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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
BROOKS, Calif. – With deep sadness, the Tribal Council of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation announced the death of Marshall McKay following his battle with COVID-19.
Speaking as one, the Yocha Dehe Tribal Council issued the following statement: “We know our pain is shared by so many families facing the devastating effects of this pandemic. We know also the pain of Marshall’s loss is shared by the many who loved him and learned from him. We will miss his strength and wisdom. He was a resolute protector of Native American heritage here, within our own homeland, but also throughout California and Indian Country.”
For 31 years, from 1984 to 2015, Marshall McKay served as a member of the Yocha Dehe Tribal Council, elected to lead the Tribe as its chairman for nearly a decade of that time.
He continued to serve on many of the Tribe’s governmental bodies, including the board of directors for Cache Creek Casino Resort.
McKay’s leadership was marked by a stalwart dedication to the preservation and promotion of Native American arts and culture, the affirmation of sovereign tribal governance, and the international effort to protect the rights of all indigenous people.
He was instrumental in helping Yocha Dehe achieve economic independence, he helped the Tribe grow and diversify its agricultural operations, and he helped to greatly expand the Tribe’s land holdings within Yocha Dehe’s ancestral territory.
The son of the renowned healer and basket weaver Mabel McKay, Marshall McKay possessed a deep passion and appreciation for Native art as a means for Native people to tell their stories and preserve their histories.
McKay was a founding member of the Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, and he was appointed to the board for Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. He also was the first Native American to be appointed chairman of the board for the Autry National Center (which includes the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, the Museum of the American West, and the Institute for the Study of the American West).
McKay was a fierce advocate for the environment and tribal land rights, and a champion for sustainable living and land-use practices.
He was dedicated to protecting tribal sovereignty and the rights of Native tribes and peoples, serving on the Board of the Native American Rights Fund.
He was a founding commissioner of the California Native American Heritage Commission, whose charge is to protect Native American cultural resources, including places of religious and social significance to Native peoples, such as tribal cemeteries on private and public lands.
McKay was the first of his tribe to attend college – Sonoma State University.
He spent 15 years repairing and maintaining nuclear submarines for the Department of Defense, ultimately supervising those work crews.
Born in Colusa near his tribal home within Yolo County’s Capay Valley, McKay was deeply devoted to his family and tribal community.
The Tribe is profoundly grateful for the care McKay received from frontline healthcare workers in Los Angeles where his illness developed, an area particularly hard-hit by the pandemic.
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is an independent, self-governed nation that supports its people and the Capay Valley community by strengthening its culture, stewarding its land and creating economic independence for future generations.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Clifford Donald Ruzicka was born on Jan. 20, 1936, in the small farming community of Pischelville, Nebraska to Henry and Marion (Hrbek) Ruzicka.
He passed away in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2020, after a life full of hard work, outdoor adventures, and time with his family, friends and engineering team members.
Cliff was the youngest of four children. He attended school in a one-room country schoolhouse near their farm, often the teacher’s only student.
His parents sent him to town to board so that he could attend Verdigre High School, where he was a key athlete on championship basketball and six-man football teams. One woman who knew Cliff as a young man wistfully recalled, “One night I watched him score five touchdowns.”
After graduation, Cliff entered the Army. After completing boot camp, he was sent to Ft. Gordon in Georgia to train for the United States Army Signal Corps.
Due to his ability to speak and understand the Czech language, he was hand-picked for the 7144th Signal Technical Intel Team stationed in Salzburg, Austria performing intelligence duties during the Cold War in 1954-1955.
He wore civilian clothes and blended with civilians in bars, restaurants and community events to determine Soviet troop movement while traveling around Europe in a “Volkswagen Bug.”
Upon his honorable discharge, Cliff immediately applied to college and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1961 with a degree in civil engineering. He married Marie Hospodka, and by the time he graduated from college, they had three small children at home, Joy, Jon and Jim.
Cliff worked as a civil engineer for the city of Lincoln, before being recruited by the California Department of Water Resources to design infrastructure for the Oroville Dam and bridges for the California Aqueduct Project. The family relocated to Sacramento when their fourth child, Jill, was born.
Always the entrepreneur, Cliff wanted to open his own civil engineering business. He moved his family to Lake County, where the rolling hills and distinct four seasons reminded him of his home in Nebraska.
He initially worked with Raymond Murphy Associates, a San Francisco engineering firm, designing Clear Lake Riviera, and later with Lange Brothers Construction. After starting his own company, Ruzicka Engineering, he continued to share office space with Lange Brothers.
