Alta M. Reay lived 91 vibrant years before dying at home from cancer in Corona, Calif. on Feb. 27, 2015. Although born in Phoenix, Ariz., on Feb. 11, 1924 to Clarence Hewitt King and Charlotte Mae (Potter) King, Alta spent her youth in Coronado, Calif., graduating from high school there in 1941. Her can-do, fearless approach to life compelled her to volunteer as a spotter during WWII, standing on rooftops to watch for enemy bombers. A love of music led to a job at a record store while still in high school, then led her to a local dance at the Hotel Del Coronado, where she met her future husband, James G. Law. They were married in 1942, eventually settling in Laguna Beach, Calif., where she raised three children, taking them on rock hunting and camping adventures. She worked as a school bus driver before becoming a china buyer for the renowned Pottery Shack. She and Jim divorced in 1967.
↧