Lucy Ann Stellrecht

Lucy was born at Orange County Hospital (now UCI Medical Center) on September 7, 1931, to Italian immigrants, Sebastian and Mary Bottari, of Huntington Beach. She was their second daughter; over the years, four more daughters would follow. Lucy is predeceased by her older sister, Antonette, who passed away in 2021.

The Bottari family owned and worked a 50-acre vegetable farm on Airplane Hill. Lucy and her sisters worked alongside their Dad on the farm while attending Huntington Beach Public Schools. She graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 1949. Lucy met her future husband, Robert (Bob) Stellrecht, at a Catholic Charities sponsored dance when she was 14 years old; Bob was 15 and also attended Huntington Beach High School. After High School, Lucy completed her education by attending the San Francisco Dental & Nurses Training School. Upon her graduation, she went to work for Dr. Watson, DDS in Santa Ana.

Bob and Lucy were married on March 3, 1951; six weeks later, he received his draft notice. Robert served as a tank commander in the US Army stationed in Korea. He was honorably discharged in 1953. After his return from the war, they purchased their first home on Cedar Street in Santa Ana. Their daughter Catherine was born in 1954 and in 1958 they moved to Spurgeon Street, also in Santa Ana, where they welcomed their sons, Robert Jr. in 1958 and Daniel in 1959. The family moved back to Huntington Beach in 1963, where Lucy spent the rest of her life. She is fondly remembered as a doting room mother, a 4-H club sewing leader, and a boisterous fan of her kids’ and grandkids’ extracurricular activities. Lucy loved working in her kitchen garden, where she grew her family’s vegetables, baking for her extended family, traveling with Bob, and serving as a member of the Huntington Beach Auxiliary League.

Lucy was a devoted wife of 61 years to her husband Bob, who passed away in 2011; loving mother to Catherine Pavlos (husband, Elliott), Robert Stellrecht, Jr., (wife, Sharon) and Daniel Stellrecht (deceased, 2018); adoring Grandmother and Great Grandmother to Christine Przybysz (husband, Aaron, daughters Charlotte and Caroline), Stephanie Shaner (husband, Steven, son Robert, and daughter Lucy), Allison Rocha (husband Aaron, daughter August West), and Emily Stellrecht (soon to be Zaret, husband, Joseph). She is also survived by her devoted sisters Josephine Elliott, Ann Montgomery (husband Bob), Rose Honnell (husband, Don) and Gloria Baker (husband, Don), and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her funeral services will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar. Graveside burial and a luncheon reception will follow at Pacific View.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.pacificviewcalifornia.com for the Stellrecht family.