Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, March 20, 2021

Mountain Views News Saturday, March 20, 2021 15MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH Mountain Views News Saturday, March 20, 2021 15MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH 
SIERRA MADRE HISTORY MAKERS: Creating A Path For Future Generations of Women! 

MAYOR RACHELLE ARIZMENDI AND 

Arizmendi was the first person of color in Sierra Madre’s history to hold a council seat when she 
was elected in 2014. She served as mayor in 2017, becoming the first Asian American in the role, 
and was subsequently re-elected to office to serve another four-year term on the council in 2018. 
Earlier this year, she was chosen to serve another term as Mayor. 

Before being elected, Arizmendi served on the city’s Community Services Commission for five 
years. 

“Running for office was not a consideration in my adult life. I simply became more involved in 
my community when my husband, dog, and I settled into our new home in a city where I knew 
no one. I thought joining the Community Services Commission would be a perfect place to meet 
new people and volunteer my talent. As I became more involved in the community, I was compelled 
to fight for the qualities of the little village I fell in love with — that were possibly being 
challenged,” Arizmendi told the Asian Journal in a 2019 interview. 

The statement above sums up Arizmendi's feelings regarding the future: 


SMPD CHIEF (RETIRED) MARILYN DIAZ 

Los Angeles County's First Female Police Chief 

In 1974 Marilyn Diaz began her career when she 
was hired as the first woman to be directly assigned 
as a patrol officer in the Pasadena Police 
Department. She promoted through the ranks, 
and in 2006 Marilyn retired as a Commander, 
where she led the Administrative Services and 
Field Operations Divisions. 

In March of 2006 Marilyn was appointed as Sierra 
Madre’s Chief of Police. Chief Diaz was the 
first woman in Los Angeles County to become 
chief of a municipal police department. Marilyn 
retired from the Sierra Madre Police Department 
in December 2011. 


Marilyn 
Diaz 
has 
served on the boards of Women at Work, 
Boy Scouts of America, Pacific Clinics, and 
the Caltech Women’s Club. Marilyn also 
serves as a docent for the Caltech Architectural 
Tour Service, and is on the Caltech 
Women’s Club Board. Marilyn is a Past 
President of the Rotary Club of Sierra Madre 
for 2013-2014. She also teaches Youth Protection 
at the Rotary District level.

 
Marilyn Diaz has received numerous 
awards and citations for outstanding professional 
and civic service, including, partial 
listing, the Pasadena YMCA Woman of 
Excellence Award. She too is committed to 
paving the way for young women leaders of 
the future. 

SIERRA MADRE'S UNSUNG HEROINES* 

*Local author Joan Frederick of Sierra Madre has recently published a 
retrospective look at 200 women from 1895 until the present and their 
impact on the development of Sierra Madre, and the social/philanthropic 
group The Priscillas. There are lots of photos, history and info about 
where they lived as well as early history of Sierra Madre. 

In this week's Women's History Month spotlight, , we are sharing excerpts 
from the book which focuses on two of our current history making heroines 
profiled in the book. 

Call 626-355-2455 and arrange to buy a copy ($20) today! 


NINA LEA SHEARER BARTOLAI 

Nina Lea Shearer was born in 1937 to Harold Leonard 
Shearer and Ura May Snider in Los Angeles, CA. The 
family moved to Sierra Madre in 1940 to the Canyon on 
Woodland Drive, and Nina became a Sierra Madre Girl! 
She attended Sierra Madre School, Muir High School 
and Pasadena City College, finishing her three-year AA 
degree in nursing at Huntington Memorial Hospital. 

Nina Met Clem Bartolai while they were students at 
PCC. They got married in 1960 in Alhambra California. 
Clem worked at JPL and Nina worked in a 
OB-GYN doctor’s office until their first daughter was 
born - Renee Bartolai Smith. Next came Lisa Bartolai 
Brandley. 

During her years at home, Nina was the leader of the 
girls’ Brownie and Girl Scout Troops, and volunteered 
in their classrooms at Sierra Madre School. 

When the girls were older, Nina went back to work in 
her old office, and then as a nurse in a pediatric doctors’ 
office. And, she continued to volunteer within the community. 
The Lady Lions, The Rose Float Association, 
the Sierra Madre Historical Society, and the Friends of 
the Sierra Madre Library all received her time, attention 
and love. 

Nina and her granddaughter still act as docents at the 
annual Wistaria Festival every March here in town, 
and she served on the Board of Trustees for the Sierra 
Madre Public Library and on the Senior Commission. 
Clem’s list of community activities is equally long, he 
was even Mayor 3 times, and in 2016, the couple was 
honored by being chosen Citizens of the Year by the Sierra 
Madre Chamber of Commerce, serving as Grand Marshals of the 4th of July Parade that same year. 
(Clem was instrumental in organizing the first 4th of July Parade in the 1960’s while he was president of 
the Lions Club). The couple has two granddaughters and continue to be active in town -another of our 

wonderful Priscillas. 

Nina Bartolai 


PATRICIA 'PAT' ZDARSKY ALCORN 

Patricia Zdarsky was born in 1936 in Los Angeles, CA to Charles Zdarsky (and Dorothy Almira Matson. She grew up in Altadena, CA, 
attending Muir High School and Pasadena City College. Pat met Deloyce Alcorn at PCC. Seems that De was attending Caltech and 
needed some undergraduate courses so was taking chemistry at PCC. They met as chemistry lab partners and made some chemistry 
of their own. The couple was married in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1956. They have two sons – Alan Eric Alcorn and Mark Randel Alcorn. 
They began their married life living in Pasadena. 

In 1964, Pat and De bought a small house in the Canyon on Alta Vista Drive (Sierra Madre) with plans to build their dream house on an 
adjacent lot but those plans changed so in 1970 they bought a larger home on East Grand View Avenue. 

In the mid 1970’s Pat returned to college at Cal Poly Pomona and then went to USC for grad school earning a Masters in social work. 
With this accreditation Pat worked as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Arcadia Methodist Hospital, Casa Colina in Pomona, and at 
Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina where she was Director of the Department of Social Services. 

Within the community Pat was tireless. She served as President of the Sierra Madre Little League Women’s Auxiliary and Civic Club, 
while serving on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Plus she served on School, State and Federal Election Boards from 1963 until 
1994, and was an Inspector for the City of Sierra Madre Elections from 2001-2018. As a delegate from Sierra Madre, she was on the 
Pasadena Commission on Aging, and wrote the bylaws for the Sierra Madre Commission on Aging which today is the Senior Commission. 
She served on the Community Services Commission, the Parks and Facilities Master Plan Update Committee and Senior Master 
Plan Update Committee, the 4th of July Committee, the Mt. Wilson Trail Race Committee, was President of the Sierra MadreFriends of the Library Board and Chair of the Wine and Cuisine Tasting fundraiser for the Friends and was a founding member and 
Board member of the Sierra Madre Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). For all this incredible service Pat was recognized 
as the Older American of the Year in 2011 and then with her husband, in 2017, they were chosen as Citizens of the Year by the Sierra 
Madre Chamber of Commerce. Pat and De were Grand Marshals of the 4th of July Parade in 2014. 

In 1994, Pat and De packed up their belongings, leased their home and embarked on a world tour adventure in a 30’ sailboat, hoping 
to find their perfect retirement spot - anywhere out there in the world. During that time, the couple circumnavigated the globe twice, 
sailing and flying to 21 countries and when the circle was completed in San Diego in 2001, they decided that no place compared to Sierra 
Madre, so they came on home to the most perfect place on earth! And we are so glad to have them back, and grateful that she is a 
Priscilla. The couple has 6 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. 


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