Obituaries Obituaries (February 10, 2006)

Joan Elizabeth Cooley

Joan Elizabeth Cooley passed away on Jan. 28, exactly thirty-eight years from the day she and her husband, George L. Cooley III, were married. They and their family have lived in Pleasanton for the past thirty-six years.

Joan was born in Chico, Calif. on August 16, 1947 to Paul and Cleo Chesney. She and her family moved to Auburn, Calif. and lived there throughout her grade school, high school (Placer High School) and one year of community college at Sierra College.

She moved to Chico, Calif. and attended Chico State, where she met her husband. Joan majored in English and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in June of 1969 and her elementary teaching credential in January of 1970. She later earned a reading specialist credential at Hayward State, specializing in reading recovery. Joan taught for 35 years in the Dublin School District. She was chosen as the district’s “Teacher of the Year” while there. She was a reading recovery teacher who believed strongly in making sure all students had the opportunity to learn to read at grade level so that their lives could be better.

She loved to read, travel, ski, sing, dance and listen to country music.

She is survived by her husband, George L. Cooley III; daughter, Courtney Brook Cooley; son, Russell George Cooley; granddaughter, Trinity Nicole Cooley; brother, Robert Chesney and his wife Gayle Chesney; mother-in-law, Carolyn Cooley; sisters-in-law, Joyce Schoof and Janice Anderson and her husband, Barry; nieces, Erin Kinoshita, Paige Hurlock, Kelsey Anderson and Thea Chesney; as well as numerous cousins, grand nieces, a grand nephew and many dear friends. She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Paul and Cleo Chesney, and father-in-law, George L. Cooley, Jr.

Joan’s wonderful personality was genuine and helped her develop strong and lasting relationships with many colleagues and friends throughout her life.

A “celebration of her life” will be held in a memorial service at 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Valley Community Church, 4455 Del Valle Parkway, Pleasanton.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Joan’s memory can be made to the A.L.S. Foundation, Greater Bay Area Chapter, 131 Stuart St., Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94105. For details, call A.L.S. at (800) 209-0433. Richard Calvin Gluck

Richard Calvin Gluck, 52, died in his Pleasanton home Jan. 21 after a long, courageous battle with cancer.

He was born Aug. 20, 1954 in Norfolk, Va. and later in life moved to Pleasanton where he lived for 15 years. He earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University in Boston and graduated from San Jose State University with a master's in business. He began his career in Silicon Valley as an engineer and ended it as an executive at Hewlett Packard.

He loved traveling, woodworking, skiing, golf, photography and coin collecting. He also enjoyed his children. His son Jason was featured in a Pleasanton Weekly article in 2003 at a Science Fair riding a homemade hovercraft that he and his dad made despite his illness. A video was made of the feat for Richard Gluck to view from his hospital bed.

He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Judy Gluck of Pleasanton; son Jason Gluck; daughter Shaina Gluck; parents Robert and Myrna Gluck of Saratoga; and brothers Randy Gluck of San Jose and Rodney Gluck of Scotts Valley.

A memorial service was held at Graham-Hitch Mortuary. Donations may be made to The Wellness Community, 3276 McNutt Ave., Walnut Creek 94597 or Hope Hospice, 6500 Dublin Blvd., Dublin 94568 Harry C. Davis

Harry C. Davis died Jan. 31 at the age of 89 in Napa.

He was born June 26, 1916 in San Francisco and was a graduate of the University of San Francisco. Harry was a restaurant owner. He is survived by a son Hal Davis; daughters Dorothy Shorum and Linda McDonald; grandchildren, Ryan, Katie and Matthew Davis, Stacey Stein and Melinda Slattery. He is preceded in death by Dorothy Cordes Davis. Visitation and Mass was held at St. Augustine's Church in Pleasanton. He is buried at St. Augustine's Cemetery, Pleasanton. Donations may be made to the Queen of the Valley Hospital, Napa or your favorite charity.

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