Gaylinn Cloonan

Gaylinn passed peacefully surrounded by family on May 16, 2022. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Joe Cloonan, sister, Alliene Spence, three children, James, Andrew, and Erin, seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren as well as her three feline companions, Josie, Midnight and Sparky.

Gaylinn was born to James Linn and Kate Spence on January 9, 1936 in Wilson, Oklahoma. Her real adventure began when she was three months old. Her parents loaded her in her father's old Ford and left the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma for the farmland of Central California. They bought a farm near Chowchilla, and eventually moved into town. She lived there until she graduated from high school and went off to earn a B.A. with Honors in Journalism from Fresno State College, where she met her future husband, Joe.  She went on to earn an M.A. in Confluent Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

After marrying Joe, who was in the Army, on April 3, 1960, they settled in Hanford, CA, in 1965 before moving to Ridgecrest in 1969. Gaylinn spent some time during college as a journalist, was coeditor of the annual, and was also a published author.  She once interviewed the First Lady, Ladybird Johnson.  After college she pursued teaching.  She was a lifelong educator, spending more than 35 years in the classroom. Gaylinn accomplished much outside the classroom too. She cofounded the Ridgecrest Women's Shelter, was an early member of NOW, and worked on numerous political campaigns. She served three terms as the President of DATA, the Desert Area Teachers Association.

After she retired, she spent her time reading, more than 100 books a year, gardening, and traveling. She visited more than 50 countries and all seven continents. If you asked her which was her favorite, it was always the last one she traveled to which was Antarctica.  When she stopped traveling, she spent more time reading, and loved to spoil her great grandchildren with gifts. She will be greatly missed by all.

Funeral services will be at 3:00pm on June 1 at the United Methodist Church in Ridgecrest. Burial service will follow at 2:00pm on June 2 at the Bakersfield National Cemetery