Pearl Price Burnette, Former BHS Teacher in 20's & 30's

Pearl Price Burnette, Former BHS Teacher

Burbank Daily Review, Friday, July 9, 1954

Former Teacher Dies in Moorpark

A former teacher at Burbank High School for 22 years, Mr. Pearl P. Burnette, died this morning in Moorpark. Services will be held Monday at 1:30 at the Little Church of Flowers in Forest Lawn. 

Mr. Burnette is survived by a widow, Estelle; two sons, Kenneth and Robert; and a daughter, Effie. Mr. Burnette was 78.

Kenneth Allen Ellis, BHS 1970

Kenneth Allen Ellis, BHS 1970
February 7, 1952 ~ July 19, 2013

Ken Ellis lived in the Boise, Idaho area for several years, and passed away in Boise on July 19, 2013.  He was married to Patricia Newman Ellis, BHS '71.

Kenny grew up in Burbank. His parents were John Delbert Ellis (1925–1988) and Barbara Larue Goddard Ellis (1925–2013}. His dad marketed laundromats and his mom worked at Weber Aircraft.

His siblings are John David, BHS Class '67, Debbie, BHS Class '73, Lorri, BHS Class '74 and Donald, BHS Class '76. Lorri passed away in 2006.

Kenneth A. Ellis Obituary (Archived) Published in Idaho Statesman on July 23, 2013 
Ellis, Kenneth A. 61, of Boise, died July 19, 2013 at his assisted living home. Arrangements are under the direction of Cloverdale Funeral Home.

Peter A. LiPera, BHS 1950, Former BHS Teacher/Coach

Peter A. LiPera
January 27, 1930 – Riposto, Sicily  ~  
January 19, 2020 – Oro Valley, Arizona

Memorial Mass for Mr. Pete LiPera
Saturday, March 21, 2020 CANCELLED
9:30 A.M., St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
3801 Scott Road, Burbank, California

In lieu of flowers the LiPera Family asks you to support public education, and to Vote!

Peter LiPera was born in Riposto, Sicily on January 27, 1930, the youngest in the family.  When Pete was just three months old the LiPera Family moved from Sicily to the United States.  Pete was a longtime resident of Burbank.  He attended Burbank

High School, where he played football, and during his senior year he was the Student Body President.  He graduated in the Winter Class of 1950 from Burbank High.  

Pete then attended Occidental College on a full scholarship for football.  He left Occidental early to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, serving on the USS Jason as a Gunner’s Mate.  Later on he returned to Burbank High School where he taught and coached for 31 years from 1960 until his retirement in 1991.  During those years he taught European History, Western Civilization, Eastern Civilizations, and also taught Driver Training.  He coached for 15 years of his 31 years at Burbank High, two years coaching “B” Football, and 13

years as the Varsity Football Coach.  He had two championship teams during those years.  

After retirement Pete would sometimes spend entire days in his library reading, researching, and writing, and would stop just for meals.  He modeled integrity and valued learning.  Pete was a strong believer in “We The People” and in the responsibility of participating in our democracy.  He often told people to “Be sure and Vote!”  His love of Football also continued, in later life as a viewer each week during Football Season, dinnertime being during half-time!

Pete and his first wife, Marilyn, had three sons, Donn, David, and Scott, who also grew up in Burbank.  Marilyn passed away in 1972 after a long illness.  Nine years later in 1981 Pete and Sheila Byrne were married and lived in Burbank for the next fourteen years.  In 1995 after they both had retired they moved to Oro Valley, Arizona, near Tucson, where they have lived for the past 25 years.  Pete passed away in Oro Valley on January 19, 2020, only eight days before his 90th birthday on January 27.

Peter LiPera is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Sheila Byrne LiPera; his son Donn LiPera and wife Diane; his son Scott LiPera and partner Louis; and by countless friends, former students, and former players who have wonderful memories of this great man.

Pete was predeceased by his first wife, Marilyn Tucker LiPera, in 1972; his middle son, Dr. David B. LiPera, DC, in 2009 (a 1976 BHS graduate); and by all of his older siblings. Written by Alan Landros, BHS 1970

Owen E. Dossen, BHS 1942

Owen E. Dossen
1924 - 2018

Owen passed away December 25, 2018, in Palos Verdes, California. He was born on January 30, 1924 in Burbank, and was a 40-year resident of La Canada Flintridge, and resided in Palos Verdes for the past 29 years. 

