Harriett “Hattie” Stretz was a familiar face in the Los Alamitos-Seal Beach area before Oct. 12 thanks to her volunteerism and community involvement. Tragically, the 73-year-old became known nationally after that date as the sole survivor among people who were shot inside Salon Meritage. Stretz was getting her hair done by her daughter, Laura Webb Elody, who would be among that afternoon's eight fatalities.
In the open letter that follows, Stretz and her husband thank the community–especially first responders and hospital staff–and vow to get back “out and about” again.
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Via Los Alamitos-Seal Beach Patch:
Since the events of October 12th in Seal Beach we have
been the grateful recipients of an abundance of love and support from
our family, friends and community. You have taken us under your
protective wing and provided us with a physical, emotional and
spiritual blanket that has allowed us to begin the process of healing;
your love will never be forgotten. The sheer number of blessings and
number of people giving them makes it impossible for us to thank you
individually; you know who you are. So please, for the time being,
accept this very simple but heart-felt “group thank you”!We feel a need to specifically thank the four men who bravely
secured the salon and provided initial aid as well as to each member of
the first responder teams. We also deeply appreciate the men and
women of the many police departments, especially those in Seal Beach;
and to the members of our Los Alamitos Police Department who gave of
their personal time to assure our safety and comfort. Finally, there
is no better Trauma Center than that at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. From those who made certain that our surroundings were clean, to the
nurses and doctors, and up through administration we were treated with
the only highest level of care, compassion and understanding.We have enjoyed our involvement with our many friends and community
organizations. We look forward to that continuing. With your
sustained prayers and a little time it will not be long before you see
us “out and about” once again.Hattie & Tom Stretz
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.