Community services volunteer Dora Guzman (1918-1998) was born Aurora Quinonez Rodriguez in Inyo County, the daughter of Mexican immigrant laborers. She came of age in Lincoln Heights and worked in a garment factory before marrying Louis Fontez Guzman (1919-1991), a WWII soldier, in 1943. They went on to have a son and a daughter and settled in La Puente around 1955. Once the kids grew up and moved out, Dora Guzman became active in civic affairs, advocating for better schools, law enforcement, and especially public health services for underprivileged Latinos. Although she was never elected to public office (despite running for La Puente City Council at least once), Guzman helped coordinate several Democratic campaigns and served on at least half a dozen local advisory boards. She was honored as a “Woman of the Year” by the CA State Assembly in 1988. Most of Laura Avenue was renamed Dora Guzman Avenue by the year 2000, but I couldn’t ascertain whether this occurred during or after Guzman’s lifetime.
Find it on the map:
