Sierra Mountain Times

Recently, Tuolumne felt the loss of two women who touched many people in our small community. Almost anyone who attended Summerville High School between 1961 and 1995, most likely had the opportunity at one time or another to ride on Pat Easley or Pauline Howard’s high school bus. On August 25, 2009, Pat Easley passed away, with Pauline Howard to follow on September 8, 2009. Pauline Howard  

In the fall of 1961, Pauline Howard was hired by Principal Charles Hale to drive the bus for Summerville High School. Pauline retired after driving for both Summerville High School and Summerville Elementary in the summer of 1978. Pat Easley started her career as a bus driver at Summerville High School in the fall of 1972. Becky Easley stated, “Pat heard there was an opening for a bus driver at the high school so she talked to Tom Carr who was the supervisor of the bus drivers at that time and told him she was interested in driving a bus but that she had no experience. Tom had her drive one of the busses to Tuolumne to see if she could do it. While she was out driving, she hit a curb. Pat returned to Tom and told him that she couldn’t. Tom felt he knew better and hired her anyway and he assigned Pauline to train Pat and they worked together for six years.” 

Pat Easley

Pat went on to become supervisor of the bus drivers in 1976. Pat also went to the Highway Patrol Academy to certify to be a bus-driving instructor. Pat taught bus driving at Columbia College until 1992. During that time she taught her two daughters Becky and Mia to drive as well as Don Burns, Steve Artzer, Bill Dutra and Mike Schaunasy – all close family friends. Mia has become the next generation in the Easley family to drive a bus at Summerville High School where she is as popular as her mother had been with the high school kids. Pat worked alongside her husband Vern driving bus until she retired in the summer of 1995. Both Pauline and Pat drove what was known as the “Long Barn Run” which required these women to put chains on the busses several times during the winter – showing those who rode these women’s busses that they were not only strong in character but also in physical ability.

Gary Coates worked as a bus driver with Pauline from 1964 to 1971 and stated, “Pauline never seemed to have a bad day. She always had a smile on her face that was contagious. Even though she was small and very kind, the kids knew better than to cause a problem for Pauline because she could ‘hold her own’. There were not many times when Pauline had to get after a student.” 

Pauline’s daughter Doris Lillis stated, “My mother loved driving the high school bus and she had an impressive memory. She remembered everyone she met and could tell you a story about them as well. She was always fascinated by ‘large machinery’ and knew that she wanted to drive something larger than a car or passenger truck, so when an opening came up for a bus driver at the high school, she got trained and started driving. She always felt it was important to be strong both physically as well as mentally, so it was no problem to learn to drive the bus, learn how to put on chains and keep the high school kids in line.”

Anna Artzer, Attendance Secretary for Summerville High School and 1976 graduate stated, “I have lost two of my favorite bus drivers. I had the opportunity to ride on Pat and Pauline’s bus and then later, my son-in-law Matt Armstrong rode Pat Easley’s bus, not only through high school but also during his elementary school years. Pat would pick Matt up in Me-Wuk during her regular pickups of high school kids and drop him off at Soulsbyville Elementary School. Pat did this because Matt lived with his dad, but his mother worked at Soulsbyville Elementary School, and that way Matt could be with his mom at school. Pat did this out of the ‘goodness of her heart.’ She will never know how much Matt appreciated this and what a great person she was to both me and Matt.”

Pauline and Pat lived in Tuolumne for the majority of their adult lives. Pauline attended the Methodist Church, was a 4H Leader and a member for over 40 years of the Eastern Star, the female sector of the Masons. Pat was a Girl Scout Leader and a big FFA supporter. One thing that Pauline and Pat had in common was their support for the “Fighting Blindness Foundation”. Nearing the end of their lives, Pauline and Pat were both afflicted with macular degeneration.

It is not surprising that there are many people around our community that have such wonderful memories of both Pauline and Pat. Not only did these women have a passion for service in their community but also working in a career where they touched the lives a many individuals in Tuolumne County.