Albert Alden

Born on July 23, 1937 at San Francisco’s St. Francis Hospital, Albert Alden (Al) passed away on May 9, 2022 at the age of 84 after living with Parkinson’s Disease for several years. Al graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1955, after which he attended City College of San Francisco for two years before transferring to the University of California, Berkeley where he completed his Bachelor’s degree in physics. He married fellow Lincoln High graduate Julie Lundberg in 1959 and soon began his career as an electrical engineer.

In the 1960s, Al worked at Systron Donner where he helped develop accelerometers used in the Apollo space missions, including the lunar landings. From 1971 until his retirement, Al worked at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute doing hands-on design and building of many electronic devices including the Tactile Vision Substitution System and Talking Signs.

Al was almost never without a small notebook and mechanical pencil stored in a pocket protector tucked into his left shirt pocket (along with a MUNI Fast Pass). An amateur astronomer, Al hand built a 14-inch Dobsonian telescope under the tutelage of John Dobson, and with help from Julie and their daughters Susan and Sharon. He traveled the world to witness five total solar eclipses. Al played the piano and clarinet, and was an enthusiastic member of the San Francisco Lyric Chorus for many years. He was very proud of the stereo system he designed and built to play his large collection of primarily classical records and CDs, which also included many late-60s rock-and-roll LPs.

A lifelong learner, Al amassed a large library of reference books on the subjects of music, mathematics, physics, astronomy, history, railroading, and more. He shared his love of camping and travel with his family; brewed beer before it was trendy; and was known for his clever humor. In 1965, Al, Julie, Susan, and Sharon spent three months on a driving trip across the United States. In 1970, the family bought a red Volkswagen camper in Germany and traveled to 22 countries in six months. Al, Julie, and their youngest child Laurel traveled to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji to see Halley’s Comet in 1985.

Al was predeceased by his mother and father Madeline and Albert Alden. He is survived by his wife, Julie, three children Susan, Sharon (Sean McGuire), and Laurel (Martin Brenner), his brother Tom (Xaviere); and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation (www.parkinson.org) or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (www.nationalmssociety.org).

Dr. Bruce R. Baker, age 88, passed away on December 28, 2021. He was surrounded in his last days and moments by his adoring family at his home in Davis, CA. Although natural causes took him away from us, his wise and kind heart will forever serve as an inspiration to the many who knew and loved him. Bruce was born on February 24, 1933 in the panhandle of West Virginia. While helping out at his parent’s restaurant at age

8 a customer told him that the earth was an oblate spheroid and he would learn about that if he went to college. He had never heard of “college” but his ever-curious and brilliant mind was off to the races. He became his high school valedictorian in Woodbury, New Jersey, graduated from Bucknell University and then served as a Naval Intelligence Officer. After serving his country, he went on to medical school at Temple University and completed a psychiatric residency at Langley Porter, University of California, San Francisco. Jungian psychology then captured his imagination and he completed the psychoanalytic training program at the Jungian Institute in San Francisco where he was a leader for many years, publishing numerous journal articles and book chapters. He helped countless patients in their struggles during his over 50 years as a practicing psychiatrist in San Francisco and loved every minute of it. He was still counseling patients until shortly before his death.

Reading, canoeing, writing poetry, hiking, traveling, spending time with his family and making many life-long friends were his passions. Bruce loved the Bay Area and lived in San Francisco for 15 years and in Marin for over 50. He is survived by the love of his life, Kay, to whom he was married for 52 years, his children Claudia, Judy (Ty), Chris (Dianna), Seth (Laurel), Amy and his grandchildren Sarah, Bryan, Selena, Leo, Max and great-grandchildren Elora and Holland. He is also survived by his sister Sunny (Don), nieces and nephews. He will be eternally missed for his sage advice, one-liners, gentle spirit and loving, accepting nature. Donations can be made in his name to the C.G. Jung Institute of San Francisco. A private, family celebration of his extraordinary life will be held at a later date alongside the Russian River.