Owl Lovers’ Memorial

Parks staff installed two new benches in the northwest corner of the park this past week. One of them bears no plaque. The other is dedicated to Robert J. and Charlotte C. Coomber, with the inscription, “They loved this park and its owls!”

Here is the family’s obituary for Robert at Oakland’s Chapel of the Chimes.

Robert James Coomber, 95, of Oakland, CA, passed away February 3, 2018.
He was born in San Francisco on April 17, 1922. Robert J. Coomber graduated from George Washington High School and received a 3 year degree from Academy of Art. He was also a teacher a the Academy. He married Charlotte C. Benson on March 18, 1951.
Robert had a career in commercial art  as a self-employed artist for 30 years. He was a WWII veteran who had been wounded in France on D-DAY + 3. He had a passion for fishing, art, family, camping, and hiking.
He was survived by his children – Carolyn F. Moore (Lawrence, KS), Robert J. Coomber Jr. (Livermore, CA), Marilyn Hittleman (Portland, OR), William C. Coomber (McKinleyville, CA). His grandchildren – Amanda Bandalin and Jeff Coomber and his 3 great grandchildren.
He will be missed.

https://oakland.chapelofthechimes.com/obituaries/Robert-Coomber-32955/#!/Obituary

Here is the obituary from the same source for Charlotte:

Charlotte C. Coomber, age 91, passed away at her Oakland residence on November 17, 2018.
 She was born in Oakland on June 1, 1927, the only child of Francis S. Benson and Gladys (Moss) Benson.  Charlotte was a Berkeley High School graduate and continued her education at The Academy of Art in
San Francisco.  It was there that she met Robert J. Coomber, one of her instructors.  They married on March 18, 1951 and enjoyed sixty-six lively years together until his death in February, 2018.
 Charlotte was a homemaker and community volunteer while her children were in school.  She later worked as a supervisor in the print shop at World Savings and retired in the late 1980’s.  She was active in the League of Women Voters and, post-retirement, she volunteered as a docent at the Oakland Museum of California.  Her many interests included family, friends, art, fishing, gardening, and reading mystery novels.  Charlotte will long be remembered for her warmth, strength, and fun-loving personality.
 She is survived by her four children: Carolyn Moore (husband, Butch Moore), Lawrence, KS; Robert Coomber Jr. (wife, Gina Reuschel) Livermore, CA; Marilyn Coomber (husband, Bret Hittleman), Damascus, OR; and William Coomber (wife, Tracy Nelson Coomber), McKinleyville, CA; as well as two grandchildren, Amanda Bandalin and Jeffrey Coomber, and three great-grandchildren.

https://oakland.chapelofthechimes.com/obituaries/Charlotte-Coomber-32955/#!/Obituary

For readers curious about how memorial benches happen in this park, the attached PDF will be instructive as to cost and procedure.