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No one ever cut in line at the Utah Symphony — Lona Mae Lauritzen made sure of that.
"They called me the general," said the 84-year-old volunteer.
Lauritzen said in her 32 years volunteering with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (USUO), only one person took offense to her strict rule of no saving places in line. That woman shoved her, she said.
Lauritzen is one of seven women inducted this year into the Salt Lake Council of Women Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on women who have given 25 years or more of community service to Wasatch Front organizations.
Lauritzen has been the head usher for 32 years at the USUO, and has spent 22 years as the Utah Symphony Guild hostess. She said Wednesday that when she sat down and wrote all of the tasks and jobs she has had through the years with the symphony, her list came to at least 21 items.
She ushered. She gathered donations for fundraisers. She greeted people, and worked on committees. She did it all, she said, because she loves the symphony and the people who devote their time to music.
"They play the most beautiful music," she said. "And they are so devoted to it."
Laurizen also has volunteered at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the past 18 years.
Catherine Tucci Perryman, another honoree, actively has volunteered in Salt Lake City since she moved to the area with her husband from New York 40 years ago. She has given time to the Christ Methodist Church, raised money to build the Inn at Christ Church — a space dedicated to housing homeless families — and worked as a Granite School District teacher and administrator.
Perryman said she enjoyed volunteering with the Methodist church because members are very active helping the community.
"They don't sit still," the retiree said. "They are always doing something. I usually don't sit still too much either."
Perryman said she has volunteered throughout her life — a mindset passed down to her from her father, a social worker, and her mother, a teacher.
"It's very satisfying to me," she said of volunteering. "Once in a while you hit something that works well and that's very satisfying."
Currently, Perryman said she is involved in the Salt Lake Council of Women, the United Methodist Church and is on the board of the Utah Youth Village.
The seven women were inducted into the Hall of Fame during a dinner held in February.
Twitter: @jm_miller —
SLCW Hall of Fame
The SLCW, which celebrated its 100th year in 2012, inducts seven women into its Hall of Fame every five years. The inductees this year, all of whom gave at least 25 years of volunteer service to the Wasatch Front, are: Mary Gail Brassard, Linda Kuenstler Itami, Gwendalyn Larsen, Lona Mae Lauritzen, Carol Jo Rimensberger Radinger, Peggy Stanley and Catherine Tucci Perryman.