Urquha Rauch
Los Gatos native Urquha E. Rauch died May 15 in Carmichael at the age of 93.
Born Dec. 9, 1902, Rauch was a dedicated homemaker most of her life.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, Denny G. Rauch. Survivors include children Denise Nichols of Sacramento; Donna J. Rice of Splendora, Texas; Jeanne Moore of Huntington Beach; Jerry-Lee Rauch of Santee, Calif. and Keith Rauch of Rachel, Va; 11 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren and sister-in-law Patty LeFevre of Los Gatos.
At Rauch's request, no memorial services were held.
Stanislaw Kownacki
Los Gatos resident Stanislaw "Stan" Kownacki died May 17 following a lengthy illness. He was 86.
Kownacki was born May 22, 1910 in Moscow, Russia and grew up in Poland. He later moved to England and served as a navigator in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Upon leaving England in 1953, Kownacki taught at several universities on the East Coast before moving to California with his family in 1958. He was a professor at Santa Clara University and an engineer at Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation.
Kownacki loved languages and spoke fluent English, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and French. He also spoke some Spanish and Arabic. After he retired, Kownacki joined UNESCO and spent several years teaching electrical engineering in Venezuela and Algeria.
Survivors include wife Wanda Kownacki of Los Gatos; daughter and son-in-law Wanda Kownacki and John Holton of Los Gatos; daughter Alexandra Kownacki of Santa Cruz; and grandson Sam Holton of Los Gatos.
Donations may be made to the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter, 3921 Bayshore Road., Palo Alto, 94303.
Bill Stephens
Former Los Gatos resident Bill Stephens died of heart failure May 28 while vacationing in London. He was 74.
A native of Maricopa, Calif., Stephens was born Nov. 23, 1921. After residing in several cities throughout the state, Stephens came to Los Gatos in 1970, where he resided until the late 1980s, when he moved again to Fremont and then Mountain View.
Stephens worked in management positions for PG&E for 32 years. Following his retirement in the early 1980s, he managed the Los Gatos branch of Eureka Bank for about 10 years. He found time to serve on the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce and the Parks Commission, and was active in the Rotary Club. He was also a former Grand Marshal of the Los Gatos Children's Christmas and Holiday Parade.
Prior to his death, Stephens was working for Navlet's Flowers in San Jose, because, as daughter Elizabeth said, "He had a philosophy that he was never really going to retire."
Survivors include daughters Elizabeth Stephens Pesso of Los Gatos and Mary Davis-Lauth of Sunnyvale; son Tom Stephens of Los Gatos and seven grandchildren.
Memorial services were held at St. Mary's Church. Donations may be made to the American Heart Association, Santa Clara County Office, 1 Almaden Blvd., San Jose, 95113 or to the American Lung Association of Santa Clara-San Benito counties, 1469 Park Ave., San Jose, 95126.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 3, 1996.
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