Sonia Loy (Piggott) Duffoo passed on July 4, 2022 after battling a rare and aggressive cervical cancer. Sonia was born to Myron and Jeanice Piggott on October 8, 1942 in McPherson, Kansas. Sonia lived with her mother in Jeanice’s small hometown of Marquette, Kansas while her father was away at war in Europe during World War II.  After the war ended, Myron worked for a brief time on the railroad in Kansas, but he soon reenlisted in the Air Force and Sonia moved and was schooled in many places across the country.  At one point her father was transferred to Japan.   Along the way Sonia's brother George was born and they moved with their mother back to Marquette awaiting their move to Japan to join Myron.  Sonia made several lifelong friends in Marquette. When the family joined Myron in Japan, Sonia went to high school and learned to appreciate Japanese culture.

 

Sonia graduated from high school in Lincoln, Nebraska and received a BA at the University of Nebraska in 1964 with a major in Spanish and English and a minor in Russian.  She studied intensive Russian at San Francisco State and used her Spanish to study Spanish literature when she met her first love, Humberto Morales at a salsa dance party.  In her senior year she was married and shortly after graduation she had a daughter, Cris Olivia.   Although her marriage didn’t last, making her the sole provider, she was determined to make a new life for herself and her child.  She set out to California first as a school teacher in Fresno and later in Huntington Beach. Sonia’s courageous and pioneering move to California inspired her parents and brother to move to California in 1967 following Myron’s retirement from the Air Force.  

 

Sonia obtained her master’s degree in education from Pepperdine University while teaching in the Newport Mesa School District in Newport Beach, where she was very active in the teacher’s union. Sonia taught English and Spanish. Her innovative lessons allowed her to reach students from the low-income Latino/a neighborhoods. They competed and earned awards in presenting Spanish plays and were successful in other activities. She made sure her students competed in places where they were not always welcome.  Most importantly, she brought her daughter along with her to teach her treat all people with respect, to remind her to give back to the community and to appreciate her child’s own Latina heritage.  Sonia’s love for people and other cultures was boundless. One summer, she was able to revisit Japan by earning a Fulbright Scholarship to study the Japanese education system. 

 After serving almost 20 years as a great classroom teacher, Sonia became an administrator and transitioned her career to director positions in migrant education for the State of California. This was a natural fit given Sonia’s fluency in Spanish and love for Latino/a culture. During the over 20 years she devoted to migrant education, Sonia was a strong advocate for the underprivileged and was responsible for the education of thousands of migrant workers’ children and improved their lives and futures, a legacy few people have.  As a result, she earned national recognition for her district and was sent to Washington D.C. to receive a national award for exemplary service.

 

Sonia retired in Sacramento in 2005 and spent the remainder of her life immersing herself in reading and intellectual exploration and enjoying great friendships.  Sonia had an especially close and loving relationship with her daughter Cris.  Sonia passed down a love for people, languages and learning and taught her daughter well about the unlimited value of education.  Cris earned a full scholarship to several universities culminating with an M.A. from Cornell University to study Mandarin and worked in the Chinese, Latina and diverse low income communities as a teacher of history, music and English. Sonia often attended Cris’ school events and concerts.  Thus they came to a full circle, both learning, serving and teaching about all wonders of the world and about the duty one has to contribute to society and teach respect for all.

 

In her retirement in Sacramento, Sonia had several close friends including the “Best Buddies Club.”  Caryl, Karen, Barbara and Irene celebrated each other’s lives, played bridge and went to various musical and theatrical events together.  Sonia’s final home was in San Francisco, where she lived the remaining 9 years of her life.

 

Sonia lived at the Broadmoor retirement hotel, where she made numerous friends with interesting backgrounds and life stories. San Francisco also enabled Sonia to reconnect with her love for Japanese culture, as Japantown is near the Broadmoor.  She immediately became a part of the community by taking classes at the Japanese Cultural Center.  The Japanese teachers and community welcomed her with open arms and she made many friends.  She became very good at Mahjong and played twice a week, often reeling in a modest prize.  She spent many days with her numerous Broadmoor friends, including Pihsia, Garret and Dick, going to concerts, movies and the opera.  Her surviving BFF was Stephanie, who lived directly above her and was a wonderful support to her.  Sonia was treated like family by ALL of the Broadmoor staff who shared her love of pets.  Sonia’s beloved cat Mai Tai was also a loyal companion, laying on Sonia’s chest and offering kisses right until Sonia’s last breath in hospice.  

 

Sonia is survived by her daughter, Cris Olivia Morales of Oakland, California, her brother, George, and his wife and Sonia’s sister-in-law, Dinah, of Newport Beach, California, and their children, Sonia’s niece, Juliane Mosebar of Fort Collins, Colorado, and her nephew, Christopher Piggott of Aliso Viejo, California, and their sons and Sonia’s great nephews, Jaxon Mosebar and Magnus Piggott.

 

A celebration of Sonia's life will be held at 2:00 p.m., October 8, 2022 at the First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center located at 1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco. All friends and acquaintances of Sonia’s are welcome.

If you would like to donate something in her honor, please consider one of these organizations.

1)     Immigration Center for Women and Children

634 South Spring Street, Suite 727
 Los Angeles, CA
 90014

 

2)   Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC)
1840 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

Phone: (415) 567-5505

3)   National Cervical Cancer Coalition

 PO Box 13827 

Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

800.685.5531

 

4)     Threshold Choir-( who sang to her when she was in hospice.  She could not talk but                                               softly clapped to the singers in appreciation.)

P.O. Box 8496

Santa Rosa, CA 95407

707-596-8531

5)   Pink Ribbon Girls-provided free rides to radiation treatment

350 Huls Drive

Dayton, OH 45315-8992

877-269-5367