Santa Clara University

Ivan Pesic M.S. ’77, founder, president and CEO of Silvaco, passed away from cancer at 61 in October 2012. He is survived by his wife Kathy ’74, M.S. ’80, daughter Yelena ’05, M.S. ’07 and son Iliya ’03, who now assumes the role of chairman of the board of Silvaco, a provider of TCAD, circuit simulation, and IC CAD software tools.

Pesic obtained a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from SCU and continued his education at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan where he obtained a master’s in electronic engineering under the guidance of Professor Fujio Masuoka, the inventor of Flash memory. Prior to his appointment as chairman of Silvaco, he worked for many years in the TCAD, semiconductor, MEMS and biomedical industry, most recently as a senior process engineer of a fabrication facility.

Karen Elizabeth LaMothe ’78, March 25, 1956, to April 23, 2013. Karen was born in Portland to Barbara and Roger Wagner. She graduated from Wilson High School in 1974 and attended the University of Santa Clara spending her junior year in Florence, Italy. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology she remained in San Francisco working in the investment banking field. She re-met her husband Greg '78, a fellow Santa Clara graduate, in 1987 and they married soon afterwards. They moved to Portland in 1991 and were blessed with the birth of their daughter, Noel in 1993. Karen loved watching classic movies, gardening, reading a good book in the sun and making her friends and family laugh. Everyone who knew her will miss her keen wit and wry sense of humor. She was preceded in death by her father, Roger Wagner and is survived by her husband, Greg; daughter, Noel; mother, Barbara and stepfather, Jack McKinnon; brother, Eric (and wife, Cindy) Wagner; and sister, Gretchen Wagner-Lariviere.

John "Papa" Eastus M.S. ’78, deputy city manager, City of San Jose (Ret.), and a resident of San Jose, passed away peacefully in his home on March 7, 2013 at the age of 81. He was born in San Luis Obispo, CA to Charles and Josephine Eastus and raised in Marin County. He joined the US Marine Corps at the age of 17. After being honorably discharged, he attended San Jose State University earning a degree in civil engineering and a masters degree in public administration at Santa Clara University. John started working for the City of San Jose as an Assistant Director of Public Works, promoted to the Director of Public Works, and retired in 1984 as a Deputy City Manager. After retiring from the city, he became a partner with HMH Engineering and later he was a consultant as Chief Engineer for the City of Brisbane. John loved the outdoors, fishing, camping, golf, and spent many hours working in his garden. He leaves behind his wife Sherry of 43 years, his brother Frank Eastus and sister Diane Wheeler, along with his 5 children, 9 grandchildren and 2 great granddaughters. 

Brian P. Beasley ’78, born 2/4/55, passed away on 9/29/12. A resident of Dublin, Brian died suddenly at the age of 57. Brian grew up in Cupertino and lived his last 12 years in Dublin, CA. After graduating from Santa Clara University, Brian went on to a career in the food industry as a food broker. Brian is survived by his wife of 21 years, Charlene and his daughters Elizabeth and Rebecca. Brian is also survived by his parents, Ralph and Betty Beasley and brother Patrick. A devoted husband and father, Brian enjoyed all aspects of life including sports, music, laughter, and quality time with family and friends.

Robert Theodore Faubert M.S. ’79, 66, of Purcellville, VA, beloved husband, father, brother and friend, passed away on May 8, 2013 at Inova Loudoun Hospital after a brief illness. Ted spent most of his professional life working in the defense industry for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space Corporation, and more recently for TASC Corporation in Chantilly, VA. Ted was an avid golfer and enjoyed scuba diving and helping with his children's sport and other activities. He was a loving and devoted husband and father and will be greatly missed. Newsletter Ted was born on October 26, 1946 in El Paso, Texas to the late Victorand Clara Faubert. He graduated from Washington State University with an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering and later earned his Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Santa Clara University in California. Ted is survived by his wife of twenty three years Lorie Faubert of Purcellville, VA their two children Daniel and Claudia Faubert of Purcellville, VA four brothers Lawrence Faubert of Bend, OR: Charles Faubert of Richland, WA Richard Faubert of San Jose, CA David Faubert of Richland, WA one sister Victoria Fish of Livermore, CA and nine nieces and nephews. 

Natalia Ortiz Mead ’79 was born on April 23, 1923, and passed away on December 26, 2012. A resident of Sunnyvale, she married William E. Mead Jr. and raised two daughters, two sons, and two grandsons. She served in the U.S. Army as an aircraft mechanic, 1943-1944. A retired WWII Veteran, she was an alumnus of Santa Clara University and a retired English teacher. Mead was a dedicated 49ers and Giants fan. She coached childrens' sports. Home was always open to friends. Survived by son Michael, daughter Marguerite, and 8 grandchildren. 

