Tuesday, February 3, 2026

South Pasadena Memorial to Honor Leader Who Helped Stop 710 Freeway Extension Into Area

FROM THE SOUTH PASADENAN

Joanne Nuckols [Image courtesy of the SouthPasadenan.com]

Public gathering on February 28 celebrates Joanne Nuckols, whose decades of civic work shaped Pasadena area neighborhoods

A public memorial gathering will be held Saturday, February 28, at the South Pasadena War Memorial Building to honor Joanne Nuckols, a longtime civic leader whose work helped stop the 710 Freeway extension from carving through South Pasadena, Pasadena, and El Sereno.

Nuckols, who died August 19, 2025, at her South Pasadena home, was among the key figures in what became one of the longest transportation land-use disputes in American history. The proposed freeway would have displaced thousands of homes and divided historic neighborhoods across multiple cities.

The gathering, organized by members of the South Pasadena civic and preservation community, begins with doors opening at 10 a.m. A formal program with speakers runs from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by a light lunch and informal fellowship until 1 p.m. The event is open to the public and does not require an RSVP.

Nuckols served for decades as a guiding voice within the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation, most recently as a volunteer archivist. Her knowledge of federal and state preservation law was encyclopedic, colleagues said, and she mentored generations of advocates who continue the work today.

“Our community has lost a true hero,” Jenny Bright of the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation said after Nuckols’ death. “I keep seeing her emails as recently as days ago, cheering us on with our preservation work.”

From neighborhood meetings to state hearings and even the halls of Washington, D.C., Nuckols advocated for preservation with what friends described as clarity, conviction, and fairness. She worked shoulder-to-shoulder with activists in South Pasadena while extending outreach to neighboring communities such as El Sereno.

Longtime neighbor and colleague Félix Gutiérrez recalled Nuckols’ style: “She could be forceful and factual advocating her position in any setting.”

The South Pasadena City Council proclaimed October 12, 2025, as Joanne Nuckols Day. At the December 2025 ceremony, South Pasadena Mayor Sheila Rossi called the coalition Nuckols helped build “one of the most powerful community coalitions this region has ever seen.”

Nuckols and her husband, Tom, moved to South Pasadena in 1967 and never left. She is survived by Tom, her husband of 60 years; children Tina Kistinger and Brett Nuckols; and grandchildren Sydney and Nyle Nuckols.

The South Pasadena Public Library houses the Joanne Nuckols Archive, a collection documenting her research and advocacy on planning, preservation, and the 710 fight.

The War Memorial Building is located at 435 Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memories and photos shared via email at RememberingJoanneSP@gmail.com.

Donations in Nuckols’ memory may be made to the South Pasadena Preservation Foundation at SPpreservation.org or to Huntington Memorial Hospital Cancer Center at Giving.huntingtonhospital.com.

“Joanne left a void,” Mayor Rossi said. “She also left a model for leadership. Fierce, principled and never careless with relationships.”