Two of San Bernardino County’s leading politicians recently suffered the loss of family members.
Bob Ulloa, the husband of Chino Mayor Eunice Ulloa has died at the age of 87.
Stacey Schooler, the daughter of Yucca Valley Councilman Jim Schooler last month stepped into eternity at the age of 46.
Elements of Bob Ulloa’s life, which was intertwined with politics on many levels, shadowed or paralleled that of his wife, who is currently San Bernardino County’s longest serving elected municipal official.
In 1984, the year Eunice Ulloa first ran fro city council, she was encouraged in her electoral effort by then-Chino Mayor Larry Walker, who was seeking reelection that year. Signing Walker’s nomination papers were both Eunice Ulloa and Bob Ulloa. Both Bob Ulloa and Larry Walker signed Eunice Ulloa’s nomination papers.
Larry Walker, Bob Ulloa and Eunice Ulloa were involved in the campaigns of former Chino Mayor and later State Senator Ruben Ayala.
Both Eunice Ulloa and Bob Ulloa endorsed Walker in his successful 1986 challenge of Gus Skropos for Fourth District San Bernardino County Supervisor. Bob Ulloa went on to become one of Walker’s field representatives.
In 1992, Eunice Ulloa was elected Chino Mayor when Fred Aguiar, another Walker ally, left the post. She served as mayor until 2004, , . Left the a
The Ulloas’ alignment with Walker extended to their association with efforts to control development in Chino. Walker, who was Chino Mayor from 1980 to 1986, was a “slow-growth” and “controlled-growth” advocate, calling for requirements that the entities to profit by development – developers and landowners upon whose property the growt was to take place – defray the cost of infrastructure needed to offset the impact of that development. In the 2017-18 timefram, when the “Protect Chino” group opposed Measure H, an aggressive development initiative, Walker, who had just retired from county politics upon departing as the county treasurer/tax collector/auditor/controller, served as the president of the group, assisted in its effort by Eunice Ulloa, who had recently returned to the post of mayor following a several-years long run as councilwoman while Dennis Yates was mayor. Eunice Ulloa had been a slow-growth advocates in her time on the city council, a position that put her in the minority on the panel. She had voted against placing Measure H on the ballot.
Walker expressed optimism about the City of Chino’s