BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) – In 2025, Kern County lost a number of pioneers.

We lost veterans of World War II and Vietnam, giants of education, pillars of the business community, and many examples of devotion to family and community.

Here, in roughly chronological order, are but a few of them.

Doug DeRoo: January 6

If you grew up in Bakersfield in the 1970s and ‘80s, you no doubt heard his voice. Doug DeRoo was a wild and kooky radio celebrity with a wickedly quick wit and a virtuoso touch on the turntable. Alone or paired with a succession of co-hosts, he dominated the rock and roll airwaves.

Doug DeRoo died January 6 at the age of 73.

Chuck Dennis: January 29

DeRoo was not the only radio deejay we lost this year. Chuck Dennis also spun those platters. But in his long colorful career Dennis was also a stuntman, emergency medical technician, rural fire chief – and in his last decade in the working world – a photojournalist here at the local NBC affiliate, KGET. Chuck Dennis – who lived in Missouri, Illinois, Arizona and Northern California before settling in Bakersfield – died on January 29, just 70.

Reporters he worked with here from 2010 to 2019 remember a man who could come off as pretty gruff at times – but who cared about them, and their shared mission.

Joseph Taylor: March 7

Former Bakersfield police officer Joseph Taylor died March 7 at the age of 83. Taylor was born in Columbus, Ohio, then moved to California and attended South High School while he worked on his brother-in-law’s dairy farm. Taylor began his career with the Bakersfield Police Department in 1965, serving until he retired as a Detective in 1995.

Kenneth Schultz: March 31

Kenneth Schultz, a Wasco native, served in the Army Reserves from 1965 to 1971 as a Sergeant and liked to say he fought the battle of North Chester Avenue. In 1968, he began his insurance career and went on to serve on the Board of Directors of the Bakersfield Association of Independent Insurance Agents, eventually as President. He died March 31 at age 84.

Don Galey: April 15

Don Galey, longtime owner of Galey’s Marine Supply, died April 15 at the age of 93. Galey’s Marine Supply opened in 1938 with Galey’s father, Otto Galey, at the helm. The original location was on Bernard Street. It moved to the Bakersfield Auto Mall in 1999 and to northwest Bakersfield this year.

Galey’s, one of about 5,000 boat suppliers in the United States, is the oldest dealership under one continuous ownership in California, a distinction the company has held for two decades or more. Don Galey’s favorite customer? Possibly Merle Haggard.

Jim Young: May 5

Jim Young, the former longtime chancellor of the Kern Community College District, died May 5 at the age of 86 – four days after the district dedicated the new library of Bakersfield College’s Arvin campus in his honor.

The youngest child of Texas farm laborers who followed the Dust Bowl migration to Arvin, James C. Young was a tireless worker for the underprivileged, for the immigrant, for the underdog.

He served as KCCD chancellor for 21 years starting in 1978, but never stopped working to better the community.

Jesse Lubiniecki: May 30

Former Taft College pitcher Jesse Lubiniecki died from a traffic accident in Montana on May 30. Lubiniecki had just finished his sophomore season and had signed a letter of intent to play for Florida National University in Miami.

Lubiniecki was from Regina, Saskatchewan, and was a relief pitcher for the Cougars for two seasons.

Bob Lechtrek: June 25

Former Kern County Fire chief Bob Lechtrek, perhaps the last link to the Kern County Fire Department’s golden age, died June 25, just two months after celebrating his gala 100th birthday party.

He worked alongside Kern County’s very first fire chief – Harold Boway – and was the last firefighter to be able to make that claim. He also drove the department’s 1929 Moreland, a museum piece of a fire truck, and then rose to the rank of chief himself. Lechtrek, a World War II veteran, joined the Navy at age 17 and served in the Pacific Theater.

Louise Ruth Carpenter Lewis: June 23

Lynn Eckert: July 5

Two local veterans of note passed away within a few days of each other last summer. Veterans of different eras and very different experiences, with at least one thing in common – they were women who took unique paths to their service.

American Legion Post 221 Commander Lynn Eckert, a Marine Corps veteran and energetic, persuasive ambassador for the Kern County Honor Flight program, died July 5 at age 71. A Vietnam War-era Marine, she served the Tehachapi area American Legion for seven years.

And Louise Ruth Carpenter Lewis, who kept the home hearth warm and the Flying Fortresses aloft during World War II, died June 23 at 100.

Lewis was barely 18 and a senior at Kern County Union High School when she took a job riveting the wings of B-17 “Flying Fortress” bombers. Yes, she was an original Rosie the Riveter.

Lewis “Louie” Lafever: July 22

Lewis “Louie” Lafever, a World War II veteran, landed at Normandy with the 29th Infantry Division in 1944 and was awarded two Bronze Stars for valor in combat and two Purple Hearts. He completed his military service in Berlin, where his cleverness and charm were as memorable as his courage. He died July 22 at the age of 100.

Wanda Lollar: July 15

Richard Lollar: July 16

Richard and Wanda Lollar were both in their mid-80s when they died a day apart. They were married for 64 years and still in love at the end.

Wanda died July 15 at the age of 84. She had a one-day head start on her husband. Richard, age 87, died 26 hours later.

Richard was an advertising executive in Chicago and Los Angeles, and after staying home with the boys a few years, Wanda went into the advertising business as well. She became the owner of the company, and eventually became the president of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Rosa Garcia Diaz: August 2

If you’ve lived in Bakersfield more than a week, you have almost certainly seen them. La Rosa Fruit bars, the pride of East Bakersfield. The company is celebrating its 45th year, but on August 2 it also mourned its namesake, co-founder Rosa Garcia Diaz.

The company continues under Norma Diaz, daughter of Jesus Ramos Diaz and Rosa Maria Garcia del Diaz, his wife of 68 years. Rosa, born in Mexico City in 1937, lived her American dream to the fullest. She was 87.

Fidel Cazares: September 13

Vietnam veteran Fidel Cazares passed away September 13 at the age of 74. Like many of these veterans, he was an emotional participant in a Kern County Honor Flight in October 2019, which brought 101 Vietnam veterans to Washington D.C. to visit war memorials. During the return flight, he was visibly moved during “mail call,” a tradition where veterans receive letters of appreciation from family, friends, and strangers. He expressed how much the gesture meant to him, stating, “I want to frame every one of these until the day I die.”

Don Hall: October 17

Jeweler Don Hall passed away October 17 at the age of 94.

He was an active service club member who married into the Wickersham jewelry family and was among the first tenants to move into Valley Plaza.

Hall was born in Long Beach and went on to attend East High. He met his future wife, Nancy Wickersham, at her family’s jewelry store along Truxtun Avenue. After selling the business to son Jon he helped his wife at her boutique on H Street, Fond Memories.

Patricia Puskarich: September 6

Patty Puskarich lived in Oildale most of her life – 30 years in her house on Esther Drive – and before that in the house next door, where she grew up. She attended seventh and eighth grade at Standard School with writer Gerald Haslam, businessman Jim Wattenbarger and musician Merle Haggard – who for a time was her next-door neighbor. Like her good friend Haslam, she knew the history of the small oil town – both the good and the bad – as well as anyone you might ever talk with.

We will miss many other others, too. And if we’re being honest, we’ll also miss more than a few four legged friends. In closing, we’ll share one with you now.

Tonks the Pig: February 22

Tonks the Pig was a beloved resident of the California Living Museum. He was a rescue who brought joy to visitors but sadly passed away Feb. 22 after a routine procedure. He had gained local fame, often featured in local news and social media.

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