Remembering Lesley Devine

World War II was the first time an entire generation of women became what we now refer to as “single mothers.” They built the planes, ships and guns that kept the soldiers fighting while rearing the children and keeping the house clean. Words can’t express the significance of that. Lesley Devine was a daughter of that generation.

When she came of age in the late ’50s and early ’60s, she had two strikes against her: she was Jewish and a woman.

The ’60s and ’70s saw monumental and structural societal changes. Women and minorities demanded equality in all areas of life, from politics to jobs to pee wee baseball. No more would working couples have to reveal their methods of birth control in order to obtain a mortgage. No more would minorities have to sit in the back of the bus. 1976 saw creditors required to keep separate credit records own women. So by the late 70s, opportunities had definitely improved, but were still nothing like today.

Lesley was a player in it all while doing the still-expected womanly things of marrying and having children.

Paying her dues by volunteering for nearly 20 years, Lesley learned to play the political game and practice the art of the deal. She learned to keep her weapons sharp and her shield up. She became a warrior. Now, she needed an issue.

The environment was something she could be passionate about. Providentially, it was becoming a hot political issue. Experts were few and far between, so Lesley made herself into one. Considered unelectable, she got herself elected to a public resource board.

As a founder of the city in the 1980s, Lesley ran and won a place on the city council. There, she exercised her formidable skills, often besting some of the most powerful and brightest around.

She lost her council seat only after having been mortally wounded by cancer.

Lesley’s road wasn’t easy. Her every step was difficult, often painful and frustrating, but always she was courageous. That’s why it pleases me to envision Lesley reposing in Valhalla, that heavenly home of only the most valiant of warriors. Karmen Brower Calabasas