LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday morning, Jan. 25, 2019, Lorraine Trussell Gatton died peacefully at the age of 94 following a rapid decline, surrounded by loving family in her Lakeport home.

Born Stella Lorraine Trussell on Jan. 20, 1925, to Stella Pauline (Boyden) Trussell and Ulrich Trussell in Sacramento, California, moving to San Francisco at around 8 years of age.

She loved spending every summer and Christmas vacation taking the train up the Feather River Canyon to Taylorsville in Plumas County, where her grandparents, George E. and Augustus “Gussie” Boyden resided.

She attended Presidio Junior High School and graduated from George Washington High School in San Francisco in 1942.

Caring for others was her calling, and Lorraine took pre-nursing classes at San Francisco Junior College before graduating from St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing. She attended one year of schooling at U.C. Berkeley in the 1940s before obtaining her Family Nurse Practitioner license through U.C. Davis satellite courses in the 1970s.

During summer breaks from nursing school, Lorraine discovered the hidden gem of Lake County and worked as a waitress for Adams Springs and Hoberg’s Resort.

She met her lifelong soulmate, Melford Rex Gatton from Kelseyville, in the summer of 1949 and they wed on May 6, 1950, in Napa.

They raised their four children in Lakeport. Lorraine and Mel were married 62 years before his death, and they enjoyed dancing, Dixieland Jazz, and traveling to Hawaii, Australia and Europe.

Lorraine is survived by three children, Rex (Sharon) Gatton of La Pine, Oregon, Donald P. (Sheila) Gatton of Nice and Cary Gatton of Bend, Oregon; daughter-in-law, Judie Gatton; seven grandchildren, Amy Plants, Erin Prather, Allison Conser, Sean Gatton, Courtney Gatton, Matthew Gatton and Brian Gatton; step-grandson, Gabriel Hyde; five great-grandchildren, Kayden and Cooper Menzio, and Ethan, Elliot and Corinne Plants.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Mel, and son, Bradford Gatton.

Lorraine worked as a registered nurse for 42 years, the last 13 as a nurse practitioner. She was a fixture in Dr. Donald L. Browning’s Lakeport office for 25 years and was very proud of her profession.

In Lorraine's memory, donations be made to United Christian Parish at 745 N. Brush St., Lakeport, CA 95453 or to Soper-Reese Theatre at P.O. Box 756, Lakeport, CA 95453.

Visitation will be held at Soper-Reese Theatre in Lakeport, on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. with a celebration of life to begin at 11 a.m. Graveside committal service will follow at Hartley Cemetery and all are invited to share their favorite memories at United Christian Parish following the burial.

Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com.