Los Angeles
County
Biographies
WILLIETTA R. KUNZ
A
state registered social worker in the County of Los Angeles for over
twenty-seven years until her retirement in 1960, Willietta Kunz has always
loved people and is especially interested in children. Her goal is to help create a healthy
environment for children to grow up in.
She spends much of her time in the service of Rosemead where she has
lived since April of 1927 and which she loves devotedly. At present she is a member of the Rosemead
Planning Commission where she has served since June of 1960; taught Sunday
school at the Rosemead Community Methodist Church for twenty years, spending
part of that time as superintendent of the youth division; she is in his fifth
year as member of the board of the Rosemead Community Chest serving them as
Secretary-Treasurer; she is still available as a social worker for Rosemead but
on a strictly voluntary basis, to mention but a few of her activities.
Born
and reared in the Old South, Mrs. Kunz is the oldest daughter of William Cook
Rosser of Jamestown, Virginia, and Maude A. (Stoddard) Rosser of Crittenden
County, Arkansas. Her father was active
in politics and was chief of police in Selma, Alabama, where Mrs. Kunz was born
on August 21, 1898. Mr. Rosser’s last
public office was as Justice of the Peace, for several years, in Montgomery
County, Alabama. His father was a
tobacco merchant and during the Civil War served as a full colonel in the
Cavalry. Mrs. Kunz’s maternal
grandfather was a medical doctor and served in the Medical Corps, during the
Civil War as a major. Willietta Kunz
attended elementary and high school in Montgomery, Alabama, attended Ledbetter
School for Girls for two years of college, and soon after arriving in
California in 1922 registered at the University of Southern California where
she still takes at least one course a year.
In
Montgomery on September 10, 1918, the former Willietta Rosser was married to
Charles Henry Kunz of Batavia, Ohio. At
the time of their marriage he was Quartermaster at Camp Sheridan with the rank
of major. He was a career man in the
United States Regular Army where he served for over twenty years. He retired from the military service in 1922
because of ill health; died June 8, 1941, at Rosemead, California. From the date of his arrival in Rosemead
until his death he was very active in the community life. He, too, was interested in children and
served several years as Boy Scout Executive; he worked very hard to get a park
for Rosemead and during the “Depression years” helped staff an office to help
the unemployed. He helped organize the
Forum Club, later serving as its president, and was a charter member and first
commander of the John Guess Post 425 American Legion, being very active in
getting the post organized. He
contributed to the economic welfare of the community by operating a large duck
ranch, gasoline service station and Rosemead Nursery. He served as president of the Chamber of
Commerce one year and many years as executive secretary. He was one of the first contributors to build
the Rosemead Community Methodist Church, which he later joined. He was very active in raising funds to
rebuild the Rosemead Woman’s Club house after it burned in 1937.
In
June of 1933 Mrs. Kunz started professional social work for Los Angeles
County. Her first assignment was with
the aged program and then with the blind division, intake, aid to needy
children, family relief, and then transferred to the Child Welfare Department
where she worked with problem families and the placement of children into
foster homes for ten years; then for the next nine years she evaluated homes
which wanted to be licensed to board and care for children. She became a state registered social worker
receiving her State Certificate in 1937; for ten years she held the
classification of senior social case worker, later working as a social welfare
worker, up to her retirement in 1960.
She is a member of the Social Workers’ Alumni Association, the
California Health and Welfare Association, Retired County Employees’ Alumni,
Retired Social Workers’ Association and upon retirement was given a Life
Membership in the Los Angeles County Employees’ Association. She was an organizer, charter member, and
president of the Laconians, a non-political social
workers’ organization. Upon retirement
Mrs. Kunz received a certificate of appreciation from the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors for her long years of service.
In
Rosemead Mrs. Kunz has been a member of the Woman’s Club since 1928. She served them as their third president in
the year of 1929 – 1930; currently she is youth and religion chairman. She is at present corresponding secretary,
welfare and hospitality chairman for the Coordinating Council which she helped
organize in 1945. It was for her loyal
and outstanding work with the Council that she received the American Legion
Citizen of the Year Award in 1960. In
1962 Mrs. Kunz was awarded an Honorary Life Membership by the Rosemead
Parent-Teachers Council. At present she
is associate patron of the Boy Scouts, member of the Rosemead Youth Association
and the Young Men’s Christian Association.
She is on the board of El Monte Family Service, American Red Cross
Alhambra Chapter, Rosemead Community Chest, American Field Service Rosemead
Chapter, Friends of the Rosemead Library, having helped organize this group and
serving as their first president. In 1945 Mrs. Kunz was
one of the original underwriters for the El Monte Concert Series in which she
is still active, seeing that the finest artists are brought to the community
where the youth may have an opportunity to hear them at a student rate. She is a member of the Pasadena Athletic
Club, the San Moritz Property Owners’ Club, Rosemead Woman’s Club, Rosemead
Republican Women’s Club and the Temple City unit of the Business and
Professional Women’s Club.
Since
1928 Mrs. Kunz has been very active in the American Legion Auxiliary. Locally she has served her unit in all
chairmanships and elective offices including the presidency in 1945 –
1946. She has served the 18th
District, which covers all of San Gabriel Valley, in many chairmanships and all
elective offices. She was president for
the year of 1949 – 50. She has also
served at the state level and at present is the three year member on the Girl
State program and this year will be their transportation chairman for the
entire state. For many years she has
been a member of 8 et 40, an honor group of the
American Legion Auxiliary. This year she
is serving them as child welfare chairman for Salon 32 which is all of Los
Angeles County; National Jewish Hospital, Denver, Colorado; and Hi-Pass in
Imperial County. This organization is
dedicated to the cure and prevention of childhood-type tuberculosis.
In
the Rosemead Community Methodist Church, in addition to her twenty years as a
teacher, she was on the official board for eight years, counselor for the high
school age youth for four years, president of the local Wesleyan Service Guild
for two years and served the Whittier District as supply chairman in 1960 –
1961.
Transcribed by
V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
Historical Volume & Reference Works Including Alhambra, Monterey Park,
Rosemead, San Gabriel & Temple City, by Robert P. Studer,
Pages 806-809, Historical Publ., Los Angeles, California. 1962.
© 2013 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
GOLDEN
NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPHIES