Remembering former Santa Clarita Mayor Jo Anne Darcy
Richard Darcy, right, talks about his mother, Jo Anne Darcy, during a memorial service on Sunday in Newhall. Darcy, a former Santa Clarita mayor, died on Oct. 29.
Dozens of Santa Clarita residents occupied the seats at the Newhall Family Theatre on Sunday for a special service honoring former Santa Clarita Mayor Jo Anne Darcy, who passed away at the age of 86 on Oct. 29.
During the service, Mayor Pro Tempe Laurene Weste introduced an emotional audio slideshow full of pictures and interviews showing Darcy’s involvement in the SCV community.
“Jo Anne was a leader. She couldn’t wait till the job was done,” said Weste. “She could’ve led a regiment into battle and she would’ve been followed by everyone.”
Sitting front and center were family members of Darcy, including her daughter Joleen, who spent the last eight years taking care of her mother.
Community leaders and local elected politicians offered their condolences to the Darcy family and presented her daughter with multiple framed certificates and awards. She was thanked for multiple successful initiatives she was responsible for, including the creation of the SCV Senior Center.
Speakers included Senator Scott Wilk, Dante Acosta, Rosalind Wayman on behalf of Supervisor Kathryn Barger and Brent Robinson, on behalf of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris.
“Our future successes will be on the foundation that Jo Anne Darcy helped provide,” said Hunt Braly, a former member of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce who worked alongside Darcy for various projects.
She played an influential role in Santa Clarita’s successful push for cityhood in 1987 and served on the Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee, the Small Business Development Center Business Survival Committee and the College of the Canyons Special Task Force on Small Business.
Along with the success of Santa Clarita, Darcy advocated for women’s empowerment by way of the Zonta Club. She served as founding officer and president.
“If she was here, and if she could remember all of this, it would mean the world to her,” said her son Richard Darcy in a closing remark. “She’s now in a better place, and she will accept all of your tributes as kindness and as friendship.”