Posted on: May 06, 2017 at 3:04 PM

Hey, Pam, and everyone else. I got a "phishing" warning when I hit HomePage: View Website.
Did you actually post this, Pam?

Dear Everyone,

Here is another obituary from one of our departed classmates.  I did not know Tom very well, but what I do know was that he was really a super nice guy.

Cheers,

Jim

Thomas John Hensley was memorialized Saturday, June 11, 2016 at the Family Home in the Angeles National Forest. He passed away peacefully at his home in San Juan Capistrano, California on April 17, 2016.Tom Hensley was born in Los Angeles to Edward and Mary Lou Hensley. Tom was raised in the Angeles National Forest from age three with his older brother Ray and younger sister Linda.Tom attended the Cedar Springs School at Camp #37 on the Angeles Crest Highway 2, and then the Chilao Mountain School, before graduating from La Caada High School.Tom graduated with a Physical Education and Geology Degree from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado where he was the only athlete at Western State to team letter in two sports, Skiing and Football. In 2013 Tom was inducted, with his teammates, to the Western State Colorado University Athletics Association Hall of Fame. After college, Tom competed on the professional Coors Pro Tour as a member of Ski Team Elitche's.Tom and his wife Michelle raised their two children Timothy and Amy Lou in Colorado where he worked as a builder for several years before moving back to California where he worked for major building contractors like Taylor Woodrow Homes and finally Lennar Homes as offsite project manager and superintendent for major projects such as Windermere near Sacramento, California and finally Five Points-Great Park in Orange County, California.Tom will be greatly missed by all who knew him and he leaves behind his two children Tim and Amy and his three granddaughters, who he loved dearly, Nyla, Calla, and Siana.Tom was a Blessed Son, a Beloved Brother, an Honored Father, a Cherished Grandfather, and Trusted Friend. In lieu of flowers, the Hensley Family gratefully request that you donate to the "Thomas John Hensley Memorial Scholarship Fund" at Western State Colorado University Foundation, western.edu/foundation, 909 E. Escalante Drive, P.O. Box 1264, Gunnison, CO 81230, 970-641-2237. Your gift is tax-deductible and greatly appreciated. - 

Dear Everyone,

As you might remember, Jeff was a fantastic guitar player.  I will never forget the Beatles Medley he played at Pasadena City College right before I went off to the Marine Corps.  It lasted about two hours.  His mastery of guitar was incredible, and I would have to say he played, and sang, much better than any of these "cover" bands that you see these days.

He will be missed by all.

Cheers,

Jim

November 28, 2013 (from the La Canada Valley Sun--is that still around?)

Family and friends have been deeply saddened by the Thanksgiving Day death of Jeff Taylor. A longtime Foothills resident and a lifelong musician, Jeff was born in Glendale to James and Virginia Taylor in 1954, and raised in La Canada with his brothers Craig and Steve. He attended La Canada schools and Pasadena City College.

He was an enthusiastic fan of anything baseball and an expert on the dead-ball era; he operated a memorabilia shop in Montrose, did woodworking and carpentry in Oregon, then turned to his real love, music, upon his return to La Canada. He sold instruments and gave music lessons at Grayson's in Montrose before opening his own retail store, Pasadena Guitars, selling and repairing fine guitars and amplifiers for the past several years.

He was a widely-respected master of the blues guitar, playing and recording over the years with the Logan Brothers, Black Creek, Mad Shadow, TCS (Taylor-Carruthers-Swanson), Tales, Cross, Aquatint, Beast of Blues, Murderers Row and the Jeff TaylorBand. He composed, arranged and performed two CDs of original music, "Hurting Game" and "Back Home Someday".

Jeff was predeceased by his parents and is survived by his wife, Marie; his daughter, Laura; brothers, Craig and Steve and sister-in-law Mindy; nephews Cameron and Chad; niece, Kelly; numerous cousins and myriad fans. 

Services will be on Saturday, December 7, at 9:00 AM at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather at Forest Lawn in Glendale. 
A celebration of life will take place after the memorial service - details will be provided as soon as possible.

Dear Everyone,

I found this post on the UC Berkeley--Haas Business School website.  Bill got his MBA from there in 1986 and was actively involved.  I had no idea he was the Chairman of Digital Dynamics, but that figures, doesn't it?  

Bill was a really great guy and I really enjoyed knowing him from our days at F.I.S. (does that even exist anymore?) through high school.  He will be greatly missed.

Cheers,

Jim Hawkins

In Memoriam

William (Bill) Ledeen, MBA 86, chairman of the board of Digital Dynamics and a longtime Berkeley-Haas volunteer, passed away from cancer on July 21. He was 60.

Ledeen earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Stanford in mechanical engineering but was devoted to Berkeley, serving in numerous volunteer roles since earning his MBA in 1986. He helped form the South Bay Chapter (now known as the Silicon Valley Chapter) and served in a variety of leadership positions, including president, secretary, treasurer, and membership chair, for this all-volunteer organization for nearly 30 years. The group won the Chapter of the Year award many times under his leadership. 

Ledeen proudly served as his class reunion chair and on boards for the Berkeley-Haas Alumni Network, including a stint as president from 2002 to 2003. He was also an active officer on the Cal Alumni Association’s Rossmoor Club, serving as executive vice president at the time of his death.

Ledeen was such a consummate volunteer that he is the only alum to twice win Haas’ highest volunteer leadership award, the Raymond E. Miles Alumni Service Award, in 1995 and 2002. Just before his death, he was awarded Berkeley’s Trustees’ Citation for demonstrating extraordinary service to the university’s outreach goals. 

Much of his career focused on marketing in the industrial sector; he specialized in product definition, competitive positioning, and pricing analytics and execution for high-tech business-to-business products. He was issued a patent for his invention of a throttling ball valve. Ledeen is survived by two sisters, Linda Schwartz of Pasadena, Calif., and Kathy DeLiema of Mission Viejo, Calif.

Here is a more recent photo of Tom.