Paula Bacon

March 17, 1951 - February 24, 2023 Paula Bacon was born in Stockton, CA on March 17, 1951, a seventh-generation native Californian and the first child of Stanley Bacon and Helen Hicks. The young family, which soon included brother Christopher, lived in student housing while Stan obtained his graduate degree in Electrical Engineering at Cal. Because money was tight during these years the family's "entertainment" consisted of dozens of camping trips throughout Northern California from which Paula developed a lifelong love of, and respect for, nature and the natural world.
A few years later the family moved to Los Angeles, where Stan began a decades-long teaching career at Cal Tech. The family soon grew to include the youngest brother, Andrew. Paula graduated from Chatsworth High School - bangs on her forehead, long straight blond hair, and the most beautiful green eyes, she was an OG Valley Girl for sure. She then attended Immaculate Heart College, where she studied Art with Sister Mary Corita Kent. It was Sister Mary Corita's influence, combined with the liberal and progressive home environment in which she was raised, that was the bedrock of Paula's life-long commitment to racial equality and social justice. Paula continued her education at Cal State Northridge and, later, at UCLA, ultimately receiving degrees in Art from both of those institutions.
Paula was an accomplished weaver, and, for many years, the largest piece of furniture in her apartment was her loom. She paid the bills during these years as head of the Graphic Arts & Design Department of JT Fashion Printing in downtown Los Angeles. In 1974 Paula met Steven Archer and in 1984 they were married. All marriages have their ups and downs, their good times and bad, and theirs was no exception. Yet come what may, through almost 40 years, they remained committed to, supportive of, and truly and deeply in love with each other.
Their only child, daughter Rachel, was born in 1991. Paula was an involved, hands-on Mom and her daughter's biggest cheerleader. When Rachel was attending boarding school and was homesick, Paula would write her a letter every single day, often enclosing pictures of Zac Efron that she'd cut out of teen magazines to brighten her day.
During the next decade, Paula overcame some serious health challenges, became a friend of Bill W., and retired to spend time focused on her family and a small circle of friends. She was absolutely the most honest person that you could ever meet and the most loyal friend that you could ever wish to have. She was unfailingly polite, but could become a real Mama Bear in defense of her loved ones.
Paula's later interests included creating tile collages, driving Formula A race cars at Laguna Seca Raceway and the Phoenix International Speedway (where she went wheel-to-wheel with and beat several professional drivers), and traveling. Acapulco was a favorite destination where she and Steven, and later also Rachel, would spend Thanksgiving week with a small group of friends every year.
After Rachel's marriage and move to Utah, she gave birth to a son, Jacob Martz. Jake was Paula's only grandchild, she was in the delivery room when he was born, and she absolutely adored him. For the first two years of his life, Paula would drive from Los Angeles to Utah one week a month to help new mom Rachel, and to care for and get to know Jake. She always scheduled her drives, so she'd be able to stay overnight in Cedar City, Utah because she'd found a restaurant there that had free pie on Wednesdays. Paula and her "Jakey" had a special bond and remained extremely close for the rest of her life.
After Stan, Helen, and Christopher had passed away, and after living in Los Angeles for over 55 years, Paula and Steven decided to look for a new place to live. During a trip to Mendocino County in 2016 Paula remembered those early family camping trips and felt at home, again, in the redwoods. Paula and Steven left Los Angeles and moved to Gualala, CA in 2017, 40 miles from the closest traffic light, where they lived in a house in the middle of a grove of redwood trees overlooking the ocean. Eagles and whales could be seen from the deck, there were deer in the yard and the trees were filled with woodpeckers, robins, ravens, and jays.
Paula was smart as a whip and had the most incredible memory. She remembered what she'd eaten at a sidewalk Trattoria in Bologna, Italy in 1986 - and she remembered what Steven had eaten that night as well. She loved a good mystery and, maddeningly, was always the first to figure out who did it. She also loved science fiction (especially fantasy) and music. All kinds of music. Bach, Brahms, and anything by The Academy of Ancient Music were among her favorites. While her regular playlist included The Beatles, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Queen, Talking Heads, Little Feat, The Clash, and Arcade Fire, among others. David Bowie and Bruce Springsteen each held a special place in the history of her relationship with Steven, and they were her absolute favorite artists. Jean Genie, Life on Mars
, Heroes, Thunder Road, Born to Run and Rosalita echoed throughout the house several times each week. If Paula were here now, she'd ask you to play them again - loud - and she'd sing along. She had perfect pitch.
"Show a little faith, there's magic in the night" was one of Paula's favorite Springsteen lyrics and was tattooed on her wrist. One of her favorite Bowie lyrics was "We could steal time just for one day, we can be heroes forever and ever." She thought that "Romeo and Juliet" by Dire Straits was the most beautiful song she had ever heard, and she cried every time she listened to it.
Life was good in Gualala, but Paula's health gradually worsened and, because of her many high-risk factors, the COVID-19 epidemic was a real challenge. Paula beat that challenge for 3 years but, in the end, it was the Bomb Cyclone storm in early January followed by a 9-day power outage with continued storms and cold weather that led to a "mild" case of pneumonia that was the tipping point. Paula's health rapidly declined, she was hospitalized in January and returned home to the redwoods for hospice care. Even as her health continued to decline, she still loved going out onto the deck to enjoy nature and to be among the redwoods.
Paula passed away peacefully, with Steven, Rachel, Andrew, her dogs (Fenway, Leelou Multi-Pass, and Gibson), and cats (Yolanda, Bella, and Niecy) by her side. Paula is survived by her husband, Steven Archer, daughter, Rachel Archer, grandson, Jacob Martz, brother, Andrew Bacon, nieces Sarah Bacon and McKai Bacon, and nephew Matthew Bacon and is lovingly remembered by her close circle of friends - you know who you are.
It all rolls into one
And nothing comes for free
It seems like all this life
Was just a dream
Bunny, Mama, Mamaw - we miss you so very much.
In keeping with her wishes, Paula's ashes will be set to rest at the base of a Monument Redwood in the Better Places Forest in Point Arena, CA later this Spring. Paula's redwood includes both the original 75-foot tall 100-year-old tree and three offshoots which have grown together at the base and resemble a Faerie's Ring, which would have appealed to Paula's love of fantasy. Paula's redwood enjoys early morning sun, her favorite time of the day, and another of her favorites, rhododendron bushes, are nearby.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions in Paula's name be made to the Save The Redwoods League at savetheredwoods.org.