BETTY JUNE (CLARK) DELUCCHI
1924-2021
Betty June DeLucchi (née Clark), age 96, died in Pasadena, California on Wednesday January 13, 2021. She is survived by son Paul DeLucchi, his wife Lisa, daughter Diane Cullinane, her husband Bill, daughter Joan Parish, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Also survived by siblings Jean Brown, George Clark and David Clark.
Betty was born June 3, 1924 in San Pedro, California, the first child of Julian Duncan Clark and LaRue Mowery Clark. Soon the family moved to Redwood City, California, the Clark home for the next 60 years.
After graduating from Sequoia High School, Betty worked for a year as a welder in a defense industry plant before joining a US Army Nurse Corps training program at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco. Achieving her RN certificate in 1946 she enrolled at UC Berkeley, where she met USAF Captain Milton DeLucchi (also of Redwood City) who would be her husband for 29 years.
Betty had a long, full and busy life. She and her husband lived in several U.S. states before moving to Brussels, Belgium in 1957; then to Van Nuys, California; Houston and Seabrook, Texas; and finally to Pasadena, California. She was an active nurse for decades, with particular focus on Intensive Care and In-Service Training.
Betty was a lifelong student of philosophy, history, art, sociology, religion, music and language. She was the author of four books; “Betty June”, her memoir of the Great Depression and World War II, is a noteworthy first-person account of that historical era in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Betty also was an avid equestrian. She built and operated the Lucky D Stables in Texas, achieving numerous awards for her riding skills, writing “Our Horses” about the people and animals there. She was an excellent swimmer, scuba diver, carpenter, seamstress, embroiderer, artist, and teacher. Any roster of her adventures is sure to be incomplete, as she did so much over so many years.
Betty built lasting friendships wherever she went. Her enthusiasm and passion for life will be missed.
At Betty’s request, no formal services will be held. A memorial event will be held some time in 2022, probably near Seabrook, Texas, an area that she always remembered fondly.
Contact email: pauldelucchi@earthlink.net.