LWV-PA and the entire Pasadena community lost a bright light with the passing of Dolores Hickambottom on December 14, 2021. Dolores was an LWV-PA member for over forty years. She worked tirelessly in voter services, registering voters at many community events and engaging volunteers to get people out to vote. Her service to the community was even longer. Like many of us, she began her civic engagement when her four children entered school and she joined the PTA. Recognizing inequities in educational access, she was active in the landmark integration case Spangler v Pasadena City Board of Education, which resulted in the Pasadena Unified School District’s becoming the first district west of the Mississippi to start busing under a court ruling to integrate the schools.
She helped elect Pasadena’s first woman mayor, Loretta Thompson-Glickman, who was also African American. Following service as a field representative for Thompson-Glickman, she later served on the staffs of state senators Walter Stiern, Richard Polanco, and Jack Scott.
Dolores, a U.S. Army veteran, served during the Korean War and later on the Los Angeles board of the Tuskegee Airmen. A graduate of Pasadena City College and CSULA, she and her husband Elbie were instrumental in starting the Pasadena Educational Foundation. Her civic engagement also included service in various roles with League of Women Voters Pasadena Area, the National Women’s Political Caucus-Greater Pasadena Area (founder), the Pasadena NAACP, ACT, the Huntington Hospital Community Benefits Committee, and Pasadena City College as president of the African American Advisory Board.
Dolores received awards for her leadership and civic engagement from Assemblymember Judy Chu (Woman of the Year), the State of California Legislative Black Caucus, Pasadena Foothill Valley YWCA, El Centro de Accion Social, Pasadena NAACP, and the Pasadena/Altadena Coalition of Transformative Leaders (PACTL). She was Altadena Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, one of THE Magazine’s 50 Fabulous Women of Influence, and a Progressive Discussion Group Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Those of us who had the privilege of working with Dolores knew her to be a community volunteer who listened carefully, was not prone to snap judgments, and provided thoughtful and considered counsel on the myriad issues with which she engaged: civil rights, women’s rights, public education, and issues affecting children, youth, and families.
Congresswoman Judy Chu said, “Dolores’ legacy continues today in the lives she changed and the organizations she helped shape. She was a committed and dedicated member of our community whose tireless work has helped shape a better future for us all.”
LWV-PA extends condolences to daughters Ann Marie and Leslie, sons Elbie Jr. “Skip” and John, granddaughter Helena, sister Agnes Brumfield, and a host of other relatives and friends. Private services were held on December 28. A service for family and community will be held in the spring of 2022.
—Monica Hubbard
