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Local residents who have died recently include:
Douglas Gordon Rice, 68, a Menlo Park resident whose parents ran Shreve’s Sporting Goods, who graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School and attended Stanford University and University of Nevada, Reno, who had a 46-year career in commercial and residential construction project management and was a longtime member of Menlo Church. He cherished time with his children, a good round of golf, jazz and big band musicians, classic films at the Stanford Theatre and cheering on the A’s and Raiders. He died on Nov. 25, 2025 following an eight-year battle with glioblastoma.
Peter Kolb Danner, 89, a Palo Alto resident and former music critic for the Palo Alto Times who studied music history at UC Santa Barbara and earned his PhD at Stanford University, gave up an active performing career to focus on teaching and writing, and who was instrumental in forming the Guitar Foundation of America. He was president of the Lute Society of America, spent time on the faculty at Menlo College and was a member of Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club and Avenidas who left behind a wealth of writings and a legacy of curiosity. He died on Dec. 11, 2025.
Carolyn “Lynn” Graves Mitchell, 88, a former teacher and active member of the Palo Alto community for over 60 years, who won the Avenidas Lifetimes of Achievement Award with her husband Dave Mitchell, and who, for the past 10 years, was a resident of Channing House where she was known for her whimsical drawings. A graduate of Connecticut College, Harvard and San Jose State universities, she later served as president of the Mid-Peninsula YWCA board and on the boards of The Institute for Research on Women and Gender and The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and she was the director of Religious Education at The First Congregational Church of Palo Alto. She died on Feb. 6.
Oden James “OJ” McMillan, 81, a former Palo Alto resident who was born in Trenton, New Jersey and who studied mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and earned his PhD at Stanford University, who worked for 15 years as a mechanical engineer, and then as a software engineer, despite having no formal training in the field. He coached several of his children’s soccer teams and retired to Chico with his wife. Known as an exceptional listener, he followed up with thoughtful and insightful questions and occasionally delivered one of his patented zingers. He died Jan. 20.
Carolyn Green Westgaard, 57, a Palo Alto resident who grew up in Sunnyvale, studied psychology at UC Santa Barbara and earned a Masters of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology at San Francisco State University, who had a career in human resources at companies from startups to Sun Microsystems, and who recently retired after 22 years at SRI International. She volunteered on her children’s Girl Scouts leadership groups and at the local animal shelter and was passionate about the outdoors and environmental sustainability. She died Jan. 31, after being hit by a car, and as an organ donor, saved the lives of three people.
To read full obituaries, leave remembrances and post photos, go to Lasting Memories at mv-voice.com/obituaries.