Isamu "Sam" Yoshida J.D. ’79 passed away peacefully July 4, 2012 at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital in California. He was born in Nagoya, Japan, in December 1945 and permanently moved to the U.S. with his mother, stepfather and siblings in 1960. He graduated in 1964 from Rancho High School in Las Vegas, and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from March 1966 to December 1968. Sam was wounded in Vietnam, in the harrowing hill fighting during the first battle of Khe Sanh, in the spring of 1967 by exploding shrapnel which left him with a small blind spot in his right eye.

In 1972, he married Gail Etsuko Hiroshima, a native of San Francisco, in a civil ceremony in Las Vegas. During his 40 years of marriage, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973 with a B.S. Degree from the College of Engineering, received his Professional Engineer's License Civil in Engineering in 1976, graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1979, and passed the California State BAR Examination in 1979. Besides being a member of the California State BAR, he was also a member of The American Society of Civil Engineers, American Military Engineers Society, Wilderness Unlimited, and had briefly been a participating member of Rotary International.

His career path led him to work at the following institutions and businesses: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Western Division in San Bruno, Calif.; Officer in Charge of Construction Yokosuka, Japan, as Head of Acquisition; Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwestern Division San Diego, as Director of Contracts, General Services Administration (GSA), as Director of Contracts; GSA, as Director of Real Estate; Parsons Brinckerhoff San Jose office, as Contracts Manager; Los Angeles Unified School District, as Director of Facilities Contracts; Seville Group, Inc. as Senior VP and General Counsel; and finally back at Parsons Brinckerhoff International Engineering Firm San Francisco as Legal Manager, Western Region.

He was preceded in passing by his mother, Mitsuko Yoshida Lauver; brother, HN James Lauver, USN; and stepfather, TSgt John T. Lauver, USAF. Sam is survived by his devoted and dearly beloved wife, Gail; beloved companion cat, Velvet; and his loving family, sister, Bonnie (Hugh) Murtaugh; niece, Erin; and nephews, Devin and Bryan; brother, Jan (Barbie) Lauver J.D. ’81; and nephews, John-Matthew and James; brother, Dennis (Karen) Lauver; and nieces, Rebecca and Meghan.

One of the last things he told Gail was that he was eternally grateful for his wonderful life and all the many precious and lasting relationships that he had made since his middle school years in Japan. 

Gerald A. Kimble Jr. J.D. ’79, 69, died September 21, 2012, in Colorado Springs. A retired Naval Officer and Attorney, he was born on August 26, 1943 in Cleveland, Ohio to Gerald and Katurah Kimble. Jerry graduated in Engineering Physics from the University of Kansas, 1969, and was promoted from enlisted to Naval Officer, serving 21 years as a Naval Flight Officer, retiring as Lt. Commander. He earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Santa Clara,1979, and practiced as a Prosecutor for the District Attorney, as a County Attorney prosecuting child abuse and neglect; and for both offices started recovery of welfare fraud and collections for arrears of child support. During private practice, he fought to end child abuse as Guardian ad Litem for abused or neglected children and disabled adults. He proudly served as the first board President of Pikes Peak Family Connections, teaching nurturing classes for court ordered families and establishing KPC Kid's Place, a crisis respite center for children. During his illness, he volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate to continue his work against abuse. In 2009, the El Paso County Bar honored him with the Lohman Award for his work to protect children. Surviving him are his wife, Cheryl Kimble, daughter, Jami Kimble and her husband Evan McLain, his two grandsons, Colm and Rafferty McLain, as well as his siblings, JoAn, Fleda, Phyllis, Jean, June, Harold, Roger, Tom, Vicky, and Jim. 

Frederick Louis John Leverenz Jr. M.S. ’79, age 69, of Fairview, Texas passed away January 30, 2013. He was born February 9, 1943 in El Campo, Texas to Frederick Louis John Leverenz, Sr. and Mary Louise (Beaty) Leverenz. Frederick holds a BS in electrical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a MS in engineering from the University of Santa Clara. Frederick was a project manager for Battelle’s Process Safety and Integrated Risk Management group. He had over 35 years’ experience in system safety and risk assessment. He has been involved in the application and teaching of risk/hazard analysis methods since 1972. His experiences cover aerospace, nuclear power, and the chemical process industries. He managed and participated technically in hazard/risk analyses, methods development, and reliability database management. Leverenz was a key author of AIChE’s CCPS’ “Guidelines of Hazard Evaluation Procedures.” The last course Leverenz wrote was Advance Concepts for Process Hazard Analysis, which is still used today.He is survived by his wife, Gail Annette Leverenz of Fairview, Texas; daughters, Michelle Annette Crist of Dallas, Texas, Jennifer Marie Davidson (Aaron) of Dallas, Texas; grandchildren, Savannah Grace Davidson, Annabel Marie Davidson and Emery Katherine Davidson; brothers, James Leverenz of Seattle, Washington, Tom Leverenz of Seattle, Washington, Jerry Leverenz of Germany; sister, Lyne Prémi of Modesto, California.He was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick and Mary Leverenz.