William 'Bill' Stone Van Orsdol, BHS 1942

William 'Bill' Stone Van Orsdol, BHS 1942



William "Bill" Stone Van Orsdol, 83, of Simi Valley, passed away after a brief illness with cancer on July 21, 2007.


Bill was born on Dec. 21, 1923, in Topeka, Kan. He moved to Burbank, Calif., in 1938 and attended John Muir Junior High and Burbank High School until 1942, when he then went into the Navy in World War II and was a first class cook on the USS Portland until October 1946.


After he was out of the Navy, he cooked for Van's Drive Inn and Eaton's, and soon after opened his own ice cream, hamburger and breakfast shop called Snow Birds in Burbank. He dedicated 33 years, from 1948 to 1981, working as a clerk and manager for Vons grocery stores throughout Southern California.


He lived in (Santa Susana) Simi Valley since 1962, raising his family with his wife, Alys, who preceded him in death in 1998. During that time he was an avid deer hunter, golfer, fisherman, a great cook and the best maker of homemade fudge ever.


He took his family on wonderful vacations each summer throughout the Midwest and to Bass Lake to water ski. Bill was an upstanding member in the Rotary Club and American Legion in Simi Valley and the Elks Lodge in Kernville, Calif.


He has enjoyed and treasured the past seven years with his lifelong friend, adoring wife and companion Kathy Ervin Van Orsdol. They have enjoyed their business, Penny Pinchers Antiques, and helping in the community, specially remembering those tri-tip dinners for St. Peter Claver Church Bingo.


Bill will be greatly missed by his family, friends and customers knowing that he was a man of pride and dedication during his life with a very soft heart.


He leaves behind his wife of seven years, Kathy Ervin Van Orsdol, and her son, Bill's primary caregiver during his illness, Jim Ervin of Simi Valley; son, Robert Van Orsdol and wife Linda of Quartz Hill, Calif.; grandchildren Justin Van Orsdol, Jason Hooker, Belle Hodapp and Adam Herpe; son Steve Van Orsdol and wife Nancy of Ventura; granddaughter Lori Carrese; daughter, Cindy Merwin and husband Geoffrey Beebe of Junction City, Calif.; grandchildren Naomi Merwin and Julian Beebe; daughter Karen Belluomini and husband Dennis of Campbell, Calif; grandson Jim; great-grandson, Michael; and brother Wayne Van Orsdol and his wife Carol of Granada Hills, Calif.


Our special thanks to our wonderful family and friends during these trying times, especially Elsie and Kenny, Shelly and Mike, George and Judy, Bob and Georgie, and Bob and Sherri.


In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Bill's name to a charity of your choice.


Family and friends are invited to attend memorial services at 10 a.m. Friday, July 27, at St. Peter Claver Church, on the corner of Stow and Cochran streets, in Simi Valley, with a Bethany repast after services in the church hall.


Please sign the guest book at obits.VenturaCountyStar.com

Robert Grueter, BHS Teacher

Robert Grueter, BHS Teacher

Robert "Bob" Grueter, 75, Bradenton, Florida, died Aug. 29, 1999.

He was born May 31, 1924, in Harvey, Illinois, and came to Manatee County 12 years ago from Burbank, California. He was a mathematics teacher and a football and baseball coach at Burbank High School. He was a Navy veteran of World War II. He was a sailor and a licensed pilot.

Survivors include his wife, Hilda; a daughter, Pam Dito of San Mateo, California; two sons, Corby of Winter Haven and Barry D. of Orange County, California; a sister, Barbara Stutzriem of Park Forest, Illinois; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

There will be no services. Griffith-Cline Funeral Home, Manasota Chapel, is in charge.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) - September 2, 1999

Ronald J. Faris, BHS 1969

Ronald J. Faris, BHS 1969

AIR FORCE FLIER DIES IN DESERT JET CRASH

Daily News of Los Angeles (CA) - Wednesday, February 12, 1986

Author: PATRICIA FARRELL AIDEM, Daily News Staff Writer

An Air Force flight engineer was killed Tuesday when the supersonic aircraft he was aboard crashed in the remote desert north of Edwards Air Force Base.