After a divorce in the early 1970s, Clifford met Nancy Randall through mutual friends, the Hinmans, Bruns and Bullards. They were married in 1974.
On New Year’s Eve in 1976 Cliff and Nancy became parents of twins, Mark and Marla.
Cliff and Nancy were passionate about economic development and worked tirelessly to promote Lake County, encouraging investment for quality development. They worked with residential developers to create quality housing ― Riviera Heights, Riviera West, Del Lago and Westlake Marina Resort Homes ― as well as improvements at Konocti Harbor Inn, The Geysers, Homestake Mine, Work Right Shower Doors, Vittel of France, Blue Shield Insurance, shopping centers, mobile home parks, wineries and vineyard development.
He designed campgrounds, marinas, launch ramps and infrastructure for our cities, Lake and Mendocino Counties, state and federal projects, and housing and casinos for tribal governments. Recently he has been referred to as “The Cannabis Development Guru of Lake County,” encouraging legal, quality development for local job creation.
Cliff gave back constantly to his community. He sponsored Little League teams, could be counted on to sponsor and participate in community events, donate free engineering/surveying services for local improvement projects, always churches, and even mentored people through their sobriety.
Cliff is preceded in death by his two daughters, Marla and Joy Ruzicka; his parents and siblings Glen, Marcella, and Violet.
He is survived by his wife, Nancy Randall Ruzicka; children, Mark, Jon, Jim and Jill Ruzicka; and grandchildren, Allegria, Avalon, Nancy and Brayden Ruzicka, and Oliver and Philip Leighton.
His Nebraska nieces and nephews, Cindy Binger (Jerold), Bonnie Riley (Calvin), Cathy White (Duane), Jackie Lechtenberg (James), Jeri Ruzicka, Steven Ruzicka (Bonnie), and Dale Kovanda (Lisa), all meant the world to him. Also his favorite hunting and fishing companions Mike Raynor of Dakota City, Nebraska, Dennis Brand of Ketchikan, Alaska, Wilford Low of San Francisco, and his dog, Piper.
Celebrations of his life will be held, future dates to be announced, in Lakeport, California, Verdigre, Nebraska, and Ketchikan, Alaska at Cliff’s favorite fishing spot, “The Roaring Hole.”
Memorial donations to the Marla Ruzicka Memorial Futsal Soccer Field planned for Lakeport’s Westside Park, the Verdigre Community Foundation or Hospice of Lake County would be appreciated by Cliff’s family.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Born John Clement Lincoln on Feb. 6, 1925, in Tempe, Arizona, he was raised along with six brothers and sisters in the town of Safford, Arizona.
On his 18th birthday, he traveled to Phoenix and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. After completing flight training, John was assigned to the 19th Troop Carrier Squadron where he flew C46 and C47 transport airplanes throughout the South Pacific theater in World War II.
Eventually, he flew supplies and personnel into Tokyo, Japan, two weeks after the surrender in support of American occupation efforts.
After being discharged, John moved to Pasadena, California, where he met Gena Mae Brotherton.
After a 10-day courtship, they were married in Las Vegas on Nov. 11, 1949, and settled in the Los Angeles area.
He worked for the Pasadena Water Department and attended night school where he studied freight traffic management. One of his instructors saw promise in him and referred him to a company named Products Research Corp.
While there he sensed an opportunity for a career change and accepted a traffic management position with Los Angeles Wholesale Institute and California Shipper’s Association, two membership associations that consolidated freight shipments for its member companies. There he rose quickly to the position of CEO.
During his tenure he merged the two freight shipping organizations into LAWI/CSA Consolidators Inc., moved the general offices to Glendale, California, and grew the combined company into one of the largest non-profit shipping companies in the country, employing over 400 people and operating multiple shipping facilities in many western and eastern states.
He served several terms as the president of the National Freight Traffic Association and testified before Congress on matters relevant to rail and truck shipping over the years.
Upon retirement, he and Gena eventually settled in Kelseyville. He went on to work for many years for the county of Lake as its first safety officer, developing safety protocols for the county’s many departments. Over time his efforts resulted in a significant reduction in workers compensation claim costs for the county.
Over their lifetime together, he and Gena owned and flew many airplanes, took up sailing and then motor homing.
John is survived by his three sons: Tom (Ruth) of Lakeport; Braden (Regina) of Valencia; and Todd (Linda) of Reno, Nevada. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
There are no services scheduled. The family asks that any donations in his name be made to a veteran’s organization of choice.