Bernice Park, a longtime Palisadian, philanthropist and cultural arts guardian angel, died peacefully in her sleep on April 24. She was 95. ‘Throughout her long and fruitful life, Bernice gave graciously and with love without request for recognition and most often without restrictions on use,’ said Eva Holberg, her close friend and neighbor. Park was born on May 24, 1908 in Heppner, Oregon. Very early in life she showed a talent and love for piano performance, and eventually received a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in fine arts from the University of Oregon, which she called ‘a family school.’ Her parents both taught there. While she never became a professional pianist, she shared her talents with many organizations to which she belonged. In 1928, she married Donald K. Park, who later was the coach of the swim team at UCLA. Their son, Donald K. Park II, is a retired university professor who lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1958, Park’s married life came to an abrupt end when she was widowed at the age of 50. A strong advocate of education, Park served as associate director of continuing education in engineering and mathematics at UCLA for 26 years. She was also past president of the Westwood Women’s Bruin Club and one of the founders and past president of the Plato Society at UCLA. After retiring from UCLA in the mid-1970s, Park turned to Pacific Palisades community affairs. She became a member of the Historical Society, where she served as president for two years, including the year when the society published ‘Pacific Palisades: From the Mountains to the Sea,’ written by her longtime friends Betty Lou Young and Randy Young. With her generous contributions she supported the ambitious mural on Temescal Canyon Road, the Palisades Library Fund and the Swarthmore Walk of Pride with a tree donation. Her great love of cats led her to contribute to groups supporting their well being and rescue. She also believed in supporting less fortunate people in need of funds for education, to establish a business or other urgent needs. One beneficiary of her largesse was the brother of an employee at Emerson-LaMay Cleaners who couldn’t afford the fees at UCLA. Bernice paid for his education, and after he graduated he found a good job in finance, and never forgot her kindness, taking her to lunch whenever he was in town. He said that when he ‘gets ahead,’ he will set up a scholarship in her name. One of Park’s most significant contributions to the community was her generosity to the establishing of Theatre Palisades. She was a member of the early fundraising planning committee and was successful in cajoling major contributions from local organizations. In addition to raising money to help build Pierson Playhouse, she also had the foresight to help establish an endowment fund for theatre operations. She was honored by Theatre Palisades in 1997 with the Lelah T. Pierson Award. In 1999, Park was honored by the Palisades Chamber of Commerce for her long and meritorious service to the community. A year later, she received the Community Service Award from the Palisades Community Council, given to individuals who demonstrate long-term and continuing service in one of more areas of the community. Park’s first love was and continued to be music. She played the piano as long as she was physically able. She supported the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Palisades Symphony until the end of her life, and was very interested in the local symphony’s programs and Young Artist Award competitions. Palisades Symphony will dedicate the performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis on Sunday, May 2 to her memory. A familiar figure in the Village with her snow-white hair and perky walk until just a few months ago, Park said in a 1992 interview with the Palisadian-Post that she felt grateful for what life had given her. ‘I have never been hungry or cold, I have had superior opportunities and I can be active in all the things I enjoy. I hope others will follow my lead in supporting our local performing arts.’ Contributions in Bernice Park’s memory may be sent to Palisades Symphony, P.O. Box 214, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. A memorial celebration of her life will be held at the Woman’s Club, 901 Haverford, on Friday, April 30 at 5:30 p.m.

