The Celebration of a Lifetime

On Saturday, Jan. 16 community leaders, friends, and family gathered together at Brookdale Assisted Living Center to celebrate the 100th birthday of Evelyn Richmond. The party was given by her granddaughters Lauron Pedroza and Morai Hubbard. “When she bought an outfit for her 100th birthday we knew we wanted to do something special for her. She needed something to look forward to,” said Hubbard, “It was a milestone for her, and I think she was pretty surprised by all the people who came. For her, she feels everyone is gone, she has outlived them. It is hard to outlive your child, your husband or your siblings. That is probably the hardest thing for her is having outlived everyone. It was good for her to see she really hasn’t.” “This is to celebrate and for her to see how much we love her,” said Richmond’s niece, Nancy Cole. Richmond was able to celebrate her birthday surrounded by three generations of family members, close friends, and community members. Grand Terrace Mayor, Darcy McNaboe, and Councilmember Bill Hussey visited Richmond and presenting her with a certificate of recognition from the city. Richmond also received a certificates of recognition from the City of Colton, State of California Senator 20th District Connie M Leyva, and California Legislate Assemblymember 47th District Cheryl R. Brown. Richmond is the oldest of five children; she had two brothers and two sisters. She was born Jan. 19, 1916 near Topeka, Kansas and grew up on a farm. After graduating high school at 16, Richmond married her husband Cleon. "We were high school sweet hearts," Richmond said. The two were married for 52 years. “They were soul mates, for sure,” Hubbard said. After Pearl Harbor in 1942, Richmond, her husband, moved to Santa Monica where her husband worked in the aircraft industry for companies such as North American. Later, they were transferred to Long Beach and would settle to in the Torrance area. Richmond's family, including her parents and siblings would join her in California. The couple had a son, Cleon Jr., who worked as a junior high teacher. He taught art, drafting, math, fine arts, and science. He was also the art specialist for Rialto schools. The couple moved from Torrance to Rialto in 1970. "We moved to Rialto when we retired. My son had two daughters by then and we wanted to be near them," Richmond said. Both Hubbard and Pedroza enjoyed having their grandparents near by as they grew up and built fond traditions and memories with them. “One of my favorite memories was when I would go to my grandparents at Christmas time, we made cookies every year, it was a family tradition,” Hubbard said. “The time together in the kitchen was a warm, safe place, with good memories,” Pedroza added. The couple purchased a farm home in Rialto where they had a garden with vegetables and fruits for Richmond to can. “They were very mid-west,” Hubbard added. Richmond’s husband passed in 1984 from lung cancer. After the passing of her husband, Richmond traveled with her sister Ritia. They traveled overseas, visiting Russia, Scandinavian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and the Caribbean. "One of the cruises we were on, stopped and stayed the night is St. Petersburg. Many wanted to go visit Moscow, we stayed and visited the sights in St. Petersburg. It was quite an experience," Richmond said. Richmond also did volunteer work, working as a teacher’s assistant for her granddaughter's classroom and as a cashier for 18 years at St. Katherine’s thrift store. Additionally, Richmond participated in a crochet club in Rialto, where she helped make afghans, lap blankets, caps, and scarves for the VA hospital and beanies for preemies at Loma Linda Hospital. For Pedroza, she appreciated the support Richmond gave her with her own kids. “It was wonderful, when I had my daughter, she would come like clockwork on Mondays and would care for my kids. She was very supportive of me while I raised my kids,” Pedroza said. Six years ago, Richmond settled in Grand Terrace to live closer to her granddaughter Pedroza. "Even after she moved to Grand Terrace she was helping. At 100, I can call and she will still help me with getting things together for school,” Pedroza said. The festivities included a video with pictures from Richmond’s life and timeline of the events in history she had witnessed. The video was made by Richmond’s great granddaughter Alexis (Ali) Pedroza. “My favorite memory with her was when I would go over to her house over the summer and she taught me how to sew. I would get so frustrated if my seams were not perfect, I would go over to her and she would tell me ‘nope gotta rip it out again’.” “If she was going to teach you something you were going to do it right. We all got that from her,” Hubbard commented. “She is one of my best friends,” said Richmond’s niece, Nancy Cole. “Evelyn was always there for us. She is my family history and my common history. My family history is before I was born about my mom and my great grandmother. She is my common history because of the things we have experienced together. She brings a connection to my family, to my mother who was the youngest, and my favorite cousin, her son. She is my friend and my confidant.” For Richmond the celebration meant a great deal, "It was quite an occasion, I was very pleased. The girls did a great job and great deal of work. It was rewarding to see so many people who remembered me. I now know I touched more lives then I realized."