Lucy C. Duron

Lucy Cornejo Duron born in 1928 was the youngest of five children. She grew up in Orange, California and from 1st to 6th grade she attended the Cypress Street School. From there she went to junior high and graduated from Orange High School in 1946.

Lucy along with her sisters and cousins was socially and physically active. They would go to dances from Tijuana to Los Angeles and spent lots of time at the beach. In fact, Lucy helped “build” Holy Family Cathedral. She attended many dances that were fundraisers for the construction of the church.

Lucy was the shortstop on the 1947 Orange County Championship Women’s Softball Team “The Tomboys”. These teams have become subjects of academic research and have been credited for building a strong sense of community pride and the emerging Mexican American identity. Lucy has been interviewed by historians and social scientists from the OC Historical Society, the Orange Historical Society, and students researching their masters and doctoral thesis from Cal Poly Pomona, UCI, Cal State LA and Cal State Fullerton. But more important to her family, it was where she met Frank Harvey Duron, her husband of 56 years. They had 4 excellent children, Susanna, Alexander, Deanna and Rosanne.

Lucy’s first job was working in a packing house and then as an Avon lady. Lucy was the president of the Mothers’ Guild at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Santa Ana and organized many successful fundraisers. In her 40’s, Lucy went to adult school and received a certificate to become a medical assistant.

Lucy was diagnosed with MDS, Myelodysplastic Syndrome a form of leukemia, 11 years ago. With a strong faith in God, the help of science and an excellent medical team at St Jude’s, Fullerton she made the most of those years. She died peacefully surrounded by her family.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee or Luevano Foundation at LuevanoFoundation.org

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