Grandmother, longtime activist for peace and justice, volunteer

Gaynl Clair Trotter (Stouffer) was born on August 14, 1935, in Modesto, California, to Weslie and Mavis Stouffer (Proudfit). Growing up in the small farming town of Ripon, California, deeply influenced Gaynl’s values and provided her with many leadership opportunities (girls state, national 4-H, debate, high school yell leader, Ripon Congregational Church). Summers were spent camping in the Sierra Nevada, where she developed a lifelong love of the outdoors and an environmentalist heart.

In 1953 she enrolled at the University of California, Davis, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics. While not uncommon for women at the time, she was quick to point out that this degree included taking organic chemistry with the veterinary students. At Davis, she participated in the Cal-Aggie Christian Association, where lively discussions and close friendships enriched her faith. Her faith, deeply rooted in the prophetic call for social justice, led her life, and was the foundation for much of her work and volunteer service.

In 1958 she embarked on a two-year missionary assignment with the Congregational Church, at Kobe College in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan. There she taught students about “western living,” even demonstrating how to bake a turkey on national television. She returned home “the long way,” traveling by freighter and visiting friends in other countries along the way.

Her academic journey continued as she earned master’s degrees from Cornell University in home management and Yale Divinity School in arts in religion. Between her studies, she taught at Central Washington State College and in San Mateo, California. In 1964, she joined other students in Mississippi to register Black voters, a summer that deeply shaped her.

In the late 1960s she moved to Los Angeles to work with All Nations United Methodist Church in the Aliso-Pico housing project. She worked with the Rev. Nat and Jean Lacy, who developed Vacation Bible School resources centered on the Black experience, something missing at the time and important for the community. Later she became the director of children’s ministries for the California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, where she organized the inner-city task force and developed and led teacher training workshops across the region.

While working for the conference, she met the Rev. J. Irwin Trotter. They married on August 5, 1972, and welcomed their only child, Sheena, in 1975. She and Irwin had a devoted partnership centered in their faith, commitment to social justice, and family. They enjoyed traveling and summer road trips throughout the western U.S. She volunteered extensively in church and school projects and never missed a family gathering or celebration.

In 1984, the family moved to Claremont, where her husband joined the faculty of the Claremont School of Theology. “In Claremont, she immersed herself in peace with justice causes, often mobilizing others with her infectious optimism and charisma; it was hard to turn Gaynl down,” her family shared. She worked on political campaigns, registered voters and marched in countless protests. She considered her work during the 1986 Great Peace March against nuclear weapons one of her greatest accomplishments. With little notice, she rallied the Claremont community to house and feed 1,000 marchers.

In 2000, the couple returned to Ripon to be closer to her mother, Mavis. She continued her volunteer work there, reenergizing her home church, serving as a museum docent, joining the garden club, and advocating passionately for community improvements, including raising $1 million to expand Mavis Stouffer Park. During this time she also served as a caretaker for both her husband and her mother, and ensured their lives remained active and joyful. Her husband playfully called her “the champion of hopeless causes.”

She was a devoted grandmother to Katherine and Lauren, frequently traveling to Calgary, Canada to attend their performances and milestone events. “She was always a good sport and spent hours playing with the girls, sharing her love of baking cookies, finding ‘art supplies’ in the recycling bin, and even riding all the rides at Disneyland,” her family said. “She enjoyed going on trips with her family — always willing to sleep on the floor and sit in the middle seat.  Life was always an adventure and Gaynl wasn’t going to miss any of it.”

In early 2020 she was diagnosed with mild cognitive decline, which worsened due to the isolation brought by the pandemic. On her way to visit her brother near Lake Tahoe, she was struck by a reckless driver. Miraculously, she survived the accident and a challenging year of recovery, but her injuries and cognitive decline necessitated a move to Mt. San Antonio Gardens in Pomona. “There, the last three years of Gaynl’s life were filled with love and community,” her family added. “Even in a more restricted space, she brought her zest for life, empathy, and unrelenting determination to each day.”

She died peacefully in her sleep on October 29. The family wishes to thank the staff at Mt. San Antonio Gardens for their heartfelt care.

She is survived by her daughter, Sheena Trotter-Dennis and her husband, Pete Dennis; granddaughters, Katherine and Lauren Dennis; brother, Mervyn Stouffer and his wife, Joan Rogers; many beloved nieces and nephews, and countless other friends and family.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, January 17, 2025, at Claremont United Methodist Church, 211 W. Foothill Blvd. Claremont, CA 91711. A livestream will be available at youtube.com/c/ClaremontUMC. Lunch will follow for those attending in person.

A reception and gathering will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, January 19 at Stouffer Hall in Ripon, California.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Claremont School of Theology at cst.edu/home-give, or to any peace with justice organization.