The St. James the Lesser and St. Thomas windows are located in the Gospel side aisle at St. Mark’s.
The windowe were given in memory of Dr. & Mrs. Francis B. Settle and Mr. & Mrs. Norman L. Dorn by William and Eleanor Dorn Settle.
The St. James the Lesser and St. Thomas windows were designed by Cummings Glass Studio, San Francisco and cost $1,046 each. Both are 28″ x 72″. They were installed in 1959.
The St. James the Less and St. Thomas windows on the Gospel side of the church were given in memory of four people who were not actually members of St. Mark’s. The windows were given by two long-time parishioners, Eleanor and Bill Settle, in memory of their parents. The Settles joined St. Mark’s sometime in the 1950’s and were both actively involved in church leadership for many, many years. Eleanor, in particular, was a force in her role as head of the Altar Guild for 20 years (but that’s another article!). Both were also very active in Palo Alto community groups and events.
Frank Boas and Anna Marquardt Settle
The St. James the Lesser window is in memory of Francis Boas and Anna Marquardt Settle. Born in 1891 in Blackwell, Missouri, Frank grew up on a farm (1900 US Census). He was the only boy in the family and had three sisters. Frank graduated from University of Missouri in 1912 and went to medical school at St. Louis University (1918) (Press-Telegram). During World War I he was a first Lieutenant, serving at the Medical Reserve Corps at St. Louis Marine Hospital. In 1919, Frank did a surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. In 1921 he moved to Long Beach, California. He lived in Long Beach for the rest of his life and worked as a surgeon for over 40 years. He was active in many social and professional organizations in Long Beach – everything from the Los Angeles Surgical Society to the Virginia Country Club to the Long Beach Recreation Park Lawn Bowling Club (Press-Telegram). Dr. Frank Settle died in 1975.
Anna Marquardt grew up in Dodge, Minnesota in very difficult circumstances. Her parents were both from Germany and were farmers (US Census). Anna’s father died when Anna was only 1:
“…run over by the evening express and killed while intoxicated. A wife and seven small children in destitute circumstances survive him.” (St. Paul Globe Express).
Anna was the youngest of the seven siblings and so didn’t remember her father and grew up in poverty. After her father’s death, her mother lost the farm. Anna’s older siblings ‘worked out’ as servants to help support the family, and all the children had to leave school and work as soon as they were able. Anna became a nurse and that is how, around 1920, she met Frank Settle while he was doing his surgery training at the Mayo Clinic (US Census). Frank and Anna were married in 1921 (U.S. Census) and moved to Long Beach where their son, William, was born in 1922. Frank was prosperous surgeon and in Long Beach Anna was very active socially and must have had strong leadership skills. The Women’s World section of the Long Beach Press-Telegram are full of her activities as chairman of the Junior Matrons, president of the Long Beach Assistance League, bridge luncheons at the Virginia Country Club, and other parties and teas. Bill Settle was the couple’s only child. Anna Settle died in 1988.
Norman Lester and Maude Smith Dorn
Norman Lester Dorn was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He had one sister. His father was a postman. Norman attended college at University of Nevada and graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1913. He was a member of Alpha Epsilon fraternity and played on the football team. During World War I he served as an engineer in the army. After the war he worked in various mine and power companies in Nevada, then went to work in Oilfield, Kern County as an oil engineer. In 1925 he moved to Signal Hill Nevada to work for Shell Oil Co. at the Signal Hill field. Finally, he moved to Long Beach, California where he lived for the rest of his life. Norman was known as a “leader in both local and national oil production organizations.” (Los Angeles Times). He eventually manufactured oil field equipment and was executive vice president of Lane Wells Co. oil drilling machinery and consulting and company in Los Angeles at the time of his death. Throughout his life, Norman was active in all kinds of professional and community organizations – the Scottish Rite bodies, the Kerak Shrine Temple, the Virgina Country Club, the American Petroleum Institute, the Nomads of Los Angeles and on and on. Norman was only 62 when he died in 1952.
Maud Smith Dorn was born in Butte, Montana in 1894. Her father worked as a bookkeeper. In 1908 the family moved to Ely, Nevada where her father owned and managed the Ely Power and Light Company. Maude had four siblings, grew up and went to school in Ely, and attended Dana Hall in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She met Norman Dorn while he was working in Nevada, and the couple were married in White Pines, Nevada in August of 1919. Maude and Norman’s daughter (and only surviving child) Eleanor, was born in Long Beach in 1923. Maude and Norman ran in all the same social circles as the Settles and the Long Beach Newspapers list all of her many charitable and community activities in the Assistance League and other charitable organizations, various bridge luncheons and teas, and other social activities. She died in 1951, just a year before Norman.
Eleanor Dorn and Bill Settle were married in 1946 and moved to Palo Alto while Bill finished his degree at Stanford. They were both only children so although neither the Dorns or the senior Settles were members of St. Mark’s, they traveled to the Bay Area frequently to visit and certainly attended services at St. Mark’s while they were here. They are remembered today side by side with two beautiful windows, at a place that was an important part of the lives of their only children.
