Lasting Memories

Mahleon Robert (Bob) Oyster
Sept. 13, 1939-July 19, 2017
Woodside, California
Submitted by Cathy Oyster

Mahleon Robert (Bob) Oyster of Woodside, CA, passed away July 19, 2017, in Palo Alto, CA. The eldest of two children, Bob was born on September 13, 1939, in Seattle, WA, to Harry and Grace Oyster.

His mother and father were diagnosed with TB and Bob and his sister, Dianne, were raised by their grandparents, Gus and Lillian Ackerlund, in Cle Elem, Washington, alongside the eight Ackerlund aunts and uncles, the men were serving during the war for at least part of this time.

Harry and Grace were released from medical care five years later, however Harry died soon after.

Bob attended O’Dea High School in Seattle, WA. Bob’s mother and sister moved to California; Bob followed a few years later in 1959. They settled in Palo Alto.

Bob first found a job at Boeing, but the large impersonal company wasn’t his style. He soon found a small business owner, Ray Hudson, that needed his work ethic and moved up the ranks to manager of his two service stations in Menlo Park.

Ray became a mentor and confidante who encouraged him to buy his own station. That was the beginning of his desire to control his own destiny.

In 1962, he met and married Toni. Toni worked as a bank teller and Bob was filling her car's gas tank on the way to work. Just a few months later, after watching West Side Story, they decided to elope.

This is the way they have lived their lives. They found something they desired and jumped in with both feet.

Bob and Toni worked hard to grow their service station business. Working with their son, Robert, at their side, they had at one point accumulated 23 service stations from Menlo Park to Sacramento. All the while trading duplex for 12 units on up to their current real estate holdings. Their daughter, Cathy, has worked alongside Bob and Toni for the past 30 years, growing and improving the properties that they hold.

Bob always felt that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing well and sweat equity was hard work, but a good thing.

Bob enjoyed his time on the Board of the San Mateo County National Bank, which grew, evolving into 41 locations, and after several transitions was purchased by Wells Fargo in 2007.

He was a fervent supporter of St. Francis Center in Redwood City, San Mateo County History Museum and has two educational endowments at San Mateo County Community Colleges and University of Notre Dame de Namur.

Bob is survived by his wife, Toni, his two children Robert Oyster of Atherton, and his wife, Diana, and Cathy Oyster of Portola Valley, and her husband, Carlos Lopez and his six grandchildren Karoline, Camille, Christopher, and Anna Oyster and Alex and Thomas Lopez.

Bob was blessed to have the special care and friendship of Rochester Fan and the Fan Family as well as Taniela (Daniel) Mahe.

Memorial Services will be held at Skylawn Memorial Park at 1 p.m. Wednesday, August 9, 2017. Bob and Toni chose Skylawn as it was symbolic of their first date. They drove north from San Jose, up the Peninsula, turned toward the ocean at Hwy. 92. Later, they found that at Skylawn they enjoyed the view both of the ocean and the Peninsula. This would be where they would rest ... together ... here and for eternity.

Bob believed in leaving a place better than he found it. His generosity knew no bounds. Whether it was a commitment of time and energy, fundraising or a financial commitment of his own, he was involved.

If you would like to know why he committed so much to others, get involved. It is truly energizing. If you don’t quite know how to fit it into your already busy schedule, choose a charity close to your heart and make a donation in his name, or feel free to support his causes.