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Alpheus (Al) Ross Kaplan, a Danville oldtimer who had a real estate office on San Ramon Valley Boulevard since 1953, died Dec. 28 at the age of 82 after a brief illness. Services will be held Jan. 23.
“He had some health issues but up until a year ago doing things at the office,” said his daughter, Haley Matthews.
Mr. Kaplan was born Feb. 11, 1927, in Oilmont, Mont., where his mother, Bessie Mathews Kaplan of California, and father, Archibald Kaplan of Minnesota, were homesteading. At the height of the Depression they left Montana and moved back to his mother’s family in Weaverville, Calif., where his father worked on the gold dredges.
Mr. Kaplan graduated from Shasta High School in Redding, after which he moved to the Bay Area. He was drafted in 1945 and entered World War II but never left the Army induction center at Camp Beale in Marysville. Once they discovered his business sense and typing skills they put him in charge of the induction station, said his daughter. A year and a half later he discharged himself as a sergeant major, in December 1947.
After the war Mr. Kaplan drove logging trucks and worked for a surveyor before entering Armstrong Jr. College where he studied business. He was a natural salesman and began to sell Blind Made Products door to door all over the Bay Area. During this time he met the love of his life, Ann Wiedemann, at a Golden Gate Tip-Topper Club dance at the Claremont Hotel. The Tip-Toppers is a social club for tall people: Al was 6 feet 4 inches, and Ann was 6 feet 2. They married Nov. 24, 1951, and had 55 years together before Ann’s death in 2006. They traveled the globe including Cuba, South America, China and many parts of Europe.
Mr. Kaplan opened his real estate office in Danville in 1953. He loved the real estate business and was active in it to the end. He was president of the Danville Chamber of Commerce in 1966. He enjoyed being part of the growth and development of the Town of Danville and he holds the record for having the same business in the same location in Danville for the longest time – 56 years.
He also loved riding horses and was a founding member and past president of the San Ramon Valley Horsemen’s Association. He rode in the Alameda County Mounted Sheriff’s Posse in the 1960s. He was a member of the Reno Sierra Riders and once rode from Sacramento to Reno in a commemorative Capitol to Capitol ride.
Mr. Kaplan was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons Lodge #321. He was an active member of the Danville Presbyterian Church for 56 years where he served as an Elder and Deacon. He served as vice president of the San Ramon Valley Historical Society for several years, and he and Ann hosted the annual picnic for 25 years at their beautiful home on the family ranch in San Ramon.
Mr. Kaplan was generous with both his time and resources supporting local community charities as well as missionaries around the world. He valued the work of the Red Cross and did his part by donating more than 40 gallons of blood in his lifetime.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Ann, and his half brother Buster Kaplan. He is survived by his sister, Reatha Bous of Redding, CA, his three daughters Christine Kaplan of Oakdale, Freda Kaplan and Haley Mathews and her husband Brian Mathews and grandchildren, Blake, Laura and Megan Mathews, all of San Ramon.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Danville Community Presbyterian Church, 222 West El Pintado in Danville to celebrate his wonderful life.
Donations may be made in his name to SonRise Equestrian Foundation, a nonprofit organization making a positive difference for children and youth living with social, emotional or physical challenges including terminal illness: SonRise Equestrian Foundation, P.O. Box 3097, Danville 94526.
