Louis James Silcox Sr.

Louis James Silcox Sr. passed away Thursday, Feb. 13, at his residence in Palo Alto, having recently celebrated his 95th birthday.

He was born in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 29, 1918, the third of four children of Louis F. and Jessie L. (McMonies) Silcox, all of whom preceded him in death.

On May 17, 1941, he married Lorraine Woodhouse in Vancouver, Wash., (their marriage was later solemnized in the Oakland LDS Temple in 2007); she died almost exactly five years ago.

Together they had four children, Cheryl L. (Lynn) Thacker, of Heber, Utah, James R., who died as a child, R. Kelly (Lynda), of Chico, and Louis J. Jr., of San Francisco. They also have nine grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and 12 great-great-grandchildren.

They have lived in Portland, Ore., and Chico, Sacramento, Sonoma and Palo Alto.

Lou spent most of his life working in the newspaper business starting at the age of eight with his first paper route for the Portland Telegram and later worked for the Oregon Journal and The Oregonian, working his way up with them until moving to Chico in 1963 to work for the San Francisco Examiner and then to Sacramento where he continued working for the San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle until his retirement in 1986.

He was a veteran of World War II having served in the signal corps, infantry all over Europe.

He loved baseball all of his life both as a participant and a fan – especially of the San Francisco Giants.

He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so following his cremation, a memorial service will be held Saturday, March 8, at 11 a.m. at the Palo Alto First Ward chapel, 3865 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, where friends may call between 10:15 and 10:45 prior to the services.

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