Santa Clara University

William Carroll “Bill” Mitchell '83 was born February 19, 1961, in Tulsa, Okla., to Thomas J. and Marilyn J. (Donovan) Mitchell. He passed from this life peacefully at his home Wednesday, July 7, 2010, at the age of 49. Bill was a life-long Tulsan and graduated from Cascia Hall Preparatory School in 1979. He received his Bachelor’s degree in finance from Santa Clara University in 1983. He returned to Tulsa where he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa in 1986 and ran a successful private law practice for nearly 25 years. Bill was preceded in death by his father and his brother, Thomas J. Mitchell, Jr. He is survived by his daughter, Amanda; two sons, William, II and Brendan, all of the home; his mother, Marilyn Dock; and, his sister, Debbie, both of Tulsa.

Stephen Gibbs J.D. ’83 retired Resident of San Jose Died September 20, 2011, in his Naglee Park home. He was 56 years old. Judge Gibbs was born on April 3, 1955 in San Francisco, California to Joan Nellis and Robert Gibbs. He attended Port Jefferson High School in Port Jefferson, New York. He continued his education at the State University of New Paltz in New Paltz, New York, graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Geography. (On October 13, 1978, he was in a car accident and became a quadriplegic.(Realizing that his degree in geography would not support the financial needs of a quadriplegic, he packed up his van and drove out to California to attend Law School at the University of Santa Clara. As he was fond of saying, he made good use of his geography degree by making sure he moved to the kind of climate that would best suit his physical condition.  He graduated cum laude from Santa Clara in three years and was an Articles Editor on the Law Review. He has had two articles published in the Santa Clara Law Review. Despite his achievements, he was unable to find a law firm willing to hire a quadriplegic, so he worked as a solo practitioner for 18 years.  After receiving the top score on the written and oral examinations for a position as an Administrative Law Judge, Mr. Gibbs became Judge Gibbs when he was made an Administrative Law Judge with the California Unemployment Board of Appeals in 2001. Judge Gibbs retired from that position in 2008.  As a lawyer, judge and ordinary citizen, Judge Gibbs always worked passionately to make sure that people who were disadvantaged did not suffer adverse consequences because of their disadvantage, whether the disadvantage stemmed from disability, economic condition, gender, race, color, religion or age. At the same time, he encouraged everyone he met to meet life's challenges head on but to always meet those challenges with their sense of humor intact. He has left behind many friends, loved ones and admirers.  Judge Gibbs is survived by his loving partner of 22 years, Elizabeth Johnson; his mother Joan Fox; his Fox brothers Tom, Andrew, Jerry, Kevin, Michael and Steve and his sister, Bernadette Christie, along with many nieces and nephews. One brother, Dan Fox, predeceased him.

Roger A. Parshall J.D. ’83, passed away on Feb. 8, 2013, in Arcata Calif. After his graduation, he practiced law in Humboldt County, originally as a public defender. In recent years, he came to support the Occupy Movement locally. A native of Detroit, Mich., he is survived by his younger sister, Nanci Parshall. He is remembered as a good friend by all his law school classmates.

Ralph Otto Schneider MBA '83 on October 17, 2008. Ralph was born in Hanover, Germany. At the age of three he immigrated to the US with his mother. He was raised in San Francisco. At 17 he joined the US Navy where he served for 20 years, during both the Korean and Viet Nam Wars. Following military retirement, he completed both a bachelors and masters degee. For the remainder of his career he worked as a quality control engineer for Litton Industries. In 1964 he married Grace Swanson and together they completed the raising of his three children from his first marriage. Upon retirement in 1991 he and Grace moved to Modesto where he was an active member of Modesto Covenant Church and the Stars Crime Prevention Team. He is lovingly survived by his wife of 44 years, Grace, his children Rita Wall (Keith), Robert Schneider (Leslie), Karen Moore (Randy), step-son Richard Swanson (Jennifer), six grandchildren and six great- grandchildren. He is also survived by brothers Herman and John and sisters Marylin and Lani.

Philip Chike  Nchekwube '83, MBA '86 on March 8, 2010. A native of Aguleri in Anambra State, Nigeria, Chike was born in Lagos to Georgina Nchekwube and the late Matthias Nchekwube. He returned to Aguleri at the onset of the Nigerian civil war and completed his secondary school studies at All Hallows Seminary in Onitsha. Chike then moved to the United States in 1979 and subsequently obtained his undergraduate degree in accounting and an MBA from Santa Clara University in California where he graduated with distinction as the class valedictorian. He also held a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley and worked at various times as an accountant at Xerox, an attorney at the global law firm of Jones Day in Washington DC, a business owner of three GNC stores in northern California, a deputy prosecutor in Lake County, Indiana and a professor of Business Law and Accounting at St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Left to mourn Chike are his wife, Miranda Nchekwube sons, Ikenna and Nnamdi Nchekwube; mother; brothers, Emeka and Chiedu Nchekwube; sisters, Angelina Ivenso, Uju Nchekwube, Victoria Nchekwube; in-laws, along with countless other friends and family members who were blessed to have known him. Chike had a good wit and enjoyed long conversations with friends and kin, championing the aspirations of the Aguleri people in the diaspora, and being with his family. He touched the lives of many people with his smile and generosity, and maintained his trademark sense of wit and stubborn integrity all the way to the end.

