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Lorraine And The Late Wally Stuecken Awarded Rotary Volunteer Citizen Of The Year

Christian Center of Park City

Park City Rotary has given its Volunteer Citizen of the Year Award to a couple—Lorraine Stuecken and her late husband Wally—for their contributions to countless non-profit organizations in town.

Lorraine and husband Wally, who passed away last February, received the Jack Green Volunteer Citizen of the Year honor.

At Tuesday’s Rotary luncheon, three people who nominated the couple joked that they wanted to be like the Stueckens when they grow up. The couple, praised for their energy and “young-at-heart” spirit, have given time to the National Ability Center, Peace House, the Park City Film Series, the recycling center, and many other programs.

Among the comments, Rob Harter recalled that during his first year at the Christian Center, Lorraine and Wally were familiar faces.

“I felt like every summer day I would see Lorraine ride up the bike path with that wonderful bike she has, with this tall flag and all the streamers,” Harter said. “And she’d always come by just to make sure the flowers were in perfect condition, the weeds were pulled, everything looked good. And a little bit later that day, Wally would saunter into my office, usually with a cup of coffee in his hand with an off-color joke that he’d want to share that day. And it was part of my daily routine during the summer. It was fantastic. And it just wasn’t a day, again, that I didn’t see them doing something. Their heart to meet people at their point of need was relentless. Whenever there was a need for toys for kids, food for hungry families, ski passes for a low-income family, a homeless person needed a ride all the way down to the shelter, which happened more often than you’d think. They were the first ones to volunteer and to jump in.”

Katie Wright, from the Park City Community Foundation, recalled the social awareness that Wally showed.

“You might have heard that the Community Foundation is convening Park City around social equity,” Wright continued. “But Wally was into equity before I was in grade school. At our events, he shared stories about folks he worked with of different colors and genders, whose paths were not decided by their merits, but because of the stereotypes of where they belonged. And this did not sit well with Wally.”

Her father, Peter Wright, once asked Lorraine why the couple did what they did. She quoted an expression from, she said, a very wise person.

“It is, “Do all the good you can, where you can, and while you can,” Wright said. “And make all the money you can and give it away while you can. And that certainly seems to me a founding philosophy for this couple.”

In some brief remarks, Lorraine noted that she was being honored for something she loved to do.

“I mean, it was a joy to work with the people we worked with, to see them,” Stuecken said. “And it’s just been pleasure to do all these volunteer jobs.”

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.
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