A Glimpse in thier Lives
2007 Honorees
“I am a teacher.”
When asked to describe themselves, both Carolyn Compton and Patricia Morrissey of Palo Alto used that exact phrase. The two have dedicated their education, training, and passion to the cause of helping children and adults with learning disabilities. Together they founded the Morrissey-Compton Educational Center, Inc., the only private, educationally-focused local organization that provides both diagnostic and treatment services for children and adults with learning disabilities, as well as professional consultation to many community organizations. In 2005, the Center was named Outstanding Non-Profit Organization of the Year by the Law Advocates for Children and Youth (LACY). Pat and Carolyn also established the Challenge Summer School, which has served thousands of local school children across 24 years. |
As a girl, Jean Lane would walk with her parents in the Illinois woods every spring to discover wildflowers, mushrooms, birds’ nests, and salamanders. A love of nature and curiosity about biological diversity and the union of all living things has continued throughout Jean’s life. She was a member of the Woodside-Atherton Garden Club and helped found Portola Valley’s Westridge Garden Club. Jean and a friend developed a garden at Valley Presbyterian Church in 1997 consisting entirely of plants named in the Bible. She also helped cultivate the garden at Country House, the Children’s Health Council’s lunch facility. She has been a docent at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and served on various boards at National Tropical Botanical Garden, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and Filoli Center. Jean’s green thumb is matched by her eye for color. Her |
Kirke Comstock was a city council member and mayor of both Palo Alto and Portola Valley. His peers recognize him as a leader in re-zoning the Foothills and Baylands to open space; developing low-to moderate-income housing programs; and establishing programs and facilities for seniors and child care. During his tenure as Palo Alto’s mayor at the end of the Vietnam War, his administration focused on providing the Palo Alto and Stanford communities with a public forum to air their concerns.
An engineer by training and graduate of University of Michigan, Kirke became involved in the field of aircraft cabin design and rose to the top of his field working at United Airlines headquarters in San Francisco for more than 44 years. While serving on the Palo Alto City Council, Kirke spent two days in a wheelchair to experience the |
Los Altos Hills resident Mary Davey fondly recalls two special family events celebrated with her husband Jack, their three children, and four grandchildren: her 75th birthday and golden wedding anniversary. Both events are unique, however, in that they served as fundraisers for causes dear to Mary’s heart: the Foothills Open Space Preserve and the Committee for Green Foothills, respectively.
Mary’s community service is legendary; she founded, co-founded, or was an early supporter of many significant organizations including the Los Altos Hills Town Council, Mid-peninsula Regional Open Space District, and Mid-peninsula Citizens for Fair Housing, Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation, and Trust for Hidden Villa. She received a BA in English and government from Smith College in 1952 and earned an MBA from Santa Clara University 26 years later. A former newspaper columnist, Mary has served on the |
The Laves both have the distinction of having served as mayor of their current city of residence, Los Altos. This dynamic duo first discovered their mutual interest in leadership and volunteer work while studying at the University of Michigan, and have continued their family tradition of community involvement ever since.
Roy received a BS, MS, and MBA from the University of Michigan and a PhD from Stanford in operations research/industrial engineering. He went on to co-found Systan and become a founding chairman and current executive director of Los Altos Community Foundation. He held a tenured joint appointment on the faculty at Stanford for ten years and served as associate head of industrial engineering. Roy has extensive experience in policy decision-making; he has served as mayor and city councilman for Los Altos and as a commissioner on both the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Santa Clara County Transportation Commission. He currently serves on the |
Avenidas members will recognize Dr. Walter “Wally” Bortz as a frequent guest speaker on the topics of health and fitness. Born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1930, Dr. Bortz not only talks the talk, but he walks the walk; he is an avid runner who has completed over 20 marathons around the world. This past president of the American Geriatrics Society and co-chairman of the American Medical Association’s Task Force on Aging strongly believes in the “use it or lose it” philosophy when it comes to aging. He graduated cum laude with a BA from Williams College in 1951 and earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine in 1955. A specialist in internal medicine with a large clinical practice at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic for nearly 30 years, Dr. Bortz currently serves as a clinical associate professor of medicine at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and is a senior advisor for Healthy Silicon Valley.
Dr. Bortz has published over 100 papers in academic and |