Los Gatos Weekly-Times Obituaries Raymond Cornelius Raymond Cornelius, a Los Gatos resident for the past 26 years, died Dec. 20. Cornelius was born on June 12 in Sioux City, Iowa. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy. He worked in the real estate field for 27 years and was an avid gardener. Survivors include wife Elizabeth Cornelius of Los Gatos; son Army 1st Lt. Scott Cornelius of Ft. Myers, Va.; son Army 1st Lt. Tom Cornelius of Camp Stanley, Korea; and sister Helen Von Christierson of Pacific Grove. Memorial services have been held, with interment at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos, 94022. Rick Kaufman Los Gatos resident Rick James Kaufman died Jan. 2 of a heart attack while jogging along the Los Gatos Creek Trail. He was 40. Born April 13, 1958, in San Jose, Kaufman grew up in Los Gatos. After a short move to the North Bay, he and his family moved back to Los Gatos. A graduate of Santa Clara University, Kaufman was the owner of Kaufman Design, a medical engineering consulting firm. He later worked for Optimize, an optical medical equipment company. Kaufman was an active member of St. Mary's Church, where his daughter attends school. He frequently volunteered in the classroom, reading stories and helping with the computers. Survivors include wife Carrie of Los Gatos and children Stephanie and Jeffrey James, all of Los Gatos. Memorial services have been held. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association. Donations may also be made to the Kaufman Conservatorship, in care of Bill Tobin, 4581 Blossomwood Drive, San Jose, 95124. Jack Covert Dr. Jack P. Covert Sr., a San Jose resident and longtime local surgeon, died Jan. 3 of a stroke at the age of 86. Born July 10, 1912, in Wenatchee, Wash., Covert obtained both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University. He was the first chief of staff at both Community Hospital of Los Gatos and Good Samaritan Hospital (now Columbia Good Samaritan). He was also instrumental in Good Samaritan's 1965 startup. Survivors include wife Kathryn Laclergue Covert of San Jose; daughters Margaret Cunningham of Columbus, Ohio, and Suzanne Victoria of Olympia, Wash.; son Jake Covert of Nevada City; stepchildren Joanne Prewitt and Edward and Raymond Laclergue; and five grandchildren. Kenneth Barker Former Los Gatan Kenneth Hollis Barker died of a heart attack Jan. 8 in Lompoc, where he had been living. He was 79. Barker was born Oct. 25, 1919, in Oskaloosa, Mo., but grew up in the San Jose area. After graduating from San Jose High School, he began a 20-year career with the U.S. Navy, from which he retired in 1957. In 1960, he graduated from San Jose State University and began a second career as a schoolteacher. After teaching math at Fisher Middle School from 1961 to 1980, he became mathematics supervisor for the Los Gatos Union School District. In 1986, Barker and his wife retired to Lompoc. Survivors include wife Joyce Barker of Lompoc; daughter and son-in-law Bettie and Jack Gates of Pismo Beach; son and daughter-in-law Ken and Karen Barker of Los Gatos; and grandchildren Kenny III, Melanie, Michelle, Kimberly, Kristy, Melissa and Thomas. Memorial services have been held, with interment at Los Gatos Memorial Park. Evelyn Lasley Longtime Los Gatos resident Evelyn B. Lasley died Jan. 15 at Columbia Good Samaritan Hospital of pneumonia at the age of 93. Born in South Dakota in 1905, Lasley and came to Los Gatos in 1921 to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Edna and Fred Daily. She graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1923 and married Marvin Lasley in 1924. For 37 years, she worked at the old Los Gatos Meadow Gold Creamery, where she was a floor supervisor. She maintained her friendships with most of her co-workers throughout her life. Lasley was active in the Los Gatos History Club and the First United Methodist Church of Los Gatos and was a past-president of Business and Professional Women. Together with her friend Wilma Thompson, Lasley strove to learn about and preserve accurate Los Gatos history. Survivors include daughters Marilyn Schempp, LaVona Fallstead and Norma Joan Lasley; grandchildren David Hildebrand, Roxanne Kopp, Robin and Richard Bunce and Neil and Brian Fallstead; 11 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. Tom Roulette Tom Roulette of Los Gatos died in his sleep Jan. 16 while on vacation in Las Vegas. He was 59. Born May 4, 1939, in Martinez, Roulette grew up in the Pittsburg area. He attended Utah State University on a football scholarship but got into the automobile selling business before he reached his 20s. He also served in the Marine Corps Reserve for a time, but never saw active duty. He worked as a salesman at Chevrolet dealerships in San Francisco, Hawaii and Los Angeles County. While working at a Ford dealership, he met his future wife Rebecca Norris, who was working there as a switchboard operator. The couple married in 1972 and came back to the Bay Area. Using some of Rebecca's savings, they established Bizi-Bodi, a custom van conversion company. Starting with just three employees, Bizi-Bodi grew to employ 200 when the Roulettes sold it in 1979. After a move to Ohio, where he acquired several car dealerships, Roulette and his family moved back to the Bay Area in the late 1980s. In 1991, Roulette purchased Courtesy Chevrolet, which at the time was in financial straits. During his first year at Courtesy, the 65-employee dealership sold only 905 cars. By the end of 1998, the dealership had grown under Roulette to employ 142 employees and its sales reached 2,500 cars, according to general manager Dave Spencer. Survivors include wife Rebecca Roulette of Los Gatos; daughter Kelli Gall of San Jose; sons Beau and Drew Roulette of Los Gatos; grandchildren Austin and Chantel Gall of San Jose; and brother Jack Roulette of Santa Cruz. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 10, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.