Here's a list of the local residents who died recently.

• Lanalee (Cissy) Lewis, 73, a former Bay Area resident who at one time worked as academic dean and assistant head of school at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, where her Baccalaureate talks were long cherished by graduates and she was twice recognized with the Distinguished Teacher Award, on Dec. 9.

• Elisabeth (Betty Lou) Nordman, 93, a Palo Alto resident who worked as a report writer for city planning consultants in Menlo Park and whose activities included the Democratic Party, The Garden Club of Palo Alto, Gamble Garden and the Vi at Palo Alto Library Committee, on Dec. 4.

• Kenneth W. Fields, 84, a professor emeritus at Stanford University’s Department of English and Creative Writing Program known as a renowned wit, storyteller and collector of jokes, whose works include six poetry collections and who took great pride in his participation in the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, on Dec. 6.

• Katherine "Kay" B. Philips, 95, a longtime Palo Alto resident and former executive director of the Mid-Peninsula YWCA whose leadership in the community earned her a Tall Tree Award and The Woman of the Year Award from the California State Legislature and who will be remembered for promoting diversity and racial justice as well as for her quiet strength and infinite kindness, on Nov. 25.

• Cynthia Dillon, 82, a longtime Palo Alto resident whose life was filled with love for family, close friendships, an unstoppable work ethic, a deep appreciation for food, travel and the arts, who was Dow Chemical Company's first female quality control engineer in Denver and who later started a business providing database services to small companies, on Dec. 2.

• Carol E. Reade, 62, a free-spirited Mountain View resident who became an early Silicon Valley entrepreneur with her own company, It’s About Time, and later became a five-star AirBnb host, whose many activities included assisting doctors from Soviet Georgia to find local internships and who always looked for and found the best in people, on Dec. 1.

• Fayne C. Murphy, 86, a Menlo Park resident who taught and practiced in the Psychoeducational Clinic at Marywood College in Pennsylvania and who volunteered many hours at the Stanford Hospital Gift Shop, the Community Association for the Retarded, local public library and schools and who treasured many loving friendships with other volunteers, neighbors, former classmates and visitors, on Nov. 9.

• Robert E. McLean, 96, a Cupertino resident who was the inaugural principal of Gunn High School in Palo Alto in 1964 and later assistant superintendent of schools and director of personnel, who then became a Realtor in Soquel and enjoyed volunteering with Meals on Wheels, the Volunteer Transportation Program of Santa Cruz County and Seacliff State Park as a docent, on Dec. 1.

• Dorothy H. Forsythe, 92, a Menlo Park resident whose full life included active contributions at Bethany Lutheran Church in Menlo Park, a retail career that eventually led her to volunteer at the Filoli Garden Shop in Woodside, travel adventures with longtime friends and who loved spending time with her family, her dogs and in her garden, on Nov. 24.

To read the full obituaries, leave remembrances and post photos, go to Lasting Memories at MV-Voice.com/Obituaries.