Local residents who have died recently include:

• Annamaria (Quattrin) Kusber, 90, a Woodside resident who was originally from Italy, whose fluency in numerous languages eventually led her to volunteer at Stanford Hospital interpreting for many international patients needing health care, who served as the first President of the School of Italian Language and Culture, and whose dedication to her husband and children was rivaled by few, on Dec. 17.

• Lora F. Laine, 85, a former Redwood City resident, an executive assistant to the vice president of Stanford Research Institute, an avid quilter, loving mother, clever joker and an active volunteer, on Dec. 18.

• Gloria Elaine Anderson Mangee, 92, who moved to Palo Alto in 2003 to be close to her grandchildren, who was a gardener, avid tennis and bridge player, and an enthusiastic manager of a fantasy football team with her daughter, on Oct. 4.

• Christina Shaner, 79, who worked as a high school English teacher before moving to California and working in human resources at tech companies, and would go on to volunteer for Recordings for the Blind and at the Stanford Medical Library, on Sept. 12.

• Akram Piracha, 87, a Palo Alto resident with a long 35-year career with UNICEF working in countries including Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, China and the Philippines, and more recently became an active member of the Palo Alto Rotary Club and Avenidas, on Oct. 12.

• Ami Jaqua, 89, a champion for the environment who took on a stewardship role of a stretch of South Skyline Blvd. and endeavored to keep it litter-free, and who took in and cared for retired horses and volunteered for the National Center For Equine Facilitated Therapy (NCEFT), on Nov. 30.

To read the full obituaries, leave remembrances and post photos, go to Lasting Memories at Almanacnews.com/Obituaries. n