Tributes

In Memoriam – Lion Don Lang

Lion Don was born March 26th, 1937 and would have been 88 years old. He joined the Cupertino DeAnza Lions on August 1, 1996, giving us 29+ years of service. His sponsor was Ray Chastain.
On the morning of February xxx, the club members received the following message:

Dear DeAnza Lions,

It is with heartfelt sadness that I inform you that Lion Don Lang has passed away…from a massive heart attack.

Lion Don has been active in many roles as a Lion, from leadership roles, president of our Club, to always volunteering to do whatever is necessary for the club to succeed in our various missions.
He went out of his way to ask if he could help pick up used eyeglasses locally, and volunteered to get another Lucky store for our annual Food Drive when the other store was not productive. He never waited to be asked. He just jumped in to fix the problem or add another hand to help accomplish our mission.

Lion Don was a leader in the Odd Fellows Lodge for years and volunteered their Lodge to the Lions to hold our food drive. It could have never expanded without his help. We were also allowed to hold a Christmas party there one year and many of our Student Speaker Contests. After all he has done, we owe him a great deal of gratitude. Our hearts go out to his wife Mary Lou who recently became a Lion. Lion Don was one of a kind and will be greatly missed. Sincerely, Lion Ray.

Don was the epitome of community service. As ultimate community service person, he was President of the Odd Fellows for the State of CA and yet, while he was doing that, he never slacked off of what he was doing with our Lions Club. Our Lions motto ‘WE SERVE’ is what he was all about. He was a very active supporter and leader in the Odd Fellows, was active with the Rebekahs and was a past president of the De Anza Lions. If we had an activity going on Don would always come over and ask, “How can I help? We will all miss him. May he rest in peace…Eli.

Lion Don sat next to me at the AM meetings for years. I keep looking for the City of Hope donation box. He was so kind. I just can’t believe it…Steve.

He was one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. One of the most giving guys. He was a great Lion. He was my ROV partner, I thought the world of him. I’ll miss him…Kent.

He was always there, got done what had to be done. He helped us with reserving the Odd Fellows Hall for many of our events …he was just a great guy…Ron.

I will always remember him coming in every Thursday and giving me a wonderful hug. I just remember everything he’s done and I will miss him dearly…Barb.

I remember that Lion Don has been President of this Club. He joined in 1996; that’s 30 years of service. A great personal accomplishment of his was that, after all these years, he persuaded Mary Lou to join the Club in August 2024…Al.

I’ve known him since I joined some 20 years ago. He was quiet, steady and kind. Just in the last months, I noticed that he was participating more—he helped us pick up the new Lucky’s location for the food drive. And he got Mary Lou in our Club!…Dagi.

I’ve known Lion Don for 18+ years. He was quiet but he was thoughtful. When he said something, it was poignant and got to the point and it was helpful to the pride, whatever we were doing. He would always, inevitably, not in front of everyone, he’d come over to the side and ask, ‘do you need me to help get glasses, do you need me to help do this or that’. Whatever it was he just did it. Like when he found that grocery store; he knew we needed a new store [for our food drive]and he went out and found that store. He didn’t make a big deal, he just did it. He never complained about it, he just did it. We could never be where we are today if it hadn’t had been for the Odd Fellows taking us in for the food drive. Since then, we’ve used it for the Student Speaker Contest and Project Linus along with even providing a venue for our Christmas party one year. And after the food drive was done, he’d be in the Hall mopping the whole place up. He was just a great guy with a great sense of humor. We’re going to miss him dearly…Ray

Don Lang embodied Lionism. He was already one of the sage Lions when the PM Group format was initiated and I joined the club. I quickly came to understand his fundamental commitment as a servant leader: do what needs to be done to help others.

In addition to decades of service as a Lion, Don was also a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows and the manager of the Odd Fellows hall in Cupertino.

It was in his capacity and dual role as Odd Fellow and Lion that I worked particularly closely with Don for our club’s Thanksgiving Food Drive over the last several years. The Odd Fellows hall is essential as the sort center for the food drive; we could not have the food drive without access to such a facility.

Ever accommodating to food drive planning adjustments, Don would patiently and efficiently adjust hall access and particulars in real time as needed for a successful food drive. He always came through.

I will miss Lion Don and forever be inspired by his quiet, consistent, ever-reliable example of service and Lionism… Godspeed, Lion Don – YIL, Jeff.

In Memoriam – Lion Bill Reed

Bill was born when Calvin Coolidge was President (late 1920ties). He was married to Jane and they had two sons. He joined the Cupertino DeAnza Lions Club in August 1991, a member of 32+ years.