The pilot -- the only other occupant of the F-4 Phantom II -- ejected from the plane and parachuted to safety. The 8:27 a.m. crash near Boron, 10 miles north of Edwards, killed Maj. Ronald J. Faris, a 1969 graduate of Burbank High School . An unknown civilian pilot in the vicinity radioed the base when he spotted Phantom pilot Capt. Douglas M. Moss on the ground waving for help, said Don Haley, an Air Force spokesman.

Faris was seated in the rear of the two-seat Phantom, said Haley, adding that officials are uncertain why he did not eject. The planes, built in St. Louis by McDonnell-Douglas Corp., have a good safety record at Edwards and are flown daily by trainees, he added.

Faris, 34, and Moss, 32, are assigned to the Edwards flight test center and were on a required proficiency training exercise, Haley said. The two were returning to the base 10 minutes after takeoff when they declared an emergency, Haley added. An investigative board was formed immediately to determine the cause of the accident.

Faris, a Glendale native, is survived by his wife Judith and the couple's two daughters, Kasey, 5, and Brook, 2. His parents, John and Marian Faris, recently moved from their Glendale home, Haley said. Faris has been in the Air Force since 1973 and had been stationed at Edwards since December 1981.

Burbank High Principal William Bertrand, Faris's gym teacher at Muir Junior High School, remembered Faris as a "good strong student, the kind of kid that always accomplished the extra effort." "Usually you remember two types of students -- those who present a problem and those who always excel," Bertrand said. "Ron was the second kind."

Tuesday's crash came exactly two weeks after the space shuttle explosion that killed seven astronauts, including two men who had trained at Edwards. The accident also came in the wake of Edwards' announcement of its perfect 1985 flight safety record.

Jean Nellis Cadwallader, BHS 1937

Jean Nellis Cadwallader, BHS 1937



San Diego Union-Tribune, The (CA) - September 20, 2007


Jean Nellis Cadwallader, with her family at her side, passed away in San Diego, CA, on September 16, 2007, following a brief illness.


She was born in Russell, Illinois, on February 15, 1919, the daughter of Robert Landon Nellis and Hattie Zander Nellis. Her father had a grocery store in Elburn, IL. In 1925, her family came by train to California and settled in Burbank. Jean attended Burbank schools. She was the valedictorian of her Burbank High School class, the youngest student in her class. Jean attended Glendale College and Glendale Business College. She started work with Smart & Final Co. in Los Angeles and then transferred to the Bakersfield office.


Jean met her future husband, William Y. 'Red' Cadwallader in Bakersfield. They were married in 1944, at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas, between Bill's World War II Army assignments on Kodiak Island, Alaska, and the European Theatre after D-Day. During the war, Jean worked at Lockheed Overseas Corp., located in the Disney Studios in Burbank, and Navy Lockheed Service Center in Van Nuys. The Disney Studios were especially fun during the war because, in the evenings, the workers were allowed to come back to view movies.


After World War II ended, Jean and Bill came back to Bakersfield. Bill worked in oil field sales and Jean worked at Shell Oil Co. After the birth of their first child, Jean stayed home to raise their family. Jean returned to work after her children were all in school. She worked at the Bakersfield Civic Auditorium as executive secretary to the manager for 20 years before retiring.


An important part of her life was her membership for over 50 years in the Sigma Chapter of Phi Epsilon Phi sorority and her friendships with this special group of women. Jean enjoyed bridge, reading, travel, and collecting paperweights. She was an outstanding rose gardener with many awards from the Kern County Fair, including Outstanding Exhibitor. She also was a breeder of AKC registered Beagle puppies and an accomplished pianist.


Jean is survived by Bill, her husband of 63 years, children Janis Cadwallader (Larry Edwards) of San Diego; Lynn Cadwallader (Richard Barran) of Cambridge, MA; Bill Cadwallader (Lois) of Las Vegas, NV; Neil Cadwallader (Ellen) of Vista; and Suzanne Cadwallader (Arthur Raybold) of La Mesa; and grandchildren Sarah Cadwallader of Lake Eildon, Australia; Sam Cadwallader of Del Mar; and Chloe Barran of Cambridge, MA.


