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Sierra Madre

Mountain Views News Saturday, November 9, 2013

MVNews this week: Page A:3

Mountain Views-News Saturday, November 9, 2013

REMEMBERANCE

ROTARY OF SIERRA MADRE AND INTERACT
“MARCH TO END POLIO”

Sierra Madre Rotarians
and Interactors met
at Kersting Court on
Saturday Oct. 26 to
“March to End Polio.”
The walkers: Marilyn
Diaz, Kris Poulsen,
John Stubbs, John
Harabedian, Maria
Stubbs, Walter Poser,
Gregory Alle, Doug
Kerns, Dave Ruprecht,
Dan Alle, Julie Allie,
Peggy Beauregard. Of
course, a “ Hi” to Neil the
pig was included. Peggy
Beauregard collected
funds in Kersting Court.
Contributors received
a shirt or donut and
a picture. For every
dollar donated, The
Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation matches with three dollars. Our goal is to raise $2,500, which will be matched for a grand
total of $10,000. Thanks to generous contributors, both within and outside of Rotary, we have raised
$2,255.00 so far. Please consider making a difference to children who are not immunized against polio
at birth. Last year Rotarians immunized 107,000,000 children on National Immunization Day (NID).
Please mail your tax-deductible contribution to Rotary International, PO Box 863, Sierra Madre, CA
91025 and note “Polio Walk” on the memo line of your check. Thank you for your consideration.
Peggy@gmail.com.

Laurence Edward Daniels

October 15, 1947 –October 19, 2013

Former Sierra Madre resident killed in a tragic
work related accident on the Bay Area Rapid
Transit System (BART) tracks in Northern
California

Laurence Edward Daniels was killed doing one
of the things he loved most. He was a problem
solver, an engineer who dedicated his work life to
making rail travel more efficient and safe. He was
born in Pasadena California on October 15, 1947.
He grew up with his parents, Victor and Gertrude
and his sister Marie-Therese in Sierra Madre. He
received his Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering
from Santa Clara University in 1970. He married
Joyce while finishing his degree and had two
daughters, Sarah and Amber Daniels. He was immediately
employed by the railroad industry to
inspect track, starting with the Western Pacific in
the East Bay.

He and his family moved across the US so he
could work for various rail inspection projects.
They lived in Boise Idaho, Pueblo Colorado and
Fairfax Virginia, before returning to California in
1993. In each community, Larry made an impact.
He coached and played soccer, played Rugby,
golfed, and always had an active workshop in the
garage. He was particularly enamored of creating
and building things in his workshop, from
amazing trellises for his gardens, to renovating
the houses where he lived. He rarely sat still,
unless it was to read a good book. He was an avid
reader of biographies and historical information.
He was always looking to figure out how things
and people were put together.

After he returned to California, he started
his own consulting firm, Daniels Railroad
Engineering. He worked on rail projects all over
the US and the world, helping improve and grow
rail systems. Included in his projects were the
English Channel Tunnel, the Kowloon-Canton
Railway in China and the Singapore Mass Transit
Project. He was a pioneer in many areas of the
rail industry, most especially maglev rail projects.
He also served on the Board of El Dorado and
Sacramento Railway Historical Society and
helped preserve and implement historical rail
projects in the Sacramento Valley.

In 1996 he and his wife separated and in 2006 he
met his second love, Betty Keever. Betty and

Larry were ogether until the time of his death.
He and Betty moved to Oakland in 2011 with
their snuggly dog Oliver. He and Betty traveled
widely, exploring the country and laughing often.
Larry was Betty’s “Number 1”. Larry also played
golf and played in semi-pro tournaments.

Larry was an incredibly generous man, who was
described by many close to him as “wonderful,
kind and extremely supportive”. He worked
hard at whatever he did and loved to share the
knowledge he had acquired. He cared deeply
for the people in his life and would go out of
his way to plan adventures for loved ones. His
family speaks animatedly of a Segway trip last
Thanksgiving around Lake Merritt that Larry
planned, of how much fun they had, the stories
they told. Larry always planned these excursions
and field trips meticulously, ensuring that every
possible activity was included and that the
weather conditions would be perfect. He enjoyed
making others happy and doing things for others
wherever he could. He would often insist that
people treat themselves on his dime.

Larry is survived by his life partner, Betty his
sister Marie -Therese, his daughters Amber and
Sarah, nephews Erick and Marck and his dog
Oliver.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please
send memorial donations to Genesis, an east bay
transportation and social justice organization
(1904 Franklin St, Suite 709, Oakland CA 94612);
OR the Folsom, El Dorado and Sacramento
Historic Railroad Association (198 Wool St,
Folsom, CA 95630) or a non profit organization
that would be meaningful for individuals.

WALKING SIERRA MADRE……THE SOCIAL SIDE
By Deanne Davis

“I don’t mind going back to daylight saving time. With inflation, the hour will be the only thing I’ve
saved all year.” Victor Borge

It’s possible Victor Borge was the only person on the planet who was excited about Daylight Shifting
Time! All sorts of cheerful people tell us how marvelous it is we’re getting another hour of sleep. Bah!
Humbug!

In any case, Monday was a glorious day. We’ve adjusted a bit to the time change and are somewhat less
out of sorts and, as there was a little rain during the night, it was a beautiful morning; foggy, a pleasant
56 degrees, and so quiet at 6:30 a.m. Monday was also the first day I was going to go for a walk after
having a little arthroscopic knee surgery last Wednesday. I say “a little” as that’s how my knee guy,
the amazing orthopedist, Richard Vanis, put it: “I’ll just take a look in there and if there’s anything to
fix, I’ll fix it!” And he did. But I was still clutching the hand of the ever patient and supportive John.

We headed off on one of
our favorite walks, down
Alegria to Canon and
then into the Canyon. The
Halloween pumpkins,
which are still out in a lot of
yards, are turning into sad
caricatures of their former
glorious selves. Scary faces
now looking like extremely
old folks with no teeth and
no dental insurance. The
uncarved ones will decorate
the town for months to
come! We love seeing
candy canes and snowmen
intermingled with the
pumpkins we just can’t bear
to throw away.

As we turned onto Canon
Drive, there down the street
in front of us was a herd
of six of our Sierra Madre
deer, leisurely wandering
along, nibbling a bit of
bougainvillea, a little green
something on the ground
and just generally enjoying
the cool, quiet morning as
much as we were. What an
unexpected and delightful
moment! No cars came zooming ‘round the curve, no dogs barked, nothing disturbed these guys as
they enjoyed their morning constitutional. We followed them quite a ways while one or two stopped
for a sniff or a bit of leaf then caught up with the rest. Eventually, they wandered up through the
terraced yard of one of the big old houses there on Canon, up to Sturtevant and back into the hills.

It’s an awesome thing to follow a small herd of deer through your town and a great way to start the
week. Then we opened the Los Angeles Times over coffee and discovered another article about Neil
The Pig, complete with a cute photo of his owner, Katherine Emerson, giving him a little smooch on
the snout. Doesn’t get much better than that!

“Deer walk upon our mountains, and the quail

Whistle about us their spontaneous cries;

Sweet berries ripen in the wilderness;

And, in the isolation of the sky,

At evening, casual flocks of pigeons make

Ambiguous undulations as they sink,

Downward to darkness on extended wings.”

Bantams in Pine Woods (1923) Wallace Stevens

Hope you see a deer or two this week while you’re walking.

We’d like to hear from you!

What’s on YOUR Mind?