Carla V. Cauwet
Carla V. Cauwet,78, went home to be with the Lord on Oct 9, 2018 after a series of illnesses. Carla was born to John and Helga Anderson in San Francisco on April 9,1940. She graduated from Lowell High School in San Francisco and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from San Francisco State University in 1961. She also did graduate work at Fresno Pacific and Fresno State University.
Carla married Raymond Cauwet in San Francisco on August 19, 1962. He also attended and graduated from San Francisco State where they met. They were blessed with three children, Lorena, Karen and Kenneth.
Carla was a born teacher and spent a lifetime sharing her talents at schools in several states and overseas She began teaching children while in high school and later in college when she served as a camp counselor and swimming instructor. She also taught swimming to people with disabilities at a school affiliated with the university.
Following graduation she taught elementary school in San Carlos, Calif., San Antonio, Texas and Melbourne, Florida. As an Air Force wife, she accompanied her husband to Korea. While in Korea, she taught conversational English at Seoul National University to students preparing to come to the United States.
The family came to Porterville in 1965, when her husband took a public relations position at Porterville College. She took a few years off for family duties and began doing substitute teaching in the Porterville schools. She most enjoyed working at Porterville and Monache High Schools. Her children, who happened to be attending Monache at that time, weren’t overjoyed when she substituted in their classrooms.
She then moved on teach in the Porterville Adult Education Program. She taught both in the G.E.D. and English as a Second Language programs. Following the Vietnam War, large numbers of Hmong individuals migrated to the United States. Many of those immigrants settled in the Porterville area and sought help in assimilating to our culture, including learning this weird language we call, English. She carried out that task admirably, as well as helping them with the G.E.D program . She also taught students from several other countries to learn English and achieve their G.E.D. diplomas. She did, however, have a special place in her heart for her Hmong students. For her efforts on their behalf, she was honored by the Porterville Hmong Community. She retired in 1998.
Carla is survived by her husband, Raymond, and three children: Lorena Ellis of Porterville, Karen Dupont of Clovis, and Kenneth Cauwet of Porterville. In addition, she had five grandchildren: Kasandra Walter, Josh Dupont, Timothy Cauwet, Aimee Cauwet and Corey Ellis. She also had two great grandchildren, Emelia and Cohen Walter.
A memorial service for Carla will be held Saturday, Oct 20 at 10 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 764 West Henderson Ave., Porterville. The family has asked that any donations in her honor should be sent to Trinity Lutheran Church.