Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, July 28, 2018

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Mountain View News Saturday, July 28, 2018 


WALKING SIERRA MADRE... The Social Side By Deanne Davis

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings 
in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours 
through and shines down upon us to let us know 
they are happy.”

 Do you think there are parades in heaven? With 
floats and princesses who ride on them and wave 
at all the saints and angels? Maybe! And if there 
are, our friend, Donna Sutcliffe, is organizing the 
princesses, making sure they sit up straight, don’t 
chew gum, and smile at everyone.

 For more years than we can remember, probably 
from about 1990 on, Doug and Donna Sutcliffe 
worked on the Sierra Madre Rose Float. Doug as 
a fix-it guy, bringing all those years of experience 
at JPL as a Fabrication Engineer to work on our 
float until he took up residence in heaven in 2013. 
Remember the float that year? The Sky’s The Limit 
with the little fishing boat with Doug’s name on it? 
Donna and the family were so pleased to see him 
honored that way. And now, we honor Donna for 
all the years she spent as the Sierra Madre Rose 
Princess Wrangler. It will be hard to find someone 
to take her place.

 After a year of being in and out of the hospital, 
suffering the effects of leukemia, but never losing 
her optimistic spirit, even after eight solid weeks 
of hospital food, the family got permission to 
celebrate last Thanksgiving there in the cafeteria 
– bringing in the turkey and all the fixings. They 
celebrated! Donna left her family and friends on 
July 22, 2018 – just days after celebrating her 83rd 
birthday, which was a joyful event on several levels, 
not only was it her birthday, but she had just been 
released from the hospital and was ready to party! 
Son, Andrew, raced to Baskin-Robbins and found 
the perfect party confection – not just an ordinary 
old cake, but ice cream cones with sherbet! He 
bundled 83 birthday candles together, lit them for 
her to blow out, and you may remember a light in 
the sky on July 11th – Donna’s birthday candles! 
They celebrated! Last New Year’s Eve day, Donna 
was able to watch the float safety test and final 
judging, again, just after escaping the hospital. 
Another celebration!

 Donna’s parents, Irma Wanda Stewart and 
Melvin Orval Stewart, residents of Kansas, 
welcomed their new little girl on July 11, 1935. 
The family moved to California and Donna 
attended PCC. She met Doug Sutcliffe at The 
Church of Truth, their lifelong family church, just 
before he left to serve his country in the Korean 
conflict. They met again when he returned and 
were married in 1956 at, of course, The Church 
of Truth. The Sutcliffe’s moved to their first home 
on Montecito in 1956 and became lifelong Sierra 
Madreans. They moved to the home on Alegria, 
the former residence of C.W. Jones, the first mayor 
of Sierra Madre, in 1969. This home, built in 1906 
was a great place for Lynn and Andrew to grow 
up, along with the Blakeslee, Witter, Davis and 
Biely kids. And, of course, the family participated 
in the Halloween celebrations in a BIG way, Lynn 
as a witch up on the balcony, shrieking through 
the night, a coffin on the lawn with a Dracula 
rising up out of it. Good times! Donna left the 
house on Alegria to move into a charming condo 
on Sierra Madre Blvd. in 2013. It is now the home 
of Wyatt and Renee Sullivan, who have continued 
the Alegria Halloween tradition with great 
enthusiasm!

 Donna served for many years as the Wedding 
Hostess at Church of Truth, guiding countless 
brides and grooms through their rehearsal, 
making sure they knew what to do, where to 
stand, what to do with the bouquet, how to get 
the ring in place without dropping it when the big 
moment arrived, and then sending the brides and 
bridesmaids down the aisle during their weddings. 
She also served in this capacity at Santa Anita 
Church in Arcadia. But Donna’s first love was the 
Sierra Madre Rose Float and the princesses. She 
was so very proud of these young ladies and, in 
fact, for many years held the princess teas at their 
home on Alegria.

 Donna’s memorial service will be Saturday, 
August 11 at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Truth, 
690 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena 91104. 
Donna was able to spend her last days at home 
with her family, all of whom look forward to 
seeing you. Donna leaves her son, Andrew, 
daughter, Lynn (Dan) Turpin, and grandchildren 
Christopher, Samantha, Ashley and Jacob. She 
was pre-deceased by her brother, Darrell Stewart.

 This service will be a true celebration of Donna’s 
life as she left definite instructions about what she 
most definitely did NOT want to have happen: 

1. Don’t let anyone say, “She’s in a better place!”

2. No singing Amazing Grace! 

 Instead The Desiderata by Max Ehrmann will 
be read:

 “Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in 
silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.”

 

 Donna Sutcliffe was a gentle, humble, kind 
person with a heart for her community and her 
family. 

“With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.”

 My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Kindle books of all sorts and hardcover 
“Tablespoon of Love” are on there,

 as is “Star of Wonder.”

 Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! 
Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

 Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.
com/@playwrightdd


SIERRA JUICE COMPANY GETS NEW OWNER – 
3RD GENERATION SIERRA MADREAN

Sierra Juice Company has changed ownership. 
After 15-years of dedicated support and love 
for the Sierra Madre community, Nora Graham 
recently sold the business to Sierra Madre resident 
and 3rd-generation Sierra Madrean, Jed Reitman.

 Reitman is the father of two children at Sierra 
Madre Middle School. His grandparents, Norman 
and Annemarie Davidson moved to Sierra 
Madre in 1952 from Chicago for a teaching and 
research position at Caltech. Annemarie was a 
copper enamellist, her work displayed around 
town, at the Long Beach Museum of Art and in 
the Huntington Library. The Davidsons raised 4 
children in Sierra Madre – Terry, Laureen, Jeff and 
Brian. 

 The “New Sierra Juice Company” will feature 
fresh vegetable and fruit juices, smoothies, acai 
bowls, sandwiches, salads, hot-dogs, rice bowls, 
spring rolls, and vegan specialties like the “Cali 
Cheesesteak” and “Sierra Super-Torta”.

 “Our mission is to deliver health and vitality 
through the freshest, highest quality foods 
available,” said Reitman. “Health is wealth!”

 Other new features include a loyalty program, 
call-in orders and local discounts.

New hours will be 7am-7pm, 7-days/week


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com