Owen, a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army, served under General George S. Patton in the Third Army and the Occupation of Japan in World War II. 

He was married to his loving wife Jean E. Dossen for 63 years and is survived by his children, son Joseph S. Dossen; daughters Susan J. Farmer, Jan M. Black and Judy E. Dossen; his 10-grandchildren and 21-great grandchildren. 

In honor of Owen's military service the family has requested donations be made to a favorite Veterans organization. . Please sign the guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/ladailynews.

Published in Los Angeles Daily News on Jan. 9, 2019

Victor Moon, BHS 1966

My dear friends and loving friends of Vic Moon

The night of January 16-17, 2007 my dear and special little brother, Vic passed peacefully out of his body and on to a much easier existence in his new light body form. I am told that friends who knew it was close stopped by to check on him and his newly departed form was sitting in his chair with the remote in hand in his own home; a good way to go.

For those who measure the value of life in money and accomplishments, please know that Vic was rich in a much more enduring form. He was surrounded all his life with a loving, supportive family of friends and he chose his path. There is no greater wealth.

While we all have every right to express whatever sorrow comes up for our loss, please never doubt that for Vic this is undoubtedly a joyous time, for he has shed a form that has long been difficult, and now that wonderful upbeat, fun-loving spirit bears no more shackles.

For me I ask that condolences not be the form of communication. I want to focus on his release and lightness. I would love, however to hear any fun, warm and fond memories of Vic you have to share. My email is elizabethlmoon@sbcglobal.net.

I don’t remember Vic ever being “down”, although pain was his partner most of his life, and most assuredly daily, since shortly after his return from Vietnam due to a motorcycle accident that almost cost his life.

Vic loved his yearly visits to Nanaimo, B.C. Canada to spend a fun-filled summer week with two dear friends, others he grew to know and love, and the festivities of the week of Silly Boat Races and the famous Bathtub Races. I was so intrigued by this habit that I joined him one week a few years ago and understand completely!

I don’t think there’s a place that meant more to him and so that will be the place his physical form will reunite with the earthly elements.

Because friends and family are in remote places, and because I honestly don’t believe Vic would have wanted a cluster of grieving people to be the last memory of him, I’d like to suggest the following:

On Friday, January 26th either go to a hamburger place (Vic loved Bob’s and we always went there when we were down for a visit) and have a hamburger, send him some love and/or warm wishes and if you feel like it and are with others, share stories of your good memories of Vic.

Or if you prefer, pour your favorite drink (alcohol or not – your preference) or go to a bar or club that makes you feel “at home.”

Vic loved this one and I’m sure his friends will be there:
Blue Room
(323) 849-2779
916 S San Fernando Blvd
Burbank, CA 91502

Have a drink and likewise enjoy yourself, think good and loving thoughts of Vic, share stories and laugh. Let’s make it a virtual (and/or global) gathering of good memories and warm hearts to connect and launch him at 6:00pm PST (you might want to arrive at your target site a bit earlier) on Friday, January 26th.

Laughter is a requirement. Vic was really good at that, had a wonderful sense of humor, and I know he would rather be sent off with laughter than with tears.


Elizabeth Lynn Moon

James Eric Borg, BHS 1965

James Eric Borg, BHS 1965
May 30, 1947 - October 2, 1969

Valley Times, North Hollywood, California, Sunday October 5, 1969

James Eric Borg, 22, United States Navy, Burbank resident. Son of Mr. and Mrs. Laverne A. and Ivy Johnson Borg, Burbank; brother of Mrs. Linda Richardson, Burbank and John A. Borg, of Houston, Texas. Funeral services will be Monday, 10 a.m. Eckerman-Heisman Funeral Service Chapel, Burbank. 

James graduated from Burbank High School in 1965 and passed away on October 2, 1969 in Orange County, California.

Patricia Cleora Alphin, BHS 1944, Actress

BHS ‘44 alum and class VP and Hollywood actress Patricia “Peaches” Alphin, passed away on 3 February 2020. Peaches went on to marry fellow classmate and football captain Jack Moorman in 1949 and had two children. 

She is survived by her daughter, 3 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Peaches loved her friends deeply and spoke with her BHS friends often up-to her death.

Services will be held at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in late March. More details to come.

