Published in the Palo Alto Weekly, June 13, 2001

Robert A. Prentice, 28, died in New York City on April 29 of a cerebral hemorrhage, a complication of leukemia. He was born on July 9, 1972 at Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City to the late Beatriz Prentice and Allan E. Prentice.

He attended Los Altos High School, where he was a member of the 1989-90 Main Street Singers, and San Jose State University. He participated at the Palo Alto Children's Theatre from age 8 to age 20 playing roles such as Uncle Pig in "Charlotte's Web", Bob Cratchit in "A Christmas Carol", Mordcha in "Fiddler on the Roof", Nephtali in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and many other roles. He also worked for the City of Palo Alto at the Children's Theatre as a technical assistant during and after his college years.

At San Jose State he played Jacques in "As You Like It," roles in "Working," 33 roles in "A Piece of My Heart," a Vietnam drama. He won awards as best leading male actor and actor of the year at San Jose State. He also studied Classical Clowning in Spain. He was an actor with the Barn Theatre in Michigan and also performed with TheatreWorks, the San Jose Stage, Northside Theatre Productions and Western Stage in Salinas. At the time of his death, he was completing scenic designs for "Henry V" at the New Ensemble Theatre in New York City.

In addition to theater, his interests included Shakespeare, his computer, role-playing games, fantasy football and Jerry Lewis. He is survived by his father, Allan E. Prentice of San Jose; brother, David Prentice and stepmother Linda Jensen of Ashland, Ore.; and grandmother, Isabel Prentice of Toronto, Canada. A celebration of his life will be held at the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Donations may be made in his memory to the Friends of the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 94301.

Published on 11/11/1996 in the Los Altos Town Crier:

Mark Van Horn, a 1988 Los Altos High School graduate, died Oct. 28 in Salt Lake City after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor. He was 26. Van Horn had a passion for music, singing with the noted Los Altos High School Main Street Singers and as part of the Goofy Boys with friend Cory Cullinan; was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served a two-year mission in Germany; and studied at Foothill College before moving to Utah, where he was a multimedia programmer and creator producing CD Roms of Bible stories for children.

He is survived by his wife, Alisa, and 9-month-old son, Mathew Elliot of Salt Lake City; parents, Ted and Verlaine Van Horn of Salt Lake City; and several siblings. Services were held at the LDS Chapel of Cottonwood, 7th Ward Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to the Mathew Elliot Van Horn Education Fund, P.O. Box 510623, Salt Lake City, Utah 84151.



In Memoriam continued