William C. Balch

William "Bill" Balch, 94, died May 25 at The Meadows in Los Gatos.

Balch, the son of former town mayor Dean Balch, was born in 1910 in Los Gatos and raised on a seven-acre parcel bordered by Los Gatos-Saratoga Road and Massol and Bachman avenues. The house where he was born still stands, but has been divided into apartments. Balch and his family were involved in the Los Gatos Pageants, which were held yearly at the pageant grounds behind what is now the civic center.

After graduating from Whittier College, Balch held a variety of jobs before joining his father at the First National Bank of Los Gatos in 1942. He retired from the Los Gatos Wells Fargo Bank in 1962.

Balch served on the board of trustees for Good Samaritan Hospital and on the board at the Los Gatos Library for several years. He enjoyed serving as a lay minister of visitation for the Los Gatos United Methodist Church, where he visited new members and the housebound. He continued that service up until just a few months before his death.

His wife of 56 years, Evelyn Wilcox of Santa Clara, died in 1991. Balch later married Mary Wilson at the Los Gatos Meadows. They were married for 13 years until her death in 2003.

He is survived by his sister Mary Kennedy; his children Betty Chase and Peter Balch; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held June 4 at the Los Gatos Meadows. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his memory to the San Jose Family Shelter, 1590 Las Plumas Ave., San Jose 95133.

William F. Traber

William Fred Traber of Los Gatos, 76, died May 15 after a massive stroke.

Traber was born in Denver in 1928. He attended the University of Colorado on a scholarship, graduating with a degree in chemical engineering.

Traber was a naval officer on the U.S.S. Toledo during the Korean War, meeting his future wife and lifelong partner of 53 years, Doris, at the foot of Mt. Fujiyama, Japan, in 1951.

The couple settled in San Jose in 1953, where Traber worked on quality control at Economics Laboratory. Eventually the couple moved to Los Gatos. Traber worked for IBM for 35 years in the research and development lab, and received many awards for his contributions to the company. He also co-authored several patents.

Traber enjoyed skiing all his life, having been on the ski patrol while in college. He also held black belts in judo and in karate, and practiced tai chi.

Traber is survived by his 100-year-old mother, Maude Parsons; his wife, Doris, of Los Gatos; his brother, Ronald Traber; his children, Wendy and Rex Traber; his daughter-in-law, Susana Traber; his son-in-law, Michael Mason; and his granddaughters, Kayla and Ella Traber.

A celebration of his life was held on May 26 at the Los Gatos United Methodist Church.