Patricia Cleora Alphin was born on 1927, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Harry Joshua Alphin and Bonnie Humphrey. Her father was a sound engineer, and due to his job the family moved to Los Angeles in 1929 where he started working for motion pictures studios. She had an younger sister, Harree Bonnie, born on March 10, 1931, and a younger brother, Harry Jr., born on August 27, 1935. Both of them were born in California.

Patricia grew up surrounded by movie people and wanted to become an actress from childhood. She attended and graduated from Burbank High School in 1944, and, as a true beauty, was active in the local pageant scene

in 1946 Patricia was crowned Queen of the Burbank Bethel of Job’s daughters. 

As a Queen, Patricia had certain social obligations that she did with gusto:

Patricia Alphin Hostesses Tea Featuring the Easter theme In the table decorations, Patricia Alphin, honored queen of Burbank Jobs Daughters, hostessed a mother and daughter tea at her home,  She was assisted by her mother, Mrs. Harry J. Alphin. At a tea table, beautifully appointed with a centerpiece of purple and white sweet peas,  Diane Swagler. Nancy De Celle and Donna Bell poured. Approximately 100 attended the affair.

After graduation, via her dad, Pat started working as a messenger at Universal International studio. She worked in the mail room and zipped around the lot with tons of letters. Literary, she was a female mailman. It was in this room that she she was was “discovered” and signed to a contract.

After several years of hard work, and many disappointments, Pat got her first big film break. She was given the feminine lead in Abbott and Costello's The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap. But she was taken out of the role when she was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. This derailed her a bit, but as you know, you can’t keep a good girl down, and she was up and running once again, ready for big things!

And off she went!

Her first movie was Idea Girl. Her second movie appearance was in Tangier, another completely forgotten Maria Montez WW2 spy movie.Then came Night in Paradise. Not much better was the shallow, stripped-bare crime movie Inside Job, and Lover Come Back.

Patricia then appeared in the serial The Mysterious Mr. M. Her movies got a bit better afterwards (but she still was not credited, mind you). White Tie and Tails while they were away. Then came I’ll Be Yours.

Patricia would appear in movies with Yvonne de Carlo. Their first “collaboration” was Song of Scheherazade. Pat was then in the above average Abbot and Costello movie, Buck Privates Come Home. Patricia had a slightly bigger role in Time Out of Mind, the first US movie made by the British star Phyllis Calvert. 

Luckily, Patricia’s next movie The Web. Something in the Wind, a typical Deanna Durbin movie (fluff!).

Perhaps the best movie on Patricia’s filmography is Letter from an Unknown Woman, an expertly made, magical but utterly devastating film, a deeply felt lament that manages to touch the viewers on a profound level. Pat then went on to more cheerful stuff with Up in Central Park, another Deanna Durbin movie but this time with more zest and spice. And it has Vincent Price in it!

Patricia scored another very good film noir with Larceny, a John Payne/Dan Dureya/Joan Caulfield movie.  Pat then appeared in a mid tier Abbott and Costello movie, Mexican Hayride. Next she played a secretary in the very first Ma and Pa Kettle movie, Ma and Pa Kettle.

Up next was Johnny Stool Pigeon, a mid tier film noir with Howard Duff. Then came Yes Sir, That’s My Baby.

Pat’s last movie for Universal International was The Gal Who Took the West, her second Yvonne de Carlo feature. Expect a small uncredited role in 1980 (in The Return), that was it from Pat.

Some of the tidbits Patricia told the papers: “The first thing I wanted when I graduated from high school was a fur coat. It makes a young girl feel that shes really grown up, and it makes that impression, too. You feel good in it, no matter what kind.

Patricia married her high school sweetheart, John W. Moorman, in a ceremony at 8 p.m. on June 28, 1949. The wedding was not without mishaps: Bonnie Alphin, Pat’s sister, lay on a stretcher as she served as bridesmaid because she was injured in an auto accident en route to the church. An ambulance took Bonnie from the scene of the crash to the church where and after the ceremony Bonnie was whisked to a hospital for X-rays of a back injury. Bonnie later recuperated fully.

A bit about the groom. John William Moorman was born in Los Angeles on December 28, 1926 to Paul Samuel Moorman and Aida Stephens. During the war he was an Air Corps member, and later attended Occidental College. The couple honeymooned in Mexico City.

The Moormans settled in Los Angeles had two children, a son, John Scott, born on May 14, 1951, and a daughter, Julie Kathleen, born on September 2, 1954. Little is known about their life, they continued living in Los Angeles, with Patricia long retired from movies.

