Joseph Wolff Wechsler, a Pacific Palisades homeowner for over 50 years, died peacefully on Sunday, February 3. He was 82. Joe was born April 17, 1925, in New York City. He had an older brother, Stanley, and a younger brother, Alan. All three were very close. Joe met his first and only sweetheart, Elaine Stein, when he was only 17. He was asked to escort Elaine to his cousin’s birthday party, and when he picked her up from her apartment, they both felt a connection that would last 65 years. After graduating from DeWitt Clinton High School, third in his class of 900, Joe enrolled at New York City College as an engineering major. He completed only one semester before the U.S. Army claimed him for the 104th Infantry Division, the ‘Timberwolves,’ in World War II. While in the service, he designed an improvement on the M1 rifle, which was patented and adopted by the U.S. Army. Since Joe ‘belonged’ to the Army, so did his patent, so he realized no material gain from his design. He served for “two years, four months, eight days, one hour and 15 minutes,” before being released to Camp Beale in California. By this time, Elaine’s family had moved to Los Angeles, so Joe attended the new California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on the GI Bill, earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering, and an engineer’s degree. He began his career at The Rand Corporation, where he made many lifelong friends. Joe and Elaine, by now a teacher at Fremont High School, were married on June 27, 1948. They welcomed a daughter, Ruth, in 1953, and a son, Philip, in 1955. Two years later, the family moved to Marquez Knolls in the Palisades. Joe became an aerospace engineer, designing space stations. He worked for Lockheed, McDonnell-Douglas, and smaller companies before he retired. He taught classes in orbital mechanics at Edwards Air Force Base. One of his best students was a young flier named Neil Armstrong, who sent Joe a letter and a photo decades later, commenting about how he had been able to put to practical use all he had learned from Joe about “curved paths.” In his garage workshop in the 1970s, Joe perfected a simplified gearshift mechanism for 10- and 12-speed bicycles, but he was an engineer, not a marketing expert, and despite accolades from amateur and professional cyclists, his patented “Ultrashift” never made him his fortune. One of his proudest engineering feats came near the end of his career. Working for the Puritan-Bennett company, Joe designed an improvement to a ventilator, the machine which assists desperately ill patients in breathing. He found a way to make the device operate silently, giving patients relief from the ventilator’s loud, rhythmic sounds. Joe was able to benefit years later from his own invention when, recovering from a quintuple bypass/valve replacement in 1998, he was placed for a time on one of his own Puritan-Bennett ventilators. Despite his engineering feats, the area of Joe’s life that fulfilled him the most was his role as a family man. He impressed his children with his honesty, humility, and integrity. He was involved in his children’s school lives, teaching them many valuable lessons about what makes a good student. He and Elaine took their children on driving vacations all over the United States and Canada, creating memories the family still cherishes. He and his brothers made sure their children got to know each other well, and to this day, all 11 Wechsler cousins are very close, despite their being separated by a continent. When Ruth and her husband, Rick Mills, presented Joe and Elaine with a grandson, Josh, in 1982, followed in 1985 by a granddaughter, Jeanette, Joe was as proud as any grandfather could be. Again, he became involved as a school volunteer. He and young Josh loved to sit down to do math ‘just for fun.’ Joe and Elaine never missed a school performance or a dance recital, and he used to take his grandchildren on Saturday outings as long as his health allowed. He hosted family Thanksgiving dinners and Passover seders with grace and humor, astounding his musical children and grandchildren with his utter inability to sing on pitch. In their retirement, Joe and Elaine served on the board of the Palisades Library Association, writing and editing the Biblio-Phile newsletter. They had a large circle of friends and family who helped them celebrate milestone birthdays and anniversaries. June 27, 2008, would have marked their 60th wedding anniversary. Joseph Wechsler is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughter Ruth (husband Rick) of Pacific Palisades; son Philip of Tempe, Arizona; grandchildren Joshua and Jeanette; nine nieces and nephews; many great-nieces and ‘nephews; and one great-great-nephew, born at the end of January. Joe will be remembered for his loving nature, his integrity, his sense of humor, his intellect and his courage. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made, in honor of his son Philip, to the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center, Barrow Neurological Institute, 550 W. Thomas Rd., Suite 720, Phoenix, Arizona.

