Lorraine Thomas Heyne

November 12, 1931 - December 12, 2022

Grace Lorraine Thomas Baker Heyne, daughter of the late Grace Hadley and Wilber Thomas, was born in Wilmar, California. Always with a bright smile on her face, she died in Chester, Connecticut at the age of 91.

A child of the Great Depression, she remembered "making do," growing their own vegetable garden, and her father carrying meals to where hobos were camped along the railroad tracks down the hill behind their house ("I have a job and they don't. It's the least I can do."). An only child, she often accompanied her mother to Garden Club meetings, and could identify just about any variety of flower grown in Southern California.

Her parents took her camping from a young age in Yosemite National Park. She never lost that love for camping and for Yosemite, and passed her love along to her children. She continued to camp in the Sierras as well as the Anza-Berrego Desert, and with her Connecticut family into the early 2000s.

When she had just turned 14, her father died suddenly. No one had heard of grief counseling back then; well into her 80s, Grace related how she would put her head down on the school desk and just sob and sob. Teachers and fellow students tried to be kind, but they had no idea what to do. Participating in GriefShare bereavement support groups made a real difference for her.

A 1949 graduate from South Pasadena-San Marino High School, she was an accomplished flautist, performing as first chair flute in the by-audition-and-invitation-only All-California High School Orchestra. She attended UC Santa Barbara, then transferred to UCLA. As first chair flute in the UCLA concert band, she sat directly in front of first chair saxophonist Gene Baker, who pursued a whirlwind romance. They completed their senior year at UCLA as newlyweds, then raised three children in Long Beach. Grace passed along her knowledge and skills, teaching both of their daughters to excel in playing the flute.

Her husband and children were proud to witness Grace's 1963 graduation from USC with a Master's degree in Education. She taught elementary school in the LA Unified School district for over 20 years, initially teaching in South-Central LA (Watts) during the tense period of the initial Watts riots. She later taught in San Pedro and Dominguez.

Grace Lorraine and Milt Heyne were married in 1982. They enjoyed traveling all over the country, and were very involved in serving their San Pedro community. Grace worked the 2000 US Census in San Pedro, and invested herself in Las Professionales, Professional Business and Women's club, and the San Pedro Assistance League. Wherever she went, she made lifelong friends.

Mid-life she changed careers, studying and passing exams to become a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Life Underwriter, Enrolled Agent, and other financially related specialties.

She and daughter Carolyn traveled extensively together, including camping, a cruise, and visiting grandchildren and great-grandchildren in Utah and Washington state.

Grace Lorraine threw herself wholeheartedly into helping others, whether it was helping a step-daughter locate an appropriate shop to get her ears pierced; teaching a talented high school musician how to play the flute, or mentoring a student who, upon graduating from college, wrote to Grace that she had been the one teacher who had most believed in her, supporting and encouraging her throughout her entire educational career. An enthusiastic member of the El Redondo chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she had traced her family's lineage to Wales on her father's side and to the Mayflower on her mother's side.

In 2022, Grace moved  to live with her daughter Joanne in Connecticut. Here, she worked out regularly at Joint Effort in Old Saybrook, attended a weekly women's Bible study and Sunday church services, as well as a weekly GriefShare bereavement support program. Always a friendly and outgoing person, she developed some very sweet friendships.

Grace is survived by her daughter Joanne Baker Deal and her husband Tom; five step-children; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son David Baker and daughter Carolyn Baker Halliburton, and her husbands, Richard Baker and Milton Heyne.

Joanne Baker Deal, daughter