LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Gloria Molina, the pioneering former LA County Supervisor, LA City Councilwoman and California Assemblywoman — and the first Latina to serve on each of those bodies — will be remembered Saturday at a Celebration of Life that’s expected to be packed with family, friends and political dignitaries.

What You Need To Know

  • Molina, who grew up in Pico Rivera, was active in the early days of the Chicano movement, becoming an advocate for women’s health issues

  • She first won elective office in 1982, winning the 56th Assembly District seat and eventually leading a fight to quash a proposed prison in East LA

  • Molina won the City Council’s First District seat in 1987, and was elected to the Board of Supervisors from the county’s First District in 1991

  • She served as a supervisor through 2014, becoming known as a sharp fiscal watchdog before being termed out

Molina, who died of cancer May 14 at age 74, will be honored at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, the cultural institution for which she was a driving force.

The celebration “will pay tribute to Gloria’s remarkable life, highlighting her impact as a person, an esteemed elected official and as a talented artist,” according to a statement from LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

Molina’s family members will be joined by, among others, LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis, former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Rep. Maxine Waters.

The program will feature music, speakers, videos and art exhibits, as well as the opportunity for guests to contribute to the Community Quilt of Hope — which will comprise written or drawn expressions on fabric squares with gratitude messages to Molina.

In retirement, Molina pursued quilting and painting, and the Quilt of Hope will be stitched together by members of TELAS, The East Los Angeles Stitchers, a group she helped found.

Also on display Saturday will be “Gloria Molina: Community Champion,” a temporary exhibit about Molina’s life and legacy that includes photographs and quilts assembled by Molina herself.

Molina, who grew up in Pico Rivera, was active in the early days of the Chicano movement, becoming an advocate for women’s health issues — which she continued into her elected offices. At one point, she founded a Nurse Mentoring Program through local community colleges to address a nurse shortage.

She first won elective office in 1982, winning the 56th Assembly District seat and eventually leading a fight to quash a proposed prison in East LA.

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Molina won the City Council’s First District seat in 1987, and was elected to the Board of Supervisors from the county’s First District in 1991. She served as a supervisor through 2014, becoming known as a sharp fiscal watchdog before being termed out. Her district encompassed Koreatown, Pico-Union, East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley.

Molina was also the first woman elected to the Board of Supervisors — once known as the “Five Little Kings” — though Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who was appointed to fill a vacancy, was the first woman to serve on the board.

Prior to her elected positions, Molina worked as a deputy for presidential personnel in the Jimmy Carter White House.

In recognition of Molina’s leadership, the Board of Supervisors earlier this year renamed Grand Park — a project Molina also championed — in her honor. It is now called Gloria Molina Grand Park.