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Howard Daschbach dies at 87 ■
He was a longtime attorney and parishioner at St. Raymond Church.
A funeral Mass for Howard M. Daschbach of Atherton, who practiced law in Menlo Park for 43 years and was a 57-year parishioner of St. Raymond Catholic Church, is set for 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16. Mr. Daschbach died Feb. 9 at the age of 87 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. An Army veteran of World War II who fought in Europe, the Philippines and Japan, Mr. Daschbach earned his degree from Stanford University Law School after the war. During his law school days, he met the “love of his life,” Leonore, according to his family. He was a man of deep faith, attending daily services at St. Raymond, and bringing the sacramental Holy Communion to those who were unable to attend Mass due to physical infirmities,
his family said. He was installed as a Knight of the Order of Malta, one of the oldest of the Catholic orders, in 1982. He was a member of the Serra Club of Palo Alto-Menlo Park, and Menlo Circus Club in Atherton, where he Howard played tennis Daschbach until his health forced him off the courts. In addition to his wife of 59 years, Leonore Rooney Daschbach, Mr. Daschbach is survived by his daughters, LeeLee Cusenza of Pleasanton, and Lisa Fuerst and Laura Pitchford of Atherton; sons Rooney Daschbach of Sunset Beach, and Mark Daschbach of Atherton; a sister, Jeanne Miller of San Francisco;
18 grandchildren; and two greatgranddaughters. His youngest daughter, Michele Fast, was killed last October during a shooting rampage in Seal Beach that left eight people dead. A rosary will be said in Mr. Daschbach’s memory at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at St. Raymond Church in Menlo Park. The funeral Mass the next day is also at St. Raymond. A reception for family and close friends will follow at Menlo Circus Club. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers contributions to the donor’s favorite charity, or to organizations close to Mr. Daschbach’s heart: St. Raymond School, the Oakwood Retirement Home of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Order of Malta, and SmileTrain.
by Monica Corman
Are Open Houses Good for Marketing? open house can be a very efficient way to market the property because it focuses showings to a three-hour period. It also allows agents to send their clients to see a property even if the agent is not available to accompany them. Buyers like to explore on their own sometimes and open houses are an excellent way to do this. Dear Beverly: I am in favor of If you are concerned about secuopen houses in all but the higher rity, you can ask your agent to have end price range. There are so many another agent act as co-host and buyers in the market who have not have visitors sign a visitors log as connected with an agent yet, or they enter. Stow away all valuables who may not even realize that they and personal items during the open are serious about buying, and these house period. Security problems buyers would never see your home with open houses are rare, espeexcept through an open house. An cially if precautions are taken. For answers to any questions you may have on real estate, you may e-mail me at mcorman@apr.com or call 462-1111, Alain Pinel Realtors. I also offer a free market analysis of your property. www.MonicaCorman.com Dear Monica: I am about to list my home and my agent wants to hold open houses each weekend until the property sells. I would prefer not to do this but I don’t want to impede the marketing plan. What is your opinion of open houses? Beverly G.
Top official leaving MP school district Ahmad Sheikholeslami, in charge of renovating four Menlo Park City School District schools since 2006, is moving on to a position with the South San Francisco Unified School District, where he’ll manage its $162 million Measure J bond program. Starting on Feb. 22, he said, his time will be split 50-50 between South San Francisco and Menlo Park. He plans to leave the Menlo Park district for full-time work in South San Francisco at the end of June. “I took the position because it was the right challenge for me. The timing and location were also an important decision factor,” he said. With the renovation of Hillview Middle School expected to be finished by September, the new opportunity comes at the right time, according to Mr. Sheikholeslami.
Mountain lion report near PV school Someone reported seeing a mountain lion near the back fence of Corte Madera School in Portola Valley on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office reported. The cat was reportedly seen at about 11 a.m. in the area of Alpine Road and Corte Madera Road, said Lt. Larry Schumaker of the Sheriff’s Office. The middle school, which serves fourth- through eighthgrade students, was not evacuated, he said. As a precaution, however, the Sheriff’s Office sent two depu-
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ties to stand by while students were leaving for the day. Residents are advised to never approach a mountain lion. Anyone who encounters a mountain lion should face the animal, make noise, and try to appear larger by waving arms and throwing rocks, emergency officials said. Visit KeepMeWild.org for more information.
Valentine’s Day with the council If you’re a Menlo Park City Council member, how are you spending Valentine’s Day night? Probably by sitting in council chambers debating labor negotiations, affordable housing, and of course, Facebook. The agenda for the meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 14, includes another round of talks with the Service Employees International Union negotiators in closed session and discussion during open session of the proposed development agreement with Facebook for its planned campus expansion, with a focus on benefits and safeguards for the city. The city will also acknowledge three of this year’s nominees for the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula Youth of the Year Awards —Tajianna Robinson, a junior at Sacred Heart Preparatory High School; and Mark Johnson and Diante Davenport, both seniors at Menlo-Atherton High School. The regular meeting starts at 7
p.m. in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St. Go to tinyurl.com/7yjcor2 to see the agenda and associated staff reports.
Facebook protests Facebook got a lot of unexpected visitors at its offices around the world Feb. 6, including several dozen at Menlo Park headquarters. Unlike most visitors, these people were not impressed with the social networking giant. Why? They’re nursing mothers angry at how Facebook chooses to block some photos of breastfeeding babies. Emma Kwasnica, a mother in British Columbia, inspired the nurse-ins after protesting the way Facebook tagged some of her photos as inappropriate and temporarily froze her account, according to posts on Facebook. While news accounts report Facebook as saying its policy is to delete photos displaying nudity — such as a shot of a bare breast with no baby attached — protesters commented that they think posting photos of breastfeeding on their pages helps convey that the activity is a normal, healthy part of life rather than something to be ashamed of.
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