Lucille Contreras Gonzales

Please join the Gonzales Family in celebrating the life of Lucille Contreras Gonzales, who passed away of natural causes at her home in Chino, CA, on September 10th, 2024. She was 86 years old.

Lucille was born on November 30, 1937, to Antonio Contreras and Ramona Arroyo Contreras, the second of three daughters and fourth of seven children. She was also known as "Lucy", "Lucia', and to friends and neighbors in Colton, CA, "Tiny", throughout Woodrow Wilson Elementary and Colton High School, where she was an exceptional student.

After receiving her Associate's degree from San Bernardino Valley College and Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of California at Santa Barbara, Lucille married Enrique, "Tom" Gonzales on August 27, 1960 in Colton, CA. They had two daughters, Leticia and Cecilia.

Over the next fourteen years, Lucille taught Elementary grades in the Chino Unified School District, including Newman Elementary, Richard Gird Primary and Elementary, and El Rancho Elementary. During this time, she not only earned her Master's of Education from the Claremont Graduate School, where she chaired the annual Children’s Reading Conference (overall Chair and Hosting Chair), and earned a number of administrative and management certifications that led her to District-level administration, all while being a hands-on parent, fully involved with her family's education and activities.

Lucille was widely recognized by the community as a leader and groundbreaker in the world of education bi-lingual and bi-cultural programs. She initiated the Bi-Lingual Educational Program within the Chino School District, inspiring a new generation of students to become teachers due to her example. She was immediately recognizable with her impeccable presence and signature hairstyle.

Following her years in the classroom, Lucille felt that a move to educational administration would enable her to "help[ing] many more students in numerous ways", speaking of the programs designed for the specific needs of the students who would benefit from infancy through high school. To that end, Lucille was first Administrator, then Director of Special Projects for first the Chino Unified School District, then the Pomona Unified School District. In 1988, Lucille accepted an appointment as "Special Consultant to the California State Department of Education". Until her retirement in 2004, Lucille led programs such as: Title 2 Policy and Partnerships; Homeless Education, the Compliance Review Management Unit; No Child Left Behind; Local Educational Agency Plan; Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration; Immediate Intervention for Underperforming Schools Program; Member, State Title 1 Core Team; Migrant Education Program Consultant and School Improvement Program Consultant. Her publications include: "English as a Second Language (ESL) Guidebook" and "Guide for Developing and Action Plan" amongst many others.

Upon retiring in 2004, Lucille did not slow down. She became a Board Member of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, where she worked on Church finances. She also volunteered as a tax preparer through the Chino Library and as an ESL tutor for local individuals who have gone on to personal success. Lucille also participated in Tai-Chi classes, walked with a group of friends, and of course, cared for her husband, Tom, taking time to indulge her voracious reading habits, and look after her gardens. Her hairstyle continued to identify her to everyone as 'the kind and very proper lady'.

Lucille's associations, honors and accomplishments include (but are not limited to):

Delta Kappa Gamma Honor Society

Phi Delta Kappa Honor Society

The Sisterhood of P.E.O.

Outstanding Elementary Teacher, 1972

President, San Bernardino County Administrator of State and Federal Programs, 1980-1981

Friend of Magnolia Jr High School, 1982

National Advisory Board, American Biography Institute, 1982

Fellow, Institute for Educational Leadership, 1983-1984

Member, California State Superintendent's Task Force, 1984

Member, California State Superintendent's Middle Grade Task Fore, 1986

Member, Middle Grade Task Force for Program Quality Review Document, 1986-1987

Program Quality Review Trainer and Reviewer, State and Federal Educational Programs

Staff Member, Demonstration for Restructuring in Public Education

Member, Improving America's School Goals, 2001

Member, Statewide System for School Support

International Who's Who of Professional Business Women

Biography of the Year

Dictionary of International Biography

International Book of Honor

World Who's Who of Women

Who's Who of American Women

Roll of Honor

5000 Personalities of the World

Directory of Distinguished Americans

Personalities of America

2000 Notable Americans

Personalities of the West and Midwest

Who's Who in California

Lucille is greatly missed by her grieving family: her husband of 64 years Tom, her daughters, Leticia (Tad) McMahan and Cecilia, her grandchildren Andrew, Victoria, Matthew and Ashley McMahan, and her surviving brother, Artist Gerry Contreras.