Community: Resident’s 101st birthday includes visit from Mayor Frutos

Leora Wilson got the surprise of her life when Burbank Mayor Bob Frutos stopped by her home to wish her a happy 101st birthday.

The mayor presented Wilson with a certificate of congratulations and then knelt down and sang “Happy Birthday” to her.

“Oh my gosh. I’ll never get over this,” said the astonished Wilson. “Thank you so much!”

In addition, Frutos presented Wilson with an “I love Burbank” lapel pin and See’s Candies butterscotch suckers — her favorite.

Wilson was born on Sept. 13, so her birthday was Sunday. Instead of having a big party like last year, she’ll dine out with family members all month.

On her 100th birthday, family and friends gave her a total of 500 See’s suckers and that satisfied her sweet tooth for about seven months.

Still very active, Wilson reads the two local newspapers everyday and does both crossword puzzles — in pen — and completes them and the Word Jumble. She also loves reading books and is currently immersed in a biography on Candice Bergen.

“My mom really is a hoot and has a remarkable sense of humor,” Diane Wilson-Leggewie said. “She laughs easily, which I’m sure has helped her live as long as she has.”

Wilson lives with her daughter and granddaughter Jessica Leggewie in the longtime family home.

Wilson was born in Oklahoma and moved to Fresno, then Los Angeles and came to Burbank in 1941 after she married her husband, Lorin. They raised four children — Dennis, Gary, John and Diane. There are 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

While she was in Fresno, she became part of a trio of young women that traveled up the West Coast promoting Chiclets gum. They distributed samples to customers dressed in green uniforms. While visiting Santa Rosa, she met her future husband Lorin.

“He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was going to the newspaper office to see if they would give me a write up,” she said.

Lorin told her if she got the article published in the newspaper, he would take her and the other girls to dinner.

“And they did and he did,” Wilson said, and the rest is history.

Lorin was a traveling salesman and Wilson was often left at home alone to care for their children. It seemed like the boys always got hurt while he was away, she said.

“My mom should get an award for raising three boys,” her daughter said.

Lorin passed away in 1989.

Granddaughter Jessica Leggewie said what she likes about her grandma is she’s incredibly sassy.

“I think she’s getting sassier the older she gets and I think that’s what keeps her young.”

Grandma always played tricks on her granddaughter when she was a kid.

“You would turn around to get something out of the cupboard and when you came back around, the plate would be gone,” Jessica Leggewie said. “She doesn’t hide things any more but she still has that playful nature.”

Alumni party keeps grads connected

For those who wish they could get a redo of high school, the Burbank-Burroughs Alumni Assn. gives us the chance at the all-year reunion.

The fifth annual party on Saturday night at the Castaway was planned by Gilbert Tobon who reportedly was a popular guy at Burroughs back in 1979. Helping to get the party started were his high school buds and the alumni association.

No need to worry about making conversation with classmates because the buzz throughout the Starlight Room was deafening during social hour, except when a trio of present Burroughs students sang for the 300 guests attending. Displaying perfect pitch were Daniel Guevara, Jeremy Moran and Brighton Thomas who are all members of the Powerhouse choir.

At my 10-year reunion from Burbank High, Class of 1973, I was on the planning committee and greeting people at the door. One classmate stopped in her tracks as she looked in the room filled with familiar faces. “I can’t go in there!” she said to me. I said something like, “They are all your friends! Go on — it will be fun!” and she did.

So when I covered the reunion this year, I hung out in the foyer to do my interviews. But unlike that shy grad back in 1983, everyone I spoke to couldn’t wait to get in there.

Dianne Hart would have graduated with her 1973 peers at Burbank High, but her family moved to San Francisco halfway through fifth-grade at Horace Mann Elementary School. She has kept in contact with a lot of her friends, including Mary Rutherford Gray, also a BHS grad of 1973.

Hart was visiting from Mammoth and Gray invited her to come with her. It was great, Hart said, because she reconnected with a friend from her fifth-grade class.

“It’s totally fun! I’m glad to be here,” Hart said about the reunion party. “I had my eighth birthday, that would have been 1963, here at the Castaway with two friends — I have a picture — and we went to Pickwick ice skating afterward.”

Gina Geraci had some unfinished business to attend to at the reunion. She came with her high school BFF Diane Calascibetta. They are both grads of Burroughs Class of 1978.

It was Geraci’s third time at the reunion and she was there to see someone special, but she wouldn’t divulge his name.

It was the first time Wayne Herron attended the alumni party. He’s a graduate of Burroughs Class of 1983.

“I think it’s marvelous,” he said. “I kinda got disconnected with a lot of my friends so this is a chance to reconnect after many years, but I’ve been going to my individual class reunions.”

It was also the first time at the combined reunion for Lucian Bartoletti, a member of Burbank High Class of 1958.

He admitted that he was kind of a rascal during high school.

“Nothing bad, but we always bent the rules,” he said.

His fond memories of high school included playing football, going to Bob’s Big Boy after the games and racing around town.

Bartoletti lamented his car wasn’t anything special — but he paid for it himself, he said.

To him — that was a big deal!

Zonta grants help single moms find a better life

Noelia Miller is no longer a victim of domestic violence after receiving help from two Burbank nonprofit organizations.

She is getting counseling at the Family Service Agency and her social worker there encouraged her to apply for a Wings grant offered last spring by Zonta Club of Burbank Area. The grant is covering her tuition at the College of Nursing and Technology in Reseda. Her dream is to become a licensed vocational nurse, then a registered nurse.

“I love to help people,” she said. “I like to help them get ready for their day, bathing and putting on makeup.”

When she was in the abusive marriage, she thought she would never be happy again.

“I want to tell other women to never give up or stop dreaming,” she said. “Now I have another chance and I’m using this chance to make a better life for me and my kids.”

She thanked the Zonta Club because without the grant, she would not be able to stay in school, she said.

Twice a year, the Zonta Club offers grants up to $2,000. The deadlines are Sept. 30 and April 30. The Wings grant is offered to women 21 years and older, who have endured a life altering setback/experience and seek to improve their status through education. The grants offer one-time financial assistance to the recipients.

An application is on the website www.zontaburbank.org. First priority is given to Burbank residents, but applications will be considered from women living in Glendale, North Hollywood and surrounding areas.

Zonta is an international organization empowering women through service and advocacy.

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JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.