We just learned sadly that Carolyn Purser passed away last weekend at St Joseph Hospital. She was the youngest child of William and Mary Drennan Purser. Carolyn lived in Burbank and was a Receptionist/Human Resources Assistant at Taylor Dane Personnel Staffing.
Both her brother Larry Purser, BHS '66 and sister Patricia Purser Bushman, BHS '70 passed away in 2020.
May God bless and comfort this family and their loved ones.
Sad news... yesterday Steve Gleason wrote, "On Saturday September 20, 2025, Brian Horan passed away. He was my best friend and will be missed by all who knew him."
Brian was the son of John and Agnes McDonald Horan. He has two siblings, John Horan Jr, BHS '65 and Hillary Horan Krieger, BHS '72.
We pray for comfort for Brian's family and his loved ones.
A FEW FACEBOOK COMMENTS
Lois Taron was born Lois Caroline Becker August 22, 1930 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the youngest daughter of two to Anna and Fred Becker. She was born at Midnight, and the doctor asked her Mother what date she wanted, and Anna said "I'll take the even number." thus her birthday of the 22nd.
When Lois was 12, the family moved to Burbank, California in 1942. Her father bought her a piano after they moved so she could take lessons. She attended Burbank High School where she graduated in 1948. Soon after she began playing the Organ at St. Paul's Lutheran Church and was in demand as a talented Organist.
In 1953 she met the love of her life Robert Taron at the Walther League at St. Paul's. There they were in a musical together, as they both had beautiful vocal talent. Robert and Lois dated for over a year, and married in 1955 at St. Paul's, with Lois's sister Mary Lou Miller being her Maid of Honor.
Robert worked for the Lockheed Skunk Works as a aeronautical radar engineer, and Lois at that time worked for Pacific Bell phone company. Together, they built a house in Shadow Hills, California. Their daughter Lisa Marie was born in May of 1957, and their son Steven Russell followed in October 1960. Lois continued to play the organ, substituting at several Lutheran churches, and she taught her daughter Lisa how to play the piano. Lois was a talented seamstress, and made many of her children's clothes.
Together with their children Robert and Lois enjoyed taking family vacations to Sedona, Arizona. After her children graduated from High School, Lois worked for the Los Angeles Library system in Studio City, California. In 1979, Robert and Lois sold their home in Shadow Hills, and moved to Carlsbad, California, as they both always enjoyed the Pacific Ocean. There, Lois and Bob joined Redeemer by Sea Lutheran, their beloved church. Lois continued to play the organ here and at Carlsbad by the Sea retirement home. Lois and Bob collected many memories from their world travels.
Bob passed away in 1996, but she carried on bravely and took cruises with her best friend Carolyn Schmaltz. Lois loved adventure. She volunteered at the Carlsbad Flower Fields and loved roses most of all. Lois had a green thumb, and had a beautiful garden of her own.
Lois loved her grandsons and granddaughter as they arrived, and was the most fun and loving Grandmother anyone could know. She was so enthusiastic about taking her grandchildren to the San Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal park, as well as harbor trips in San Diego. She loved to teach them about history and they went to many museums together. As her grandchildren grew up, she said she was blessed by their many visits to San Diego. Lois played the organ until she was 86 and then retired.
Lois will be remembered by her family as fun loving, generous, always smiling, always willing to lend an ear and help. She passionately loved her family, and her favorite Coffee Cup says "Keep Calm, and Grandma will handle it!" She loved her church and was a great evangelist, telling everyone she knew that Jesus loves you. She was a gifted and talented musician. She had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to tell stories. She loved her friends, family and neighbors, and the many poodles she had over the years.
She is survived by her son Steven and his wife Julie, Granddaughter Amelia, her daughter Lisa, and grandsons Ryan his wife Lynda, Trevor his wife Calysta, Kyle, and nephew Mark and Susan Miller and family, brother in law Richard Taron, his wife Eva May and family.
Donald James Wright, age 93, passed away on February 27, 2024, in Lake Forest, CA, after a courageous battle with the complications of a stroke.
Don was born May 18, 1930, in Kewanee, Illinois, to Grace and Horace Wright.
