Loretta Ella (Allen) (Poling) Alvarez

Loretta Alvarez, beloved mother, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother, departed this life on April 2, 2025 at the age of ninety-five in her home surrounded by loved ones in Highland, California. Although she was nearing a lifetime of a century, it never slowed her down until the last few months of this year. Up until January and even with vision that was limited, she had been living independently with her cat, Miss Kitty, and would take joy in her daily walks that were at least a quarter of a mile long. To say the least, Loretta continued to stay the mighty, charismatic, witty, and determined woman she had always been up until the very end of her life.

Throughout Loretta’s lifetime, her experiences and achievements made her into the person we were all able to admire. She made her debut on December 7, 1929 to Minnie and Emory Allen in Alta Loma, California. Being one of seven children in the days of living in an unplumbed home surrounded with animals that ranged from her cherished pony, Patsy, to family pups like Big Boy made her early life fascinating to those that listened. During her younger years, she loved playing sports such as tennis and volleyball as well as sewing and knitting all while most likely daydreaming of her favorite heart throb, Clark Gable.

Throughout her years, education became a passion of Loretta’s. She earned her Bachelor of Science in 1966 from La Sierra University. Shortly after, she began teaching grade school for Colton Unified School District. It wasn’t until 1987 that she decided to go for it and earn her Masters degree in Vocational Education from University of Long Beach. In total, Loretta taught over forty years in the district which ranged from the mentioned grade school ages to teaching Business at the Junior High School to then teaching at the continuation school. After her retirement from the school district, she later made the decision to go back to school, earning her real estate license and then eventually, her brokers license. Her educational and professional background was not only impressive, but something that contributed to the extraordinary woman that she was and always continued to be.

During Loretta’s life, she had two marriages. The first was to Stewart Poling in 1950 and from that, they had two precious daughters, Mary and Martha, whom eventually became her best friends later in life. In 1987, Loretta married Ernie Alvarez and was with him until his passing in 2011. Both marriages included lots of time traveling around the United States as well as abroad, many trips being experienced with her daughters. In between her marriages, she continued her love of traveling as well as developing a love for dancing that included ballroom, swing, the jitterbug, and square. Life, however, isn’t all about traveling and doing the jitterbug as her and Ernie’s Waterman Canyon home in 2003 unfortunately was consumed by wildfires and they found themselves having to literally start over again (material wise). Even though everything was lost, like a phoenix out of the ashes, Loretta was able to persevere through that strenuous hardship and create a new life for them in Highland.

Through good times and the exhausting, Loretta found daily comfort in numerous ways such as reading, watching her afternoon and evening shows and listening to books on tape as her vision began to tunnel. Her fondness of animals always brought significant contentment, from the dachshunds and cats she had to the hummingbirds and other various birds that would visit. She could literally spend hours watching birds swoop in to nibble the food she would put out for them each day. Her love of animals never waned as traveling never did either. She was always up for the excitement and exploration of both new and familiar destinations. As mentioned before, Mary and Martha went on many trips with her, especially later in life, which gave them the ability to form an unbreakable bond with Loretta and create unforgettable memories.

Alongside the limitless love Loretta had for her daughters, she adored and loved her three granddaughters so much – Katie, Kristie, and Kasey. Through them, she was also able to relish in the love of her five great grandchildren – Elliott, Scarlett, Kash, Pippa, and Poppy. She had an incredible love for the rest of her family and friends as well, especially for her altruistic and compassionate niece, Ellen, and her faithful friends Doris, Joanna, Nona, Cecil, and Deborah.

Loretta, the mighty, charismatic, witty, and determined woman we all knew and will continue to always love was encompassed in warmth and devotion as she left this novel of her life to continue traveling to new adventures in the next..