A park renaming and dedication ceremony was held Wednesday in memory of former Duarte Mayor Tzeitel Paras-Caracci.
The City Council voted at its Sept. 26 meeting to rename Royal Oaks Park Extension Tzeitel Paras-Caracci Park due to her attachment to the park, where she married her husband, KC Caracci, in 2003, according to Manuel Enriquez, the city’s director of parks and recreation.
“Tzeitel epitomized public service in Duarte,” Mayor Jody Shulz said at the 11 a.m. ceremony at the park. “Her determination and precocious nature ensured that all she did resulted in a positive outcome for the community, especially the youth. That is why the dedication of the park in her name is the most appropriate gesture to honor her legacy.”
The ceremony was held Wednesday because it is Hello Kitty Day, the “birthday” of the Sanrio character Paras-Caracci was a “huge enthusiast” of, Enriquez said.
Paras-Caracci was a strong advocate of Duarte’s young people and parks and recreation services, Enriquez said.
Paras-Caracci was elected to the first of her six terms on the council in 2001. She was the first Filipino-American to be elected to the Duarte City Council and the first Duarte High School graduate.
She served as mayor in 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2019.
Paras-Caracci was also a member of the National League of Cities Board of Directors, the League of California Cities Board of Directors, president of the Asian Pacific American Municipal Officials, director for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, governing board member of Foothill Transit, board member of the Duarte Community Coordinating Council and president of the Duarte Women’s Club.
Born Aug. 8, 1972, in Quezon City, Philippines, and named for the eldest daughter from the Broadway musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” Paras-Caracci and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and to Duarte in 1985. She graduated from Duarte High School in 1989 and later from Woodbury University in Burbank.
Paras-Caracci died June 25, 2022, at age 49 following a nearly three-year battle with lung cancer.
“I served with Tzeitel on the Duarte City Council for over 20 years. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, but we were close friends and we both love the city of Duarte — so we could always work things out for the betterment of our community,” said Council member Margaret Finlay.
“Duarte has lost one of the greatest public servants with the passing of Tzeitel but her good works, dynamic personality and integrity will last for generations to come.”