Services Saturday for Buzz Hamlin

A memorial service will be held Saturday, March 26, for Homer Clair (Buzz) Hamlin, a resident of Menlo Park for 44 years, who died March 9.

The service will start at 3 p.m. at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park.

A member of a third generation of an early San Jose and Morgan Hill family, he entered Stanford on a football scholarship in the fall of 1940. He played two years as a fullback until Dec. 7, 1941.

He left school to enter the Army Air Corps and was commissioned as second lieutenant. As a pilot, he was assigned to the 8th Army Air Corps 96th Bomber Group, 413th Squadron, flying B17s from Snetterton Heath in England.

He flew 23 missions over Germany and was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. At the end of combat operations, he flew more missions delivering foodstuffs in Belgium for people who were isolated.

Returning to the states, he completed his education at the University of California at Berkley, graduating in 1947. Football was his passion. He played two seasons for Cal. By playing for intense rivals Stanford and Cal, he joined just two other men known to have played for both schools, family members said.

After college he went to work for Fiberboard Paper Products, working in Los Angeles, San Jose, and then Seattle as general manager for the Northwest region. He returned to San Francisco as national sales manager for Fiberboard. He finished his career with Owen Illinois, retiring in 1985.

He was an active outdoors person who loved golf and belonged to the California Country Club. When Fiberboard developed Northstar-at-Tahoe, he was the first person to purchase a condo so he could ski more often, which he did past his 80th birthday, family members said.

Janet Anthes, his wife of 64 years, preceded him in death as did his daughter, Wendy Schreiner. He is survived by his children Christine and Jonathan; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The family prefers donations to Pathway Foundation (Hospice), 585 North Mary Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94085. Arrangements were by Darling Fischer Chapel of the Hills in Los Gatos.