Within the club, he was Treasurer while Lion Eli was club president, but left this assignment to have more time to spend at Camp Costanoan (now Camp Via West). As a board member, he never missed a meeting, and he attended the weekly morning meetings religiously in person (apart from a few months during the pandemic) until January or February 2024. Aside from his invaluable help and support of Camp Via West, he was in charge of collecting club mail from the club’s P.O. Box. He also volunteered for and attended almost all Lions events, fundraisers and special events, including the annual Thanksgiving food drives where he asked for donations outside of the food stores and manned the collection table as late as November 2023.

Here are some memories fellow lions shared:

About 30 years ago, there was a time when Lions Bill and Eli were assigned the duties of cleaning up the area around the waterwheel building and then painting that building. They took care of the clean-up, it looked pretty good, so they went to the paint shed and were told they could use any paint they wanted but suggested that the Lions use “those cans of brown paint over there”. Bill and Eli went off to paint the waterwheel. As they worked, the paint went on as a good brown, but after it dried it was bright pink! Eli made sure he was known as the apprentice and that Bill was the contractor. Bill took a lot of heat over that waterwheel and guess who grinned like a Cheshire cat! Several fellow lions remember painting sessions with Bill all around Camp: the amphitheater, cabins, logs, everywhere that needed paint. No one used pink paint, but they went all over Camp with brushes and cans in hand.

Several more Lions met Bill at the Camp; he left a lasting first impression with all of them. One year, Bill, et al, were building a fence at Camp (actually, the fence around the current garden) and it was clear that he was in charge. He was way up on the ladder while a crew of young guys were working at ground level. He was obviously the one who should not have been up there. But under his direction, the fence went up in no time. Lion Leslye met Bill at Camp when he was working with a crew of 6 or 7, and she was amazed at how strong he was. When Jane, Bill’s wife had to be in a wheelchair, he was pushing her everywhere. Bill is an inspiration to all of us older people.

He was probably in his late 80’s, and there he was, out-working everyone, carrying 4×4 posts, getting it all done. He was instrumental in building the bridge near the amphitheater at the Camp. He got a design and made that bridge go up. Once in the spring 2020, already way into the pandemic, he was doing clean-up with Lions near the cabins adjacent to the garden area. He was pushing a lawn mower along the hillside, accompanied by Son Patrick.

He insisted on working for our lions club whenever we worked for ROV (Registrar of Voters), just to be a part of it. He worked 8-hour shifts each session until February/March2024.

When he supported the club’s food drives, he also drove to the stores to pick up food to deliver to the Odd Fellows Lodge. For many years, he also helped with delivery to the families who were designated receivers of the food boxes, and he used his truck to deliver extra foods to the Sunnyvale Community Center.

Here is a little anecdotal remark from some fellow lions: if you rode with Bill you learned that he’d drive every road or freeway at 25 mph. No matter what. But he always arrived safely wherever he was going, and he made it to the weekly AM lions meeting well into his nineties.

More quotes from fellow lions:

We recently lost a highly respected, most-valued and the eldest member of our Lions family.

He always made everybody feel welcome with that smile of his.

He was so welcoming and amazing.

Bill was one great person!

Bill will be remembered as a most loyal, dedicated fellow lion who will be missed.

Such a sad day for the Cupertino DeAnza Lions. He was one of a kind gentleman, he will never be forgotten, “God Bless Him” .

“What we have once enjoyed deeply we can never lose. For all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” -Helen Keller

In Memoriam – Carol “Mort” Eliason

Mort officially became a member of the DeAnza Lions Club in 2013. Even before that though, she presented annual Flag Day activities at a number of elementary schools, as well as participating in the Lion’s food drive, the golf tournament and the crab feed. For her spirited form of Lionism and dedication to volunteerism, Mort was bestowed several accolades and awards from the club including a Lifetime Membership to the Blind Center and a Melvin Jones Fellow Award.

In addition to her Lions activities, Mort enjoyed a successful career as an educator and speech therapist in the Moreland School District, retiring after many years of dedicated service. After retirement, Mort regularly read and volunteered in the elementary schools of her grandchildren. She was a long-standing member of the Cupertino Bethel Lutheran congregation and a member of the Red Hat Society.

Mort will be fondly remembered for her contagious love of dancing, adoration of friends and family, volunteerism in our Lions Club, hosting Lions gatherings, her seasonal decorations around the house and always spreading cheer to those around her.

In Memoriam – Philip Lellman

Philip Lellman joined the Cupertino De Anza Lions Club on February 1, 1976 at the age of 38. He was one of our most loyal members with an attendance record that included making almost all meetings, attending every single fund-raising activity, and never being late in meeting his financial obligations to the club.