Rose Estelle Huff, who with her husband ran Pacific Palisades Drug Store in the heart of the Village from the late 1940s into the early 1970s, died on April 19 at Santa Monica-UCLA Hospital. She was 89. Born on December 19, 1914, in Buffalo, New York, Rose moved to California with her family in 1925. They came ‘overland’ in a touring car and settled in what is now West Hollywood. Growing up in Hollywood’s ‘Golden Years,’ Rose remembered working at Bell & Howell when Lucy and Desi would come in ranting and dramatically carrying on. Or the time Ronald Reagan gently educated her on the logistics of the switchboard when she was an operator and had disconnected a few of his calls. As a student at Belmont High, Rose knew she would live in the Palisades someday. She said she had a premonition in the 1920s when she had a photo taken at the beach with her boyfriend, showing the upper Bel-Air Bay Club in the background. Twenty years later, she and her husband Bob Huff (whom she married in 1936), built a home above the club on Arno Way, where she lived for 60 years. At their popular drug store (where Starbucks and Littlebits are now located), the Huffs maintained a family-oriented business that drew merchants and residents alike for gifts, cosmetic or pharmacy items, or merely to have lunch at the counter. Rose instigated the store’s ‘Fondue Day,’ when customers shopping on Friday were offered free fondue and wine. Active in the Assistance League of Southern California for 40 years, Rose was also a member of the Riviera Country Club since the 1950s. Known for her ‘joie de vivre,’ Rose wore a charm around her neck that read, ‘Live, Love and Laugh.’ She was always available for those who needed her, and her funny stories and antics will be remembered by the many who entered her large circle of friends and acquaintances, either to stay at her home when they needed a place to stay or to simply ‘hang out’ and party with her. Rose’s focus was her family and friends, many of whom called her ‘Gramma Rose’ or just ‘G-Rose.’ The grandaughter of her best friend, Ernie McKimson, used to refer to Rose and Ernie as Ethel and Lucy, the crazy, laughing pair. She had recently told her daughter, Georgeann, ‘Please don’t be sad or carry on when I’m gone. I’ve had a wonderful life, dear. I wouldn’t have changed a thing!’ Rose was predeceased by her husband in 1991. She is survived by her daughter, Georgeann Erskine of Topanga; granddaughter Nami Gabbard (husband Josh) of Topanga; great-grandson Ozzie Maddox Gabbard; sister Betty Abendschein (husband Irving) of Palm Desert; and nieces Janice Boe Perry and Ann Edwards. Services will be held today at 10:30 a.m. at the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine on Sunset, followed by an informal gathering at Mrs. Huff’s home in the Palisades.

Frank Perry Atha III, a resident of Pacific Palisades since 1951, died on April 21 in Santa Monica. He was 77. Born in 1926 in Kansas City, Missouri, Frank attended Missouri Military Academy. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1948; a few days after graduation, he moved to Southern California, where he went to work at McDonnell-Douglas as a design engineer in aerospace. For several years, Frank was chief engineer at Transco. He worked at MicroMetals until he retired in 1982 at age 55. A member of the Santa Monica Yacht Club, Frank enjoyed sailing, and his favorite yachting experience was the long cruise he made from Florida through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles. He was also a member of the Los Angeles Computer Society. Frank is survived by his wife, Roberta Atha; sons Thomas and Randall; brothers Warren and David; grandchildren Steven, Frank and Jessica; nephew Keith Auck and nieces Lianne Auck and Susan Balazhi. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 1 at 2 p.m. in The Little Chapel of the Dawn at Gates, Kingsley, Gates in Santa Monica. Interment will be private.

Bianca Angela Gola, a longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, died peacefully in her sleep on April 20. She was 83. Bianca, whose family was originally from Milan, Italy, was born in Shan-hai-quan (Shanhaiguan) in northeast China on March 31, 1921. The family moved to Tientsin (Tianjin) when her father became the Italian consul for that province. Bianca attended the British School, where she made many lifelong friends. She met her husband, Aristide (Silvio) Gola, at the Italian Club in Tientsin when he was visiting from Peking (Beijing), where he was an Italian naval officer assigned to the consulate. During World War II, when the Japanese occupied China, Bianca, Silvio and her family were detained and unable to leave the country. After the war was over, Bianca and Silvio were married in Tientsin. They moved to the United States with their baby son, Adrian, in 1949. The Golas moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1960. Silvio went to work for Systems Development Corporation, a branch of The Rand Corporation, while Bianca began a long career as an administrative assistant at UCLA in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics. She retired from UCLA after more than 30 years of service. Bianca (known to friends and family as ‘B’) was active in the Palisades community as a member of the Corpus Christi Christian Service Committee for many years and as an usher at the church until weeks before her death. She was a member of the CROP Hunger Walk Committee for over 20 years. In addition to her husband of 54 years, Bianca is survived by her son, Adrian of Los Angeles; sister Yolanda Martinella; several cousins and an aunt in Milan, Italy. A funeral mass was held on April 26 at Corpus Christi Church. There will be a private interment at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City. Donations can be made in Bianca Gola’s name to benefit the Palisades Hunger Walk at: Church World Service, 2235 N. Lake Ave., Suite 211, Altadena, Ca, 91001.

