans’ Memorial Park in downtown Pleasanton. As their children snacked and scampered about on the brick plaza, just a few feet away, a memorial keeps a silent vigil.Erected in 1989 by members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6298 and the Auxiliary American Legion Post 237, the traditional concrete memorial and placard commemorates all veterans who served our country in times of war and peace. It’s also become a favorite place for kids to climb, play and hide behind, a small monument that commemorates veterans while also providing a downtown rest area and playground for the living.
Peaceful Memory
Under a tree in front of the Pleasanton Library, a bronze statue of a young girl reading a book welcomes visitors. Under the statue, a small plaque credits the artist Dennis Smith and dedicates it to the “Children of Pleasanton in Memory of Sarah Anne Lees.”Sarah Anne Lees was once a child in Pleasanton. She lived, loved and laughed here. But her life ended violently when she was murdered at the age of 23.
The details of the crime are still painful for her family and friends. According to public records, a man broke into the Castro Valley home where she was living. He assaulted her and shot her in the back as she tried to escape. He was found five days later wearing her jewelry and has been in prison ever since.
The peaceful statue is designed as a tribute to her memory and in celebration of reading, childhood and life.