When Covid hit in late 2019, Lion Phil suffered some health issues and his attendance faltered for the first time. The Board of Directors, aware of his circumstance, and noticing in 2022 that he was in arrears with paying his dues, requested the treasurer to allow the Club to cover any future financial obligations. Sadly, visitations were limited during the pandemic. We learned about his passing on August 21, 2023, from his son, Paul Lellman.

Ironically, the financial records indicate that Lion Phil had paid his dues in full up t the month of his passing. The club has received a detailed letter from Paul, explaining more about Phil and the circumstances of his death, but the last sentence is a tribute to the nature of Lion Phil: “If my dad left with a balance owing the tail twister I apologize, but he probably spent the money at the Donut Wheel”.

Forty-five years and four months as a DeAnza Lion … several fellow lions would be ale to add to these lines. It was Lion Phil and Lion Bob Moorman that dragged me (Lion Al) up to Camp Costanoan (now Via West Campus) in 1979. Lion Phil was an impetus for the DeAnza Lions Endowment Fund and worked tirelessly on Habitat for Humanity.

We will miss Lion Phil!

We have sent condolences to his wife and son and wish them the best.

Respectfully submitted, with Love and Admiration

Lion Al Knox

In Memoriam – John Noone

July 20, 1953 – August 16, 2018
Loving Husband, Devoted Father & Community Servant

$3070

Donations received in memory of Lion John so far

Bio

John Noone, born in 1953 in Detroit Michigan. Bay Area resident for the majority of his lifetime. He grew up with his father George, a teacher and school administrator; his mother, Mollie, a substitute teacher and singer and younger brother, Charles (nicknamed Chick) in the Oakland Hills. He spent his childhood playing violin in the Oakland Conservatory of Music. In 1970 the family moved to Redwood City, California.

John attended San Jose State University for both his Undergraduate degree in Mathematics (1975) and Graduate degree in Computer Science in 1977.

He married his college sweetheart, Leslye Melton in 1978. The two had met 6 years before and have been inseparable ever since. John and Leslye have been long time residents of Cupertino since 1980. They had 3 children: Chris(1981), Veronica (1983) & Chelsea (1985).

Retired, he had been a Software Engineer primarily in the defense and aerospace industries. He loved playing & coaching soccer, swimming & running, having completed several marathos, most recently the Boston Marathon in 2010. He also loved traveling. John valued continual learning, staying up to date on current events and science news.

John was very active in the Cupertino De Anza Lions Club as a member for 10 years. The most recent event he was involved with was called the Ride 4 Diabetes, a bike race to be held in May. He was a loving husband and always put his family before his own needs. his relativs live in CA, NY, IL, and MA.

Tributes

A quick message – wanted you to know that I just donated $100 to DeAnza Lions Club in memory of John Noone. I met John and Leslye in college, before they were even dating! Since then, I’ve been through a lot with them. We’ve “grown up” together, and John and Les have been like my siblings. I was in their wedding, I held all three of their children as babies, and they have helped me through thick and thin. John was always so proud of his Lions affiliation and the various projects he was involved in for your organization. There was never a time when we were together in recent years, when John didn’t mention the Lions. In fact, one Christmas, we gave John a big bag full of our old glasses to bring back to Cupertino. (Don’t tell the Elk Grove Lions that!!!) The memorial service and gathering at the house, with the stories of John’s involvement and commitment to community service energized me. I have to add that Leslye did the same while talking about Lions, John, and the Project Linus during the weekend after John’s sudden passing, when I drove in to join the family in grief. I am looking into the Lions Club here in Elk Grove as a result. I thank you all, Lions and Lionesses, and especially John Noone, for his (your) service.

Sincerely, Wendy Roberts, Elk Grove

Wendy L RobertsAug 30th, 2018

In Memoriam – Lion Don Lang

In Memoriam – Lion Bill Reed

In Memoriam – Carol “Mort” Eliason

In Memoriam – Philip Lellman

In Memoriam – John Noone

July 20, 1953 – August 16, 2018
Loving Husband, Devoted Father & Community Servant

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Cupertino DeAnza Lions Charities, Inc.

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Lions Clubs International News

Tributes

In Memoriam – Lion Don Lang

In Memoriam – Lion Bill Reed

In Memoriam – Carol “Mort” Eliason

In Memoriam – Philip Lellman

In Memoriam – John Noone July 20, 1953 – August 16, 2018 Loving Husband, Devoted Father & Community Servant

Bio

Tributes

Cupertino DeAnza Lions Charities, Inc.

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Donate

Lions Clubs International News

In Memoriam – John Noone

July 20, 1953 – August 16, 2018
Loving Husband, Devoted Father & Community Servant