We announce with great sadness the death of our mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, Roberta Howson Hughan.

Roberta was a trailblazer, starting with being one of the first women to graduate from the UC Berkeley School of Architecture.  In 1977 she was the first woman elected to the Gilroy City Council, on which she served two terms.  She succeeded that by being elected as the first woman Mayor of Gilroy, where she served from 1983 to 1991, comprising fourteen consecutive years of service to the City of Gilroy.  Her service as Mayor was marked by a spirit of collaboration and consistent clear principles during a period of substantial development and an increase in city services.  She was particularly interested in the planned expansion of Gilroy's city limits and zoning rules, and the extension of City parks.

Roberta and her husband John founded the firm Hughan & Hughan Architects in 1964 in Gilroy.  During her career as an architect, she designed local custom homes and commercial, educational, and church buildings, and consulted on the restoration of the Wiley Cultural Center with the Theater Angels Art League.  She also rescued and renovated the historic Caroline Hoxett home in Gilroy, which was her home for 51 years.

The first of her many appointments to County and State Commissions was in 1973 as a founding member of the Commission on the Status of Women for Santa Clara County, which was created to promote women's rights, especially in the areas of housing, employment, and education.

Roberta was subsequently appointed by the Governor as a Commissioner on the California Air Resources Board and helped lead the Commission's improvements to California's vehicle manufacturing emission standards, smog checks for vehicles, and the development and introduction of electric vehicles to our State.  After her term as a commissioner expired in 1992 she was invited to become a full-time staff member of the Board, where she proudly worked to improve air quality and emission reductions for nearly a decade before retiring and returning to Gilroy.

Roberta was a life-long member  of St. Mary Catholic Parish.  She belonged to many civic and social organizations including AAUW, Rotary, the Gilroy Historical Society, and the Gilroy Garlic Festival Advisory Committee.  She also served as a board member for organizations including the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and St. Joseph's Family Center, and was a founding member of the Theater Angels Arts League.  She received a Leadership Award from the San José Mercury in 1984.  One only needs to drive around Gilroy to see the impact she had as an architect, politician and community member.

Roberta delighted in the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren.  She encouraged and mentored other women to build leadership experience and work towards their goals.  Through her life Roberta traveled the world, always looking to experience local culture.  She filled her home with interesting folk art and cultural artifacts that she found while traveling abroad.

Roberta grew up in Gilroy, daughter to William Robert and Frances Cullen Howson, part of a family that arrived in Gilroy in 1865.  She is survived by a large family who loved her dearly, including her children Wade Hughan (Jane), Gwyneth Sauceda (Ed), and Robert Hughan; five grandchildren John Hughan (Corey), Iona Popa (Tyler), Amy Sauceda (Nick), Sara Sauceda and Margot Hughan; and great-grandson Joseph Matalone; by her siblings Ronald Howson and Marcia Keahey Bodnar; and six nieces and nephews.  Her entire family will for the rest of their lives be deeply inspired by Roberta's deep faith, courage, intellectual curiosity, and dedication to hard work built upon integrity and consistent principles.   She will remain a witness that leadership comes with responsibility and the obligation to inspire and encourage leadership in others.

A Memorial Mass will be held 2:00pm, Friday, June 7th at St. Mary Catholic Church, 11 First Street, Gilroy.  The family requests that donations be made to St. Joseph's Family Center, St. Mary's Parish, or the Sierra Club.