Interesting People
Helping Others Live Better
Each one can teach one. Just ask Judith Pothier, 74, of Sacramento. She suffered peripheral vision loss from a car crash as a teen, yet as an adult has helped others with visual impairments live better.
Case in point is Pothier’s role as a beta tester on the design and rollout of new software by Hadley, a nonprofit organization that offers support free of charge to people with vision loss. In using the website, Pothier helped find and acquire new ways of adjusting to her visual impairment, which also helped other low-vision users.
Life Of Service
Phil Rios lives by four values: honor, discipline, clean teeth and an even cleaner shave. The last two may seem incongruous, but Rios knows they can be a matter of life and death.
As a combat veteran of the U.S. Army Military Police, Rios was responsible for keeping his squad safe under dangerous conditions in Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and Korea.
Grand Style
There aren’t many coffee table books that combine original artwork, architecture, history and humor, but James Patrick Lane’s new book, “Painting the Grand Homes of California’s Central Valley,” fits the description.
“This is not your standard coffee table book,” the Arden-Arcade artist says of the project he began in 2019. “It’s actually quite rare to find a book like this with paintings instead of photos. Plus, I’ve included painting tips like, here’s how I made the light in the windows. If you’re an artist, you should get a lot from this book.”
No Limits
“I’ve had a very eclectic past,” Doug Money says. “I’m not one of these people who just did one thing my whole life. If I told you all the different things I’ve done, you wouldn’t believe me.”
Money has indeed done many things in his 78 years, with stories to prove it.
Born and raised in Idaho, he’s been a competitive runner since high school and has completed eight marathons. The first winter after he and his wife moved to Alaska, a mother moose and her calf wintered in their front yard. He was a pastor for 12 years. He owned a successful contracting business. And he still runs by himself every day, even though he’s been legally blind for almost 11 years.
Trailblazer Remembered
Irene B. West was a trailblazer on many levels. As Elk Grove’s first Black classroom educator in what was a rural community, she enjoyed a long career as a teacher and principal.
The Elk Grove Unified School District named an elementary school after her in 2002. West died in April at age 88.
Brian MacNeill is principal at Irene B. West Elementary School. “Thankfully, I had the opportunity to meet Mrs. West and wanted all in the community to know her,” he says. “In January 2018, we had an evening with Mrs. West and a couple of hundred folks attended. I wanted them to know her. So I interviewed Mrs. West about teaching in Elk Grove.”
Master Of Reinvention
Todd Patterson has lived many lives in his nearly six decades. The Sacramento native has resided all over the country and has owned all kinds of businesses, many in East Sacramento.
After serving in the Navy, Patterson did “a little of this, a little of that,” which included a stint in the fashion industry. That job took him to Fashion Weeks all over the world, but he eventually landed back in Sacramento working for an East Sac real estate company.
When Patterson’s boss bought the Parcel Plus retail store at 3104 O St. and asked for help turning it around, Patterson had no idea it would become his next career.
“My parents owned parcel and packaging businesses in Arizona,” Patterson says, “but I never would have thought that’s where I’d end up.”
