Saratoga News

Mother of the Year Lucretia Behman

Saratogan named Mother of the Year

By Carolyn Leal

Lucretia Behman of Saratoga, a substitute teacher who likes nothing better than working with kids everyone else avoids, has been named "Mother of the Year" by the Santa Clara County Red Cross.

Behman was presented with the award during a Mother's Day brunch at Chateau La Cresta at Paul Masson Mountain Winery. She has lived in Saratoga since 1963.

Behman, who is recovering from back surgery, said she looks forward to returning as a substitute teacher at the Santa Clara County girls' and boys' ranches.

"I really like the kids. They are really needy and I enjoy working with them," she said.

"My mother has always sought out children who are lost and alone, somehow alienated from their families," said Behman's daughter, Marejka Rodgers of San Jose, who nominated her mother for the award.

As both a teacher and a volunteer, Behman has "nurtured, loved and guided dozens of children," Rodgers said. "I have seen her turn cynicism and distrust into faith and ambition."

In particular, Behman reaches children others have given up on, her daughter said.

"My mother has a unique pairing of personality and persistence that reaches children everyone else has given up on," Behman said. "She has brought children into her life and treated them as her own. She has helped unwed mothers make a life for themselves and their children, who now call her 'Nana.' She has helped virtually abandoned minority children get scholarships to colleges. She has helped high school dropouts get diplomas, career training and jobs.

"To all of them, she has given self-esteem and a sense of belonging."

Behman has been a child advocate from 1990 to present, working as an ombudsman for children as they make their way through the juvenile court system. She is a board member for the Center for Employment Training in San Jose, an organization that works with school dropouts, helping them get training and employment.

In addition, Behman has been a volunteer with Friendly Visiting Service, a volunteer probation officer, a volunteer with Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County, a board member for Saratoga's Hakone Gardens and a counselor/house parent for Ming Quong Children's Center in Los Gatos.

At various times, she has provided a home for six foster children and she has hosted five exchange students from Japan.

In 1992, she was presented with the JC Penney Golden Rule Award and she received the Child Advocate Service Award in 1991 and 1992. Other volunteer awards have come from the San Jose Junior League and the Santa Clara County Probation Department.

"The most remarkable thing is that she has been a mother to so many children everyone else has given up on and has made incredible changes in their lives against all odds," said Marejka.

"She does this out of love and asks for nothing in return other than their happiness and success."