Olive Genevieve Johnson, a UCLA emeritus professor who had an illustrious career as a Registered Records Administrator (RRA), passed away peacefully in her sleep on January 31. The 45-year resident of Pacific Palisades was 95. Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Olive graduated from the medical record education program at St. Mary’s Hospital (affiliated with the college of St. Scholastica) in Duluth in 1936. By 1956 she had attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining UCLA’s faculty in 1961, Olive was a faculty member of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, and Medical Record Librarian-in-chief (now called Medical Records Administrator) of their Health Center. Her other hospital experiences included Cleveland City Hospital, Grace-New Haven Hospital, and the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health. Then she moved to Los Angeles and began a 20-year tenure as director of graduate studies in health information systems at the UCLA School of Public Health, graduating over 140 students in both the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs. In 1973, Olive traveled to Ghana, and in 1975, at the request of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Liberia, participated in a feasibility study on the installation of the country’s first health information systems. An objective of the MOHSW was to provide more equitable distribution of health care to rural areas and to women and children, with increased emphasis on preventive health services. This included a study of the characteristics of the country, the culture of the people, and the existing health services in rural and urban areas. Years later, Olive enjoyed recalling her participation in this exciting endeavor and giving her lucky friends and students a memorable slide show tour of her African adventures, complete with music. During her career, Olive also traveled to Mexico and Jordan on special assignments in her field, and serve as principal investigator on multiple Public Health Service grants. In 1978, she received the faculty Distinguished Service Award from the UCLA School of Public Health Alumni Association in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of medical records administration, especially in the areas of research, education, and professional association participation. Olive was highly regarded in her field nationally and internationally, by both students and colleagues, and remained active after her retirement in 1981, continuing as an author, lecturer-specialist, and international consultant. In recognition of her lifetime achievements, the American Medical Record Association in 1982 awarded Olive their prestigious Distinguished Member award–only the 14th member to receive this honor in the association’s 54-year history. In her spare time, Olive was also an accomplished cook, graduating from the Cordon Bleu Cooking School while in Washington, D.C. While trained in traditional French cooking, Olive found that her two most requested recipes were her mother’s lighter-than-a-cloud angel food cake, and chocolate brownie cake. An avid dog and cat lover, Olive took in many Sheltie rescue dogs throughout the years. She loved music, baseball, entertaining, and trying anything new’and she had an amazing appreciation of whatever life offered her. She was especially fond of her beautiful garden, and throughout the years hosted many reunions and other parties in the park-like setting of her back yard. She actively supported the Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church; her alma mater, St. Scholastica; and numerous charities. During her lifetime, Olive Johnson generously imparted knowledge, wisdom, and her own special brand of humor wherever she went. She was universally loved and respected by all, and the most frequent comment made by those who were lucky enough to know Olive is that she was strong, yet always so gracious–and just a lot of fun to be around. Per Olive’s wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial services. Tax-deductible donations in her memory can be sent to: Sheltie Rescue, c/o Kathy Parsons, 261 No. Marian St., La Habra, CA 90631. Telephone: (562) 697-9784.

Palisades Elementary Charter School celebrated the completion of its refurbished library last Thursday. Improvements include a new carpet, wood tables and chairs, bookshelves, six additional computers and an accelerated reading program, all purchased with the $30,000 that Eva Schroeder bequeathed the school upon her death in October 2006. ‘She was the last of the old-maid librarians,’ her niece Barbara Schroeder said lovingly of her aunt, a resident at Sunrise Senior Living who died at the age of 90. Barbara’s two children had attended Palisades Elementary, so when Eva was deciding where to leave her money, the elementary school library seemed like a good choice. ‘My aunt found a lot of comfort in books,’ Barbara said. ‘She would be really happy to know that she’s keeping reading alive.’ Students at the school were invited to write or draw a poster about what the library meant to them. Of the hundreds submitted, Principal Tami Weiser chose 15, and their authors were invited to the library dedication to read or share their drawings as part of the festivities. Fifth grader Daniel Roth hit the right chord with his one-page composition: ‘There is a place where we can learn with no difficulties or woe. A magical place. . .A tiny simple place where everyone leaves everyone be. In a library everyone belongs.’ ‘The library is the heart and soul of our school,’ Weiser said. ‘To have it be so beautiful and so magnificent is terrific.’ Award-winning architect and parent Eva Sobesky explained how the library committee, in order to accomplish all that they did, had to be resourceful. She praised the cabinetmakers, including librarian Genie Merchant’s husband, for working below cost. The new wood cabinets, chairs and tables have an unadorned clean line, and the interior design gives a feeling of warmth. ‘When construction’s completed and it looks simple, then it is right,’ Sobesky said. Merchant is thrilled with the changes and the new cabinetry that houses the computers, and ‘the children are happy with their comfy area,’ she said. During the dedication, one little girl sat on the window-seat cushions and listened intently while another little girl read to her. ‘I am so happy.’ Schroeder said. ‘When my kids were here I remember sitting in little cracked plastic chairs. My aunt would be so pleased. She’d say ‘good job’ and then she’d go talk to the librarian.’

