Lucy Dean (Woodworth) Letizia

LUCY DEAN (WOODWORTH) LETIZIA Longtime Redlands resident Lucy Letizia, died Wednesday, April 22, 2009, in Ontario after a lengthy hospitalization due to complications from surgery. She was 79. She was born February 11, 1930, in Los Angeles to Anita and Dean Woodworth. They moved to Yucaipa in 1946, where they built a home. Lucy attended Redlands High School, graduating in 1947, as well as San Bernardino Valley College. She worked for the citrus packing house and distributor Pure Gold in Redlands for many years. She traveled to Hawaii with friends during this time and developed a lifelong love of the islands. She loved the ocean and for many years spent time at her uncle s home on Balboa Island. While participating in a bowling league at Empire Bowl, she met Frank Letizia, who arranged to have her on his team. They married May 27, 1961, in the old Sacred Heart Church in Redlands. They made their home in Redlands, where they raised their two daughters. Lucy worked briefly as a Real Estate agent, followed by several years as a stock broker cashier for Bateman Eichler Hill Richards, which was located in downtown Redlands. After taking off several years to care for her mother at home, she began working for Redlands Unified School District as a secretary. She worked for S.E.R.N. and Mentone Elementary and for Moore Middle School as secretary to the principal, the position from which she retired in 2001, completing over 20 years of service in the district. Lucy was truly a devoted mother, wife and daughter. She loved being a mother. Young at heart, she enjoyed playing with her children, in travels, such as their two trips to Hawaii, visiting them at their homes in Long Beach and San Luis Obispo, in attending concerts and plays, in excursions near home, shopping and dining, or in just staying in having coffee and pancake breakfasts and spending evenings near the fireplace. Always stylish, she visited the hair and nail salon regularly, enjoying the friends she made there. Lucy also enjoyed learning, especially history and languages and the derivation of words and grammar. She loved to read and was an avid newspaper reader, especially the Redlands Daily Facts, as she relished Redlands history. During time off in the summers she looked forward to attending Fourth of July celebrations at the University of Redlands stadium, picnicking on the football field, and the Redlands Theater Festival performances. She was a fan of the actors and often supported the festival by buying season passes even if she didn t plan on using all of them. Lucy was proud to be a third generation Californian of some Irish heritage. She made a trip to Ireland in 1991, where she enjoyed kissing the Blarney Stone and listening to locals singing in a pub. She was a longtime loyal member of Sacred Heart Church, now The Holy Name of Jesus Church. She enjoyed contributing to a variety of charities and organizations, such as the Family Service Association. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1983. She is survived by daughters Teresa Letizia of Redlands and Suzanne Kiel of Orange, California; sons-in-law Jason Topor of Redlands and Jason Kiel of Orange; and many cousins, in-laws and nieces and nephews. Visitation and Rosary is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 30, at Emmerson-Bartlett Memorial Chapel. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday, May 1, at The Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Redlands. Burial will follow at Hillside Memorial Park in Redlands. Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of children.