A public memorial service for city founder Jo Anne Darcy will be held Sunday, Nov. 12, at 2 p.m. in the Newhall Family Theater for the Performing Arts – formerly known as the Newhall School Auditorium.

Darcy died Sunday following a lengthy illness that sidelined her for the last decade.

Previously, she had been one of the most vivacious and effective leaders in the Santa Clarita Valley, first as manager of the (now) Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, then as field deputy to former Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, and finally as one of Santa Clarita’s founding City Council members in 1987 – a position she would hold for more than 14 years.

The Newhall School District recently completed renovations to the auditorium, which opened on the Newhall School campus in 1941 and fell victim to the state’s school construction funding rules in the 1970s. Sunday’s memorial service will be its public debut.

The 529-seat auditorium-theater is located on Walnut Street between 11th and 12th streets. Overflow parking should be available at the Old Town Newhall Library, roughly two blocks distant.

Read more about Jo Anne Darcy [here].