While in Illinois, he played basketball at Lyle and enjoyed playing drums. In 1944, he and his mother travelled across country to Burbank, CA, to join his father, who had been discharged from the Army. He graduated Burbank High School in 1949.
During his high school years, he played Varsity Football in the positions of Leftfield, Backfield and later Running Back. It was said that he ran like "Crazylegs Hirsch". Don sang in the choir for three years and played trumpet in the High School Band.
After graduating, he worked for the City of Burbank until he joined the Navy in 1950. Boot training was completed in San Diego where he was then assigned to the U.S.S Genesee, stationed in Hawaii. Later, he spent 1-1/2 years on the U.S.S. Hooper Island. Don was proud to serve his country and proud of his time with the Navy.
Discharge came in 1954, at which time he rejoined the City of Burbank. In 1969, Don joined the Orange County Sanitation District as a Senior Construction Inspector. Don later worked for consulting firms, building sanitation treatment plants in Sweetwater, Carlsbad and Escondido. He assisted in the construction of the Blue Line Metro Rail in Long Beach. Don continued working for various cities; Poway, Mission Viejo, Fontana, Irvine and Laguna Beach.
Don loved God, family and friends. Whether he and his father were bowling on City leagues or golfing for fun, he cherished those moments.
Don is survived by his partner, Evelyn Logsdon; three sons, Michael Lawrence, Timothy James (wife Gretchen) and Steven John; grandchildren, Briana Michaele Garcia (husband Andy), Justin Lawrence (wife Tracy), Marc James, Daniel Timothy (wife Meghan), Steven John Jr., and Sabrina Nawal; great grandchildren Cailee Michaele Garcia, and Kole Anthony James Wright; and his sister, Elizabeth Hathorn.
Don's life was about faith, love, hope, resilience and courage. He is deeply missed, but the memories will forever be a source of comfort.
A memorial service honoring Donald James Wright will be held at noon, Saturday, April 6th, at Dana Point Harbor, Dana Point.
Don said he liked to make people laugh – which made him so endearing to others. He was a man who never hung onto negativity and would quickly forget any disagreements. He took much enjoyment from tackling any home project even if he never attempted it before. He would not hesitate to ask questions on how to accomplish his next project by asking the "old timers" in hardware stores. Nothing was beyond anything he could not learn to do.
He said he enjoyed waking up in the middle of the night to feed his children when they were babies and helped out with their care wherever he could. He was coach in his sons' little league, built tracks in the house for their toy cars and had fun tossing them in the pool. He would talk about having his boys all jump in the pool at the same time while trying to catch all of them to ensure their safety.
He was a man who enjoyed life – golf, tai chi, lifting weights in the gym up until the age of 89, bowling leagues, building things around the house, and maintain and fix anything around the house.
Don was a successful man as he knew how to enjoy life.
In Loving Memory of Harrison Stroud
Harrison "Harry" Edgar Stroud, age 98, passed away July 7th, 2024 at his home, surrounded by his family.
Harry was a remarkable man whose life was characterized by love of his family, love of our country, cherished friendships, UCLA sports, Dodger baseball, growing beautiful flowers and tomatoes in his garden, fishing, playing tennis, and his never-ending appreciation for a long and wonderful life.
Harry was born in Burbank, CA in 1926 to William and Lucia Stroud. He was their second child after his sister Ann. He graduated from Burbank High School.
In 1944, at 17 years old, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was whisked off to basic training in Farragut, ID and then on to Class A Yeoman Training school in San Diego. Harry was a World War II Veteran who served on the USS Kenton in the Pacific. His ship was awarded honorary citations for both the Liberation of the Philippines and the final battle at Okinawa. Harry enjoyed many reunions with his shipmates throughout his life and was the last living survivor of his ship.
Harry graduated from UCLA in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity where he made lifelong friendships with his fraternity brothers. He spent summers working in Yosemite with fraternity brothers where he had such fond memories. Harry was a huge fan and supporter of UCLA sports.
While at UCLA, Harry met Sarah Jane Shiells, a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. They married in 1951 and raised five children in Van Nuys and Newhall.