Lauralee Sorenson M.A. '83 on Jan. 1, 2009. A native of Salinas, she served on Cupertino's Planning Commission and City Council and was mayor in 1991-1992. She attended Mills College for two years, graduated from Stanford University School of Nursing, worked for a year for a Modesto pediatrician, and then returned to the Bay Area to work for the San Mateo County Health Department as a public health nurse. She had a 23-year career as school nurse for the Cupertino Union School District and continued after retirement to consult on truancy and attendance issues. She was involved with numerous organizations and boards of directors and was recognized as Cupertino's Woman Citizen of the Year in 2007. She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Martin; and five children.

Roger Gillis, S.J., M.A. '83 died Friday, December 3, 2010 at Mount St. Vincent's Nursing Care at the age of 63. He had taught and advised students at Seattle University since 1987. "Father Rog" entered the Society of Jesus in 1969 and was ordained a priest in 1978. He had an immense influence on students and alums, who abundantly poured out their affection on him during these last three months of his illness.





 

Donna L. Hasbrouck MBA ’83, June 13, 1956 to July 12, 2012 Resident of Los Gatos. Donna L. Hasbrouck passed on after a courageous journey with cancer. Donna achieved a business degree from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Santa Clara University. She retired from Intel after 25 years working in both finance and human resources. Donna is survived by her father and his wife, Leo and Louise Hasbrouck, her sister and husband, Lisa and Jerry Roth, her sister Terri McLennan, her brother and his wife, Steven and Veronica Hasbrouck and her aunt Judy. Theresa, her mother, passed on in 1995.

Antoinette "Toni" (Chaix) McCabe M.A. '83 passed away on February 23, 2011. Toni was born on November 29, 1946, in Los Angeles to Dana and Joseph E. Chaix. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology in 1970 and her teaching credential in 1972 from Dominican University of California. She has provided for a Scholarship Fund at the University. Toni taught for five years before marrying her husband Wayne McCabe. She was an avid golfer and a member of the Senior Golfers of America. She also enjoyed opera and the theatre. Toni was a contributor to Lamb's Players Theatre in Coronado where she had been living since 1988. She is also a contributor to the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Symphony and various other organizations. Toni is survived by an aunt, Iris; and cousins, Robert and Melinda. She was preceded in death by her husband Wayne in 1993.

Abby Sobrato '83 died on May 27, 2010. She was the wife of John M. Sobrato '83, mother of John A. Sobrato '10 and Jeff M. Sobrato '11, and daughter-in-law of John M. Sobrato '60. The following obituary appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on May 28.

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Abby Sobrato, member of philanthropic family in Santa Clara Valley, dies of pancreatic cancer
By Sandra Gonzales

Abby Sobrato, a member of an influential philanthropic family with deep Santa Clara Valley roots, died Thursday after an eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
She was 49.
Mrs. Sobrato was the wife of John M. Sobrato and daughter-in-law of John A. Sobrato, a prominent developer and founder of the Sobrato Family Foundation, which has donated millions to nonprofit organizations.
Beyond being a devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Sobrato was a philanthropist in her own right - a woman with many charitable passions. On the top of that list was the Walden West Science Center, a nonprofit that encourages young students to learn the sciences.
She was not just the president of the Walden West Foundation in name, she led the building campaign for its science classrooms, said Margaret Nanda, a fellow board member.
"She was the most giving, loving, wonderful person," Nanda said. "She was the most sincere, genuinely kind person. A great light has been extinguished. I am just so sad. It's a great loss for the whole valley."
Mrs. Sobrato also was the co-founder of the Princess Project Silicon Valley, a charitable mission that provides prom dresses and accessories for girls who can't afford it, Nanda said.
Active in St. Mary's Catholic Church in Los Gatos, Mrs. Sobrato graduated from Saratoga High. She met her husband at Santa Clara University - an account she lovingly recalls in a blog documenting her illness.
"This time in March always holds a special place in my heart. March 11, 1983, is the day that I met my husband," she wrote last March. Her husband was bartending at the university's happy hour. "John poured me a beer and we noticed each other for the first time."
They married and had two sons, Jeff and John. Both now attend Santa Clara University.
"I was lucky to have the kids and all the 'specials' home for Thanksgiving. The 'specials' are the kids that have literally grown up with my kids," she wrote in December.
Throughout her illness, Mrs. Sobrato displayed high spirit and good cheer - traits she showed all her life.
"She was a very creative person and loved to socialize," Nanda said. "There are so many that can call her a friend."
She also was a great photographer, Nanda said.
Just months before her diagnosis, she was avidly snapping pictures at an open house for the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, said Carole Leigh Hutton, president of United Way Silicon Valley. The foundation opened the center as a home for valley nonprofits.
"The whole Sobrato family and the family foundation are just extraordinary people," Hutton said.
Hutton met her for the first time in September 2008, when Mrs. Sobrato and her husband accepted a "Philanthropist of the Year" United Way award on behalf of the Sobrato Family Foundation.
"I found her quite remarkable. I think of her as just an incredibly vivacious, dynamic energetic person," Hutton said. "It's just so tragic to see this happen to someone so young and so giving."
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 219 Bean Ave., Los Gatos at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mrs. Sobrato's memory to the Walden West Foundation, 15555 Sanborn Road, Saratoga, CA 95070-9709.