Patricia and John divorced in September 1974. Moorman remarried to Marilynn Barber in 1976 and died on November 9, 1995.

Sadly, Scott Moorman, Pat’s son, died before his mother in unusual circumstances. He was a very gifted athlete and a Monroe High School running back. After get married, siring a son and getting divorced, he moved to Maui from Granada Hills in the mid 1970s and was an active sailor. In 1978, he went missing while on a fishing expedition, and his skeleton was found 10 years later on the Marshall Islands. It is possible that he lived like Robinson Crusoe on an deserted island for years. This is an incredibly intriguing but somber story.

Teresa Ann Rocha, BHS 1978

Teresa Ann Rocha, BHS 1978

Teresa Ann Rocha, age 59, of Burbank, California passed in peace on Friday, January 31st after battling cancer for over 37 years with heroic grace, humor and dignity. 

She graduated from Burbank High School in 1978. She enjoyed traveling the world (Hawaii and London had a special place in her heart). She loved Dodger baseball, British period piece films and her pets, Angie and Gabby.

She worked for Friendly International Travel for 39 years (first as an employee and then as the owner of the business for over 33 years). Many of her clients became her dearest friends because she had a genuine interest in their lives, a kind heart, and a deep interest in helping them.She was admired by all for her fighting spirit in battling cancer. She had a no-nonsense, common sense approach to life which will be sorely missed. 

She is survived by her brother, Gary Rocha, partner of 16 years, Nancy Nichols,and dearest friends, Diane and Martin Powers. Teresa was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Lorraine Rocha. 

A memorial service will be held February 10, 2020 at 6:00 pm in the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn, Glendale. In lieu of flowers the family suggests a donation to the Cabrini Mission Foundation (222 E. 19th Street, Suite 5E, New York, N.Y. 10003).

Published in Glendale News-Press on Feb. 8, 2020.

Funeral Service:
Feb 10, 2020
6:00 pm -
Forest Lawn Glendale
Little Church of the Flowers
1712 S. Glendale Avenue Glendale California 91205

Graveside Service
Feb 12, 2020
12:00 pm -
Forest Lawn Glendale
1712 S. Glendale Avenue Glendale California 91205

Teresa was a big time Dodger fan.

Evans Eugene "Gus" Ghiselli, BHS 1947

Evans Eugene Ghiselli
NOVEMBER 16, 1929 – JANUARY 5, 2020

Gus as he was known to his many friends was born on November 16, 1929. He grew up in Burbank and graduated from Burbank High School with the Class of 1947. He married his wife, Dorothea R. Ghiselli, on January 24, 1954. They have a son, Gene, born May 17, 1955, and a grandson, Eric, born January 13, 1981. Gus served his country joining the service in June 1948. Gus was a proud member of the Senior Bulldogs. Gus passed away on January 5, 2020. 

Gus was preceded in death by his beloved wife Dorothea who passed in 2009. He is survive by his son and family, and many nieces and nephews. Burial was at Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood next to his wife.

Services
Pierce Brothers Valhalla, in North Hollywood. 
PIERCE BROS. VALHALLA Directors (818) 763-9121
Funeral Service Saturday, January 25, 2020
Graveside Service Saturday, January 25, 2020

Elizabeth "Betty" Allan Stone Randolph, BHS 1961

Elizabeth "Betty" Stone Randolph, age 75, of Booneville, Arkansas, passed away in her home on December 21, 2018.

She was born in Quebec, Canada in 1943, and immigrated with her family to California when she was a teen. She graduated from Burbank High School. She lived in California, Hawaii and eventually ended up in Arkansas where she raised her family. She worked for many years at the Wolverine Toy Company, Logan County Day Service Center and retired from DHS Booneville Human Development Center. She loved fishing, farming and camping.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and daughter, Jennifer Murillo. Survivors include her brother, Bill Allan (Texas), daughters Miera Nagy (Chris), and Emily Adams (Bob); sons Andy Stone (Melissa), and John Stone (Lettie); sixteen grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; friends; and people who called her "Mom".

A Celebration of Life Service for Betty will be held at 1:00 p.m. March 23, 2019 at the Booneville Funeral Service Chapel in Booneville this Spring, her favorite time of year. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Booneville Funeral Service. Online guest book www.boonevillefuneralservice.com.

Published January 6, 2019