Harry started his career at Texaco and Sundstrand before landing his dream job in Personnel Administration at TRW, an aerospace company in Redondo Beach. Later in his career, he moved his family to Mentor, OH where he worked at TRW corporate headquarters in Cleveland as Corporate Director of Manpower.
He was especially proud of the work he did with the National Alliance of Business (NAB) in California and Washington D.C. while on loan from TRW. He managed the U.S. program that placed over 130,000 Vietnam Veterans in jobs after the war. At White House receptions, Harry received three commendations from Presidents Johnson, Nixon, and Ford for his many accomplishments with NAB.
Sadly, Harry's wife Sarah died in 1981. After being widowed for several years, he met JoAnn Guenther. JoAnn brought love and joy back into Harry's life, and they were married in 1988. Harry spent his retirement years playing tennis and traveling the world with JoAnn.
He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Los Angeles Scottish Rite, and the Al Malaikah Shrine Masonic organizations; the Santa Barbara Cosmopolitan Club; and All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara, where he had numerous friendships. No matter where Harry went in the world, he always managed to bump into someone he knew!
Harry was preceded in death by his first wife Sarah from Fillmore, his second wife JoAnn from Rolling Hills Estates, and his sister Ann Ankerman from Midway City.
He is survived by his five children: Susan (Richard) Kentro, Linda (Norman) Pick, Dan (Julie) Stroud, Jack (Rita) Stroud, and Alan (Kathryn) Stroud; two step-children: Krista (Tony) Walker and Eric Amend; fourteen grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Memorial services will be held at the All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara on September 21, 2024 at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Transition House at 425 East Cota Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
Oh so sad... we just learned from Janet Knight Morales, BHS '65, that her younger sister, Joan Knight, BHS '69, lost her battle with ovarian cancer yesterday September 8, 2025.
Joan is survived by her daughter Justine Knight Hawley, step-daughter, Sarah Smith Robinson, sisters Judy Knight Wulff, BHS '63, Janet Knight Morales, BHS '65 and brother Bill Knight, BHS '68. She is also cousin to Diana Ziegler Larsen, BHS '67.
Larry O’Brien, BHS '69, just sent me these wonderful photos of him with Joan and wrote, "I was so honored to take Joan to our homecoming dance. We duplicated this photo at our 50th. She was such a sweetheart, really admired and loved her. My condolences to the Knight family. She was a great Lady. ❤️"
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Scott was the youngest child of four to Don and Josephine George Sobiech. Scott married Stacy King in 1993. His second marriage was to Tammy Noecker in 2000.
Scott's father passed away in 2008 and the obituary gives Scott's name as one of the survivors. Then in 2022, Scott's stepmother Georgia passed away and her obituary says, "Georgia was the devoted wife to the late Don Sobiech and dearly loving mother of her late step-son Scott Sobiech."
Posted by Los Angeles public library on Facebook
[1957] "Pencil, collector's dream - Bobby Campbell of 2588 N. Brighton St., Burbank, is surrounded by more than 2,500 pencils he has gathered in about two years. Foreign countries, states, cities and advertisers of every description, are represented in his collection. Bobby is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Campbell and is in the seventh grade of John Muir School, Burbank. He hopes to double his collection in the next two years." (Valley Times Collection)
Bob Campbell was a 1962 graduate of Burbank High and this is his senior photo,
"In the late 1950s the Burbank Police Department sponsored the Police Athletic League (PAL), a summer 12 and under boys' fast pitch softball league. All games were played at Olive Recreation Center and coaches were active BPD officers. My brother and I played for several seasons for the team sponsored by Menasco (an aircraft parts manufacturer in Burbank). We won the championship in 1958 (or maybe 1959), and here we are accepting our trophy at the Starlight Bowl ceremony. (Hoping one of my old teammates sees this.)"
Please provide missing names and tag them if possible. Here's what we know:
Coaches were Jack Coyle (1925-2014) on the left and Don Sobiech (1931-2008)
Standing L-R: ? , ? , Kirk Grant, John Coyle, ? , Ron Reiring, ? , Larry Hoberman (1949-2020)
Kneeling L-R: Steve Cates, Chuck Reiring, ? , Ron Panich, ? , Richie Rosenthal, ? , Randy Boeing
