Lucy Jazzux

1933 - 2018

Lucy Jazzux, also known as Lucy Cadena, a long-time community advocate, died peacefully at home on June 20, 2018 surrounded by family. Born in San Francisco on December 17, 1933, she met and married Raymond Cadena in 1951 and they were blessed with six children. In 1963 the family moved from the Bay Area to the then rural and unincorporated town of Windsor. The neighborly community introduced the Cadena family to 4-H and the Grange where they were active members for many years. Soon after arriving, Lucy, a self-sufficient woman, realized she needed to know how to drive a car. This was among the first of many challenges she would face and conquer in her new home. She put that vital skill to use when she became involved in the Head Start program as a community worker, parent coordinator, teacher's aide and finally as a teacher-director. One of her earliest accomplishments was the conversion of a closed storefront along Old Redwood Hwy into a Head Start Center. As a leader and organizer, she recruited volunteers from across the entire community, from Santa Rosa to Healdsburg, as well as her own family, to assist with remodeling the new center. When other Head Start centers were established in Sonoma County, Lucy became one of the founding members of the Sonoma County Head Start Council and was elected as its first president serving for many years. In 1967, Lucy was awarded an Honorary Life Membership by the Windsor Elementary School PTA in recognition of her ability to mobilize resources to assist families.

Lucy was actively involved in the founding and early stages of many community-based organizations, including: KBBF 89.5, the first Spanish-English bilingual radio station in the country, established in 1973; Mujeres Unidas, the only Latina women's organization in Sonoma County; and Alliance Alianza Medical Center. In addition, she was involved in Latinos Unidos and the North Bay Chicano Educators Association. Also dear to Lucy's heart was the Catholic Church. Her house was often the site for folk masses which inspired her to work toward the establishment of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Windsor. In 1981, Lucy was honored by the California Human Development Corporation for her contributions to the Latino community in Sonoma County.

In 2006, Lucy along with Alejandra Holmes, both 73, joined forces with Get on the Bus, a nonprofit program that arranges for incarcerated mothers to see their children just before Mother's Day. In lieu of flowers, the family request carrying forward Lucy's legacy by donating to any of the following organizations: RAICES, KIND or Safe Passage Project.

She is survived by children and their spouses: Anita Sanchez (Steve), Raymond (Bernadette), Antonio (Duana), Dolores Borton (Ray), Roberto (Patricia), and Ricardo (Rosella). As well as 14 grandchildren: Ruben, Samuel, Jose, Felicia, Jesse, Mercedes, Daniqua, Carlos, Raina and Nathan Cadena, David Juarez, Gabrielle Bouck, Sara and Laura Sanchez, eight great-grandchildren Armani Wynne, Elijah and Idris Richardson, Michael Howard, Alexandra, Kendall, and her namesake, Lucy Cadena. In addition, Lucy leaves behind her sister Cecilia Collins and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by Ralph Jazzux who she married in 1985 and by whose side she will be laid to rest. Visitation/Celebration of her life will be held Sunday, July 1, 2018 from 2 - 5 p.m. at Eggen & Lance Chapel, 1540 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa. A funeral mass will be said Monday, July 2, 2018 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 8400 Old Redwood Hwy, Windsor. Burial service at Shiloh District Cemetery to be followed by a reception at the Windsor Mobile Country Club Community Center. Lucy December 17, 1933 - Jazzux June 20, 2018