Lorri Duckworth was a woman with a mission.
That mission manifested as a wildly popular blueberry u-pick enjoyed by thousands each summer on her Sebastopol farm that a friend told her was harder to get tickets for than front row seats to The Rolling Stones.
But for Duckworth, the blueberries were a bonus in a much bigger picture according to Craig Anderson, the executive director of external affairs at LandPaths who became friends with Duckworth through their shared love of the land in Sonoma County.
“This is one of those small family farmers, while she loved her produce and her blueberries, she loved even more… seeing people reconnect with local food and our sense of history that comes from tending the land and feeding each other,” said Anderson.
Duckworth died April 25 from cancer. She was 62.
Born in Apple Valley, her family moved frequently when she was a child. When she was 16, they moved to Grant’s Pass, Oregon. There she met Oscar Duckworth.
He said their connection was immediate and that they became inseparable through 40-plus years of courtship and marriage.