Seniors’ Legacy Ball honors three

The Laguna Beach Seniors’ Second Legacy Ball March 14 will honor Louise Buckley, Colin Henderson and Pauline Walpin for their contributions to the Laguna Beach community.

Laguna Legacy Awards are given to living men and women who have left a lasting legacy.

The event will be from 5 to 10 p.m. at [seven degrees], 891 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Tickets are $175, and include dinner, silent auction, and music from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s by South Coast Swing. Dress is “vintage formal.”

Bree Burgess Rosen of No Square Theater will serve as live auctioneer; and a silent auction, with a chance to win a trip to Kauai, Hawaii, or one week at a Palm Desert deluxe condominium, will also take place.

All proceeds will benefit the Seniors.

Reservations should be made by credit card or mailing a check with the names of the attendees to Laguna Beach Seniors Inc., P.O. Box 536, Laguna Beach, CA, 92651, no later than March 1.

For more information, call (949) 497-2441 or visit www.lagunabeachseniors.com.

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Louise Buckley

Louise Buckley is known as a consummate volunteer.

Born in Alberta, Canada, she was raised in Fargo, N.D., and Minneapolis.

At 10, she began her work as a lifetime volunteer, selling sandbags door-to-door to raise funds for a community swimming pool.

During her school years, she served on the Red Cross, Friendship Club and Student Council, and also assisted at Sunday school and Vacation Bible School.

While attending junior college in Minneapolis, she worked the midnight shift at Honeywell, working on a secret project for the Air Force.

Loving airplanes, she voluntarily joined the Women’s Army Air Corps during World War II, where she served until V-J Day.

Her military career landed her in Santa Monica, where she met her future husband, Edwin, who was also in the Air Corps.

After 2 ½ years in the service, she and Edwin settled in the San Fernando Valley where Louise went to work for Lockheed Martin Corp., eventually advancing to supervisor in aircraft and electronics productions.

Retiring from Lockheed after 23 years, she became a travel agent in Woodland Hills, ultimately co-owning the business. Her husband died in 1979, and Buckley retired to Laguna Beach in 1994.

Within a month, she had attended a Laguna Beach Seniors meeting and soon was asked to work on the Social Committee.

She provided social and programming services for the group, worked on committees, helped to publish and distribute the newsletter, The Boardwalk, and joined the board of directors.

During this time, she was recruited by the Laguna Garden Club, becoming president in 1999 for two years. She remains on the board and on the Orange County Garden District Committee.

She became president of Laguna Beach Seniors in the late 1990s, serving for 2 ½ years.

It was during her tenure that the concept of a new senior center was crystallized, and Richard French was retained to help the group obtain a site and develop a capital campaign to raise funds to build the center.

She continues to be an active member of the board, fulfilling a personal commitment to achieve the reality of the opening of the new Susi Q center.

She also continues to be an active member of the Women’s Club of Laguna Beach, the Exchange Club, American Legion and Chamber of Commerce.

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The Rev. Colin Henderson

The Rev. Henderson grew up in the south of England. After completing his National Service in the RAF and obtaining a degree in physiology, he trained for the ministry in the Church of England. He served in Croydon (south London) for five years before moving to the Diocese of Coventry, where he worked in three differing parishes “” suburban, urban and rural.

After more than 20 years as a parish priest, he came to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach in 1985, where he assisted the rector, Bob Cornelison.

Here he became increasingly involved in the issues of homelessness. As a result of developing programs for homeless people at St. Mary’s, he began working with local citizens and members of other churches to set up a homeless center that would address emergency and long-term needs.

Friendship Shelter opened in November 1988 and he enjoyed working with the staff, the board, the residents and the local community to establish the programs that would offer lasting solutions.

He retired in 1997 but continues his involvement in the Shelter, Sally’s Fund (which provides free transportation to seniors) and local homeless issues and also his parochial ministry at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Irvine.

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Pauline Walpin

Pauline Walpin moved to Laguna Beach in 1972 and joined the staff at South Coast Medical Center, coordinated Meals On Wheels programs and assisted Laguna Beach Seniors with their health fair and health lectures.

She served as president of the Laguna Beach Free Clinic when the clinic’s current building on Third Street was purchased, and has served with numerous other programs to serve seniors and the homeless, including helping develop Hagan Place, the city’s federal housing for the disabled and HIV-positive.

She was president of Laguna Beach Seniors from 2003-05 and currently serves on the Outreach Committee.

She was a member of 20-30 Vision Committee; and has been a member of the Assistance League of Laguna Beach since 1990, serving as Building chairwoman.