She also leaves a brother, William Nellis of Woodstock, CT; and nieces and nephews Brady Nellis, Kirby Nellis, Nancy Nellis, Terry Baurley, William Montgomery, Matt Cinquini, and Valerie Bennett. Jean and Bill had recently relocated to San Diego to be closer to their children. We will remember her as witty, clever, and humorous, and we will miss her very much.


Private services will be Friday, September 21st, at Glen Abbey Memorial Park, Bonita, CA. Condolences may be sent to W.Y. Cadwallader, 11588 Via Rancho San Diego G2076, El Cajon, CA 92019.Please sign the guest book at obituaries.uniontrib.com

Dorothy Alice Shiells, BHS 1926 ?

Dorothy Alice Shiells, BHS 1926 ?



Ventura County Star (CA) - May 2, 2003


Dorothy Alice Shiells 94 passed away peacefully in her home on April 29 2003.


Dorothy was born in Brooklyn N.Y. on Oct. 23 1908. At a young age Dorothy along with her parents and two other sisters made the long auto journey from West Haven Conn. to Burbank at a time when such trips were measured in weeks not days.


Dorothy grew up in Burbank attended Burbank High School and after graduation enrolled at UCLA where she received two teaching credentials upon completion of her studies in 1930. She was accepted for a teaching position at the old San Cayetano grade school in Fillmore. Dorothy taught there for several years before she met and later married Lester T. Shiells a local rancher. After her marriage in 1933 she devoted herself to being a wife and mother.


During her lifetime Dorothy was active in and president of many organizations including Children's Home Society Ebell Club Business and Professional Women's Club (BPW) Fillmore Republican Women's Club and Soroptomist International. She was a life member of the Ventura County Museum of History and Art and honorary life member of the Convalescent Hospital Auxiliary. Dorothy was a Girl Scout leader for 12 years and a district director for three years. She was selected to sit on the Ventura County Grand Jury in 1965 and accepted that honor with great humility and dignity.


Always involved in one way or another with the best interests of her community in mind Dorothy and her beloved husband Lester gave of themselves in so many ways never seeking recognition for their never-ending donations to the community over the years.


Dorothy was predeceased by her daughter Sandra in 1978 and her husband Les in 1985. She is survived by her son Larry; daughter-in-law Carol; grandsons Ryan and Chad Shiells; and great-granddaughter Isabella Madeline Shiells.


A graveside service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday May 5 at Bardsdale Cemetery in Fillmore. The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Dorothy's name be made to the Ventura County Children's Home Society an organization Dorothy loved dearly.

Pat Webster, BHS 1978

Pat Webster, BHS 1978

TEMECULA: Late coach saluted by team, others

Published: 20 January 2012, The Press-Enterprise

A vigil Saturday in Temecula will honor longtime and well-loved youth baseball and basketball coach Pat Webster.

This week, family members and friends sat around the kitchen table in a Temecula home pouring over pictures of Mr. Webster, who died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in his home office on Jan. 13. He was 51.

“He was such a wonderful son,” Mr. Webster’s mother, Doris Van Buren said as she choked back tears. “As a child, I never had to tell him to do his homework or anything at all. He was a self starter and always helped others.”

The 2 p.m. vigil is at Hope Lutheran Church in Temecula.

Jan. 13 started out like many days at the Webster household. Mr. Webster’s wife, Gaby, shuttled the kids to school and said goodbye to her husband of 18 years before she headed out to run errands. “It was a normal day, nothing seemed out of the ordinary,” she said, sobbing. She added that they both had recently lost a fair amount of weight and enjoyed a healthy lifestyle and diet.

In the afternoon, the Websters’ 12-year-old son Cade returned from school and ran into his father’s office to greet him. “Cade called out to me and said that Dad looked like he was sleeping at his desk and didn’t look right,” Gaby Webster said. She said that she ran in and realized her husband was in grave condition and immediately called 911.

“Cade ran to a neighbor’s house for help,” she said.

Mr. Webster had been a fixture in the baseball community for the past seven years and often managed and coached teams. “You never know when you meet someone what role they will play in your life,” Mr. Webster’s close friend and coaching partner Rob Hays said. “We met on the field and became the best of friends.”