A version of permit parking may be coming to a five-block area in the Huntington Palisades, closest to the recreation center. On January 24, the Pacific Palisades Community Council passed a resolution supporting preferential permit parking on Alma Real Drive from Carey to Frontera; on Ocampo from Alma Real to Drummond and on Toyopa from Carey to Drummond. These streets currently have two-hour limited parking, but permits would allow residents to be exempt from this restriction. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation, having completed a study, asked for Community Council approval in order to implement a preferential parking district. The application now goes to DOT for approval and from there to the City Council. After that, supporters would have to gain backing from 67 percent of the residents on a block, with at least 50 percent of those people buying a permit. Once that is done, permit-parking signs will be installed. Annual permits cost $22.50 and a household would be allowed a maximum of three per year. A resident could also purchase two visitor permits, which cost $15 and are good for four months. The third option would be a one-day guest pass for $1.50. ‘The entire process will take about a month,’ Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s new Field Deputy Jennifer Rivera told the Palisadian-Post on Monday. People using the recreation center would still be able to park for at least two hours on the affected streets. At the Community Council’s January 24 meeting, several people spoke in favor of preferential parking. ‘We in no way want to exclude park visitors from parking on the street,’ Huntington resident Kathleen Boltiansky said. ‘We want the right for residents and [their] guests to park on the street for just like the rest of the residents in the Palisades do.’ She explained that when her parents visit, they either have to park several blocks away or move their car every two hours. Karyn Weber, who lives on Alma Real near the park, said that she has childcare and didn’t want her nanny to leave her children alone every two hours in order to move a car. According to DOT’s Senior Transportation Engineer Brian Gallagher, parking exemptions for this area, called preferential parking district number 50, would be temporary and would have to be renewed annually. Rosendahl’s departing Field Deputy Andrea Epstein told the council that a similar temporary preferential parking district was created around the Brentwood Country Mart and has been successful. ‘It would be a great experiment,’ said Stuart Muller, the council’s Area 6 representative, whose district includes streets east of Temescal Canyon, where his constituents have complained about the lack of residential parking. Three years ago, residents from Alma Real, Carthage Street, Radcliffe Avenue and Monument Street petitioned for a preferential parking district. A traffic study by LADOT showed that in those areas the available parking spaced occupied by nonresidents ‘averaged 50 percent and on some streets 100 percent.’ At a later hearing, Palisadians were split about whether they wanted preferential parking. One concern was about the ‘spillover’ effect onto streets that did not have parking. At that time Pacific Palisades Community Council did not adopt a position. The move towards permit parking in Pacific Palisades hit a standstill. In a July 2005 Palisadian-Post article ‘Preferential Parking District Stalled,’ Alan Willis, the principal transportation engineer with DOT, admitted that Preferential Parking District 50, the original effort to establish preferential parking on streets neighboring the business district, had stalled. In December of the same year, Willis told the Post, ‘We had an assignment to completely rewrite the City Council rules on preferential parking.’ The issue has remained dormant until this past Community Council meeting.

By DANIELLE GILLESPIE Staff Writer Voters stood in a line extending out the door of the Palisades Lutheran Church when the polls opened Tuesday morning, waiting to cast their ballots for the candidate they would like to see in the White House. ‘It is definitely a longer wait, and I don’t think a lot of us are used to waiting,’ said Dawn King, who voted before heading to work. It took longer to vote at the polling site than previous election years because the L.A. County Registrar of Voters decided to combine more than two precincts, Inspector Sharon Sharpe said. That meant nearly 1,600 registered voters could cast their ballot at the church compared to 600 in the 2004 election. Sharpe, a longtime Palisades resident, has overseen polling at the site for about 15 years. At her request, the county registrar provided her with five volunteers, one more than years past. Despite still being short-staffed, she said the day went rather smoothly, with voters waiting 15 to 20 minutes during the rush times, before and after work. ‘Some people have been in a hurry or grumpy, but for the most part they’ve been enthusiastic,’ Sharpe said. ‘We have had a lot of people from both parties and a lot of young people.’ Some voters didn’t mind the wait. Susan Stone said she thought it was encouraging to see so many people voting. By Wednesday morning, 98 percent of the precincts had reported their results. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton led statewide for the Democrats, taking 52 percent of the vote versus 42 percent for Sen. Barack Obama. Sen. John McCain won the Republican race with 42 percent of the votes, versus 34 percent for his closest contender, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. State propositions 94 through 97 regarding Indian gambling passed. The other three statewide measures failed: Proposition 91, dealing with gasoline sales tax spending; Proposition 92, regarding community college funding and Proposition 93, modifying legislators’ terms in office. Los Angeles city’s Proposition S, approving continuation of a $243-million telephone tax to help the city’s deficit budget, passed with a 66 percent yes vote. At other polling sites around the Palisades, inspectors Ed Hieronymus, Deirdre Sloyan and Sue Pascoe (a reporter at the Palisadian-Post) said there was a steady flow of voters all day. Lines, however, were fairly short and voters were able to cast their ballot in an average of about five minutes. Hieronymus said he thinks both Republicans and Democrats are especially interested in this election. ‘My personal opinion is that this is the first exciting contest in a long time. People think this will make a difference. There are real choices to be made.’ High school students volunteered at the various polling sites. Jane Steele, a senior at Wildwood School, said all of the school’s juniors and seniors volunteered for a credit. The 18-year-old helped out at the Palisades Recreation Center, and she was proud to say she voted for the first time. Julianne Perez, a junior at Crossroads, said she and her friends decided to take a day off from school to help out. ‘I wanted to see how the voting process works,’ said the 16-year-old. Hieronymus said more helpers are needed at the polling sites for the presidential election in November. To assist, contact the L.A. County Registrar of Voters (800)-815-2666.