Hall of Fame 2009
Lorraine Everitt Stucki
Class of 1949
Although her parents
lived on Beach
Road in Watsonville,
Lorraine Everitt Stucki was born in Salinas, California. She and her three sisters and two
brothers grew up on a ranch where their father was a ranch foreman for Resetar
Brothers in the Pajaro Valley.
As a child she attended
Pajaro and Aromas
Elementary Schools. In 1949
she graduated from Watsonville High
School.
Having a dream of teaching primary grades, she worked any job, picking
bush berries, cutting apricots and at the lunch counter at Woolworth's Store to
save every dime to attend the University of California in Berkeley.
Staying focused she was able to do
this.
In the early nineteen
fifties Lorraine married John Stucki and they
moved to Salinas
where she worked many years with the Monterey County Farm Bureau. Later, she and her husband moved to
Siskiyou County in northern California where she taught Kindergarten,
First, and Second grades until the untimely death of her husband. Lorraine returned to Watsonville to be near her sisters and brothers
who now have tragically passed away.
Lorraine pursued a career at Couch Distributing
when she returned to Watsonville. She found this to be an exciting
business, making many lifetime friends in her nearly 21 years there. While employed by
George Couch, Lorraine was exposed to the rewards of
community work by his example.
At her retirement
dinner Lorraine was presented with a Certificate of
Special Congressional Recognition by Congressman Sam Farr and a Legislative
Assembly Resolution by Assemblyman Fred
Keeley.
In 1990 she was
presented the Anheuser-Busch Golden Eagle Award for her exceptional work and
dedication to her community in the 1989 earthquake. Lorraine is the only woman to receive this
special recognition.
In 1994 Lorraine was appointed
and served four years on the Santa Cruz County Fish & Game Commission. In 1999 she was appointed to the Santa
Cruz County Senior Commission and in 2000 she was elected President of the Bay
Village Homeowners Association and served in this demanding office for several
years. Lorraine was appointed to serve on the Blue Ribbon
Committee for Sustainable Resources by the City of Watsonville and is part of
the Pajaro River Task Force working to secure a river levee
project.
In 2004 Lorraine was
the recipient of a Proclamation from the City of Watsonville for Service to the
Community, in 2005 she was presented the Paul Harris Fellow Award by the Rotary
Foundation of Rotary International and in 2006 she was selected Woman of the
Year by the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and
Agriculture.
Currently, Lorraine serves on the Santa Cruz County Zone 7 Flood
Control Board, the Board of Directors of Independence Square - housing for
elderly and disabled in Watsonville, and the Watsonville Salvation Army
Advisory Board of Directors.
Lorraine states she is dedicated to her community
and the needs of all.
This Web Page Created with
PageBreeze Free Website Builder