Surnames: Brecker, Hirzel, Jenkins, Clarke, Holmes

----Source: The Almanac Online (Menlo Park, San Mateo County, California) Wednesday, 16 Jan. 2008

Brecker, David C. (1927 - 30 Dec. 2007)

A memorial service for David C. Brecker of Menlo Park will be held at Bethany Lutheran Church at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19. Mr. Brecker died peacefully in his Menlo Park home on Dec. 30 after a three-year battle with congestive heart disease. He was 80 years old.

Born on a dairy farm in Owen, Wisconsin, Mr. Brecker married his childhood sweetheart just out of high school. He and his wife soon operated the family farm.

The Breckers moved to Menlo Park in 1946, and Mr. Brecker was soon hired by PG&E to help construct substations in Northern California. The family moved around with the job, but made Menlo Park their permanent home in 1951, when Mr. Brecker began his tenure at the Menlo Park City School District. He used his engineering skills and his love for fixing things as the district's maintenance mechanic for 38 years until retirement.

Mr. Brecker was a passionate cyclist and an avid Mr. Fix-It, his family said. He and his neighbor would actively look for things they could tinker with, rejuvenate or fix. More than anything, though, he will be remembered as a family man, through and through, said his wife, Lucille Brecker.

In addition to his wife of 63 years, Lucille, Mr. Brecker is survived by three children, Diana Hirzel of Livermore, Audrey Jenkins of Kenai, Alaska, and Wendy Clarke of San Jose; his sister Elaine Holmes of Neillsville, Wisconsin; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial donations to Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, California, or to Bethany Lutheran Church, where Mr. Brecker was a member for 50 years.

The Saturday memorial service for Mr. Brecker begins at 1 p.m. at the church, 1095 Cloud Ave. in Menlo Park.