Sports played an important role in Mr. Webster’s life. He was a high school basketball star at Burbank High School. “He attended the John Wooden sports camp and was given the nickname Mr. Hustle,” Van Buren said. “He was always active and always into sports.” Mr. Webster still holds a basketball record for the Burbank Recreational Center for successfully making 38 free-throws in a row in 1972.

As for the travel ball baseball team he coached with Hays, it will continue. The Temecula Tritons played in a baseball tournament that began the day after Mr. Webster’s death. They pointed skyward in his memory. Then they won the championship. “I put this team together for a great group of athletic boys and great coaches,” Hays said. “We are a baseball family and Pat will be greatly missed.”

Burbank Leader, January 23, 2012

Pat Webster, BHS 1978

October 26, 1960-January 13, 2012

Pat graduated from Burbank High school 1978. He leaves behind his wife Gabby daughter Hailey son Cade, mother Doris, father Wallace D. Webster, sister Sharon, brothers Mike and Billy. Pat has lived in Temecula for the last 12 years.

Peggie Valentine Steinauer, BHS 1927

Peggie Valentine Steinauer, BHS 1927



Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - May 31, 1998


A private memorial service has been held for Peggie Valentine Steinauer, who died May 27, 1998, at age 87.


Mrs. Steinauer was born Oct. 1, 1910, in Portland. Her maiden name was Valentine. She graduated from Burbank High School in 1927 and attended the University of Southern California. She married Henry C. Shaw in 1928 and lived in San Francisco. She later divorced Shaw.


She graduated from the Webster College School of Business and was an instructor in the U.S. Army Air Force Technical School during World War II. She married Willard A. in 1945,and they moved to Alaska in 1948. She was administrative assistant to the president of Alaska Methodist University from 1959 to 1961. She also worked for the Kenai School District. She moved to Arch Cape in 1977. Mr. Steinauer died in 1980. She had lived in Portland for two years.


Survivors include her son, Donald H. Shaw of Snohomish, Wash.; daughter, Celia S. Wiebe of Portland; nine grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and one great great grandchild.


Disposition was by cremation. Arrangements are by Killingsworth Little Chapel of the Chimes and Telophase Cremation Society.

Meredith Baylis, BHS 1947

Meredith Baylis, 73; Danced With the Famed Ballets Russes

Los Angeles Times (CA) - August 10, 2002

Meredith Baylis, a former dancer in the fabled Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo who went on to become a noted teacher in the Joffrey Ballet School and then taught for two decades in Southern California, has died. She was 73.

Baylis died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank on July 26 of complications from heart surgery.

Of Scottish-Irish descent, Baylis was born in Burbank on April 4, 1929, and came from a theatrical family. Her great-aunt Lilian Baylis was the director of London's Old Vic Theatre from which both the National Theatre of Great Britain and the Royal Ballet eventually emerged. She studied ballet locally and in New York, graduated from Burbank High School in 1947 and shortly afterward joined a national touring company of the musical "Carousel." She later danced on Broadway in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," "Can-Can" and "The Girl in Pink Tights."

In the 1951-52 season, she joined the Ballets Russes, then the world's most glamorous classical dance company, dancing featured roles and later working as a coach for the company until its closure in 1962. "The Ballets Russes was the first blending of the Old World and the New World in ballet," she told dance historian Jack Anderson when he was researching a book on the company. "It linked St. Petersburg [Russia] with America and Canada."

Five years after the Ballets Russes folded, she was teaching at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, formed as a training adjunct to the ballet company founded by Robert Joffrey. Baylis taught there for more than 20 years, pioneering the teaching of ballet to deaf children. In 1979, she chose Ron Reagan to be a scholarship student, not knowing that he was the president's son.

She left Joffrey in the 1980s and returned to Burbank to care for her father, continuing to teach on her own and with other Ballets Russes alumnae.

She is survived by a brother, Richard Baylis of Huntington Beach.

