Clarence Burdick "Dick" Sewill, Jr., resident of San Jose. With great sadness, the family of Dick Sewill announces his death at home on Saturday, May 8, of cancer. Born on June 5, 1932 in Huntington, W. VA. to Clarence and Peggy Sewill, Dick was the brother of Fred and Wes Wooding and Lanny Sewill. The family settled in the Bay Area, where Dick was president of his senior class and graduated from Hayward High School in 1949, and then U.C. Berkeley in 1954 with honors in Political Science. In July, 1954, Dick married Edna Herrera, also a U.C. student. He served in the army in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where his wife joined him and daughter Ann was born. Dick returned to Berkeley, earned a teaching credential, and began his teaching career at San Ramon High in Danville, CA. Daughters Lynn and Barbara were born in 1959 and 1961. In 1963 the family moved to the Santa Clara Valley, where Dick taught mathematics at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale for 33 years. He was recognized as an outstanding mentor to new colleagues, and as a teacher who taught not only subject matter but also a love of learning. Many students have contacted him through the years to tell him how he affected their lives. Dick was preceded in death by his daughter, Lynn, in 2009. In addition to his wife, Edna, and daughters Ann and Barbara, Dick leaves sons-in-law Joel and Martin, and beloved grandchildren Eli, Max, Katie, Joel, Joaqu¡n, Victoria, Nicol s, and Sof¡a. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 15, at 10:30 a.m. at Darling & Fischer Chapel of the Hills, 615 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Los Gatos. A luncheon reception will follow. If desired, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of the Valley, 4850 Union Ave., San Jose, CA, 95124-5156, or a charity of your choice.

Published in San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times on May 13, 2010.