Longtime Pacific Palisades resident Ann Blumberg passed away at her home April 10 after a series of illnesses, including heart disease. She was 77. Born June 25, 1926 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Blumberg moved to L.A. with her parents, Louis and Goldie Berman, in her late teens. She received a B.A. in education from UCLA. She met her husband Meyer on a blind date, and in the early 1950s they moved to the Palisades, where they raised their two sons, Mark and Robert. The family belonged to Kehillat Israel, then known as The Jewish Community of Pacific Palisades, where both boys made their bar mitzvah. During the years her sons attended Marquez Elementary, Paul Revere and Palisades High, Blumberg worked for LAUSD as a substitute teacher and gave piano lessons in her home. She was an avid tennis player and a docent at LACMA. Her husband, who died in 1990, owned Palisades Yardage on Via de la Paz, as well as an electronics retail store in Culver City. Blumberg is survived by her two sons. Mark graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 1971 and is a writer who lives in Scotts Valley, California, with his wife Masako. Robert received a master’s degree in engineering from UCLA and is a consultant in the computer industry. He lives in Santa Cruz with his wife Vanessa and their 16-year-old son, Asher. Funeral services were held on April 14 at Hillside Cemetery, where Blumberg is interred.

Beverly Moody, a former longtime resident of Pacific Palisades, died at her home in Monterey on March 18 following a brief illness. She was 81. Beverly Augusta Sander was born June 16, 1922 in Birmingham, Alabama to Neil and Oester Sander. At the age of six months, the family moved to Redondo Beach. She graduated from Redondo High School and attended Pasadena City College, Fox West Coast Theater, USC and UCLA. During World War II, Beverly interrupted her studies to work for the U.S. Naval Department and traveled to Arizona for a nurse training program. After the war, while on vacation in the Sierra Nevadas, Beverly met her future husband, Sharon Clay Moody (a fourth generation Angeleno). After a romantic and adventurous courtship, they were married in Los Angeles on January 31, 1948. They raised their five children in Pacific Palisades, where Beverly was an active member of the Methodist Church, P.E.O., National Charity League, the Assistance League, King Harbor Yacht Club and other community charities and events. She embraced the ‘Southern California’ lifestyle and enjoyed sailing on yachts, going to the beach and hiking in the mountains. A love of the great outdoors was central to the family’s activities and summer vacations. Additionally, Beverly played an active part in Boy Scout Troop 223 by supporting her three sons on their quests to becoming Eagle Scouts, as well as supporting Sharon in his duties as District Commissioner for the Boy Scouts. Beverly had a great love for art and music. She played the piano for a number of years, studied art history and developed a love for antiques. After years of doing appraisals for art collectors, she decided to open an antiques store, The Bottega, in Pacific Palisades, which she owned for five years. After living in the Palisades for 38 years, Beverly relocated to the Carmel/Monterey area in 1999 where she became an active volunteer at the Yellow Brick Road and continued her involvement in the P.E.O. Through the years, she traveled extensively throughout North America, Europe, Russia, the Far East, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. She always embraced the art, culture, customs and people from other countries. Beverly always found time to share her smile, laughter, and kindness with all she came in contact. She lived each day with grace and respect and will be missed by all who knew her. She was predeceased by her husband in 1984. She is survived by her five children, Scott Moody (wife Jackie), Kent Moody (Allison Leong), Laurel Anne Moody, Craig Moody and Megan Moody Burns (James), and her nine grandchildren: Devon and Heather Moody; Teri Hubbard; Mackenzie and Tucker Moody; Christine, Katherine, Maureen and Bonnie Burns. A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 23 at the Palisades Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz, at 11 a.m. A celebration of her life will immediately follow at the Bel-Air Bay Club (upper club). In lieu of flowers, Beverly’s request was to have donations made to the Assistance League of Santa Monica, 1453 15th St., Santa Monica, CA 90404 (395-2338) or to P.E.O. Sisterhood-L.A. Chapter, Attn: Mary Ellen Trimble, 1322 Fiji Way, Suite 9B, Marina del Rey, CA 90292.