John Clarence Duffendack III, BHS 1959

John Clarence Duffendack III, BHS 1959

Ann Arbor News (MI) - March 21, 2006Northfield Township, MI

Age 64, died March 18, 2006. John was born on May 2, 1941 to Mr. and Mrs. John C. Duffendack, Jr. in Glendale, California. He was raised and attended schools through high school in Burbank, CA, where he was active in both school and Boy Scout programs. Upon graduating from Burbank High School, he attended the University of Michigan where his parents met, and where his great uncle, Dr. O. S. Duffendack, held a chair in the Physics Department. There he received a Bachelors Degree in Aerospace Engineering and Masters Degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Mathematics and Business Administration.He was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. While pursuing his Ph.D., he began working for ComShare, an Ann Arbor computer services company, serving in a number of executive positions until 1973. From 1973 to 1981, John held various executive positions with The Cypbernetics Corporation (later ADP), responsible for all aspects of the design, implementation, growth, maintenance, operation and management of the company's three large computer centers (Ann Arbor, Boston, London) and its international telecommunications network spanning thirteen time zones with facilities in 180 cities throughout the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.

In 1981, he founded Meridian Instruments, Inc., a biotech start up company in Okemos, MI. As President and CEO for 13 years, he sought funding, marketed and developed world wide sales for the company until 1995. He joined VetGen LLC in Ann Arbor as President and CEO in 1998. VetGen researches and tests for genetic diseases in companion animals, primarily dogs, horses and cats.

John was a private pilot and avid flyer, an accomplished sailor and cook, but most of all, he was a loving husband to his wife, Stefanie, and a devoted father to his son, Ted.

John, Stefanie and Ted raise and show champion Gordon Setters, which was Stefanie's passion and occupation while living in Germany. This common bond offered many exciting week-ends for canines and humans alike.

John is survived by his wife, Stefanie, his son, Edward, his mother and father, his sisters, Linda Mays and Carole Fowler and his nieces and nephews. He was a devoted son, a loyal brother, a doting father, a steadfast friend, and an adoring husband. He will be sorely missed.

A private memorial service is planned. Memorial gifts may be directed to The Humane Society of Huron Valley, 3100 Cherry Hill Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (website: hshv.org) and/or The School of Music at the University of Michigan, Development Office, 2005 Bates Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Please designate gifts in memory of John C. Duffendack. Arrangements by Generations, Ann Arbor.

Glen W. Duke, BHS 1940

Glen W. Duke, BHS 1940

Glen W. Duke, Retired Burbank Fire Captain Dies

By Stan Lynch, Burbank N Beyond

Funeral services for retired Burbank Fire Department Captain Glen W. Duke, will be held on Friday. Mr. Duke died on January 13, 2012 at the age of 89.

Born in Arco, Idaho in 1922, to Roy and Hazel Duke, Glen had seven brothers and sisters. The family moved to Long Beach, before settling in Burbank. He graduated from Burbank High School in 1940, and began working for the City of Burbank in the Public Service Department (now Burbank Water and Power) in September 1940 as a meter reader.

His career with the City of Burbank was interrupted by World War II. Glen enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942, serving in the Philippines. He left the Air Force in 1946, and returned to Burbank and his job with the City.

Glen joined the Burbank Fire Department in April of 1953. In 1971 he was promoted to Engineer. In 1974 Glen was promoted to the rank of Captain. During his career with the fire department he was instrumental in setting up their dispatch system. He worked as an arson investigator.

Glen was probably best known for his work in the Fire Prevention Bureau. He taught hundreds of children in the Burbank Schools about fire safety. Glen was the first firefighter to be teamed up with the police department working on the Neighborhood Watch program. He retired from the Burbank Fire Department in 1977.

Glen served on the Burbank Civil Service Commission from 1985-1993. He was a member of the Veterans’ Commemorative Committee since its inception in 1994. He was also a member of the 4th of July Committee.

Active in his retirement, Glen bought a motor home and toured the country. He and his wife enjoyed gold panning. He loved auto racing, having attended the Indianapolis 500. He was well known for his skill as a pool player at Pickwick. Glen leaves a host of friends who enjoyed his humor. He always had a joke or story to tell.

Mr. Duke is survived by his wife of 35 years, Mary; and sister Eileen. He is also survived by his first wife, Marma Lee Brehm; son, David Duke; two grandchildren, three great-grandchildren.

On Friday at 10:30 a.m. a procession will form at the Valley Funeral Home. It will then proceed one block to Fire Station 14, where Engine 14 will escort Captain Duke to Glen Haven Memorial Park for the graveside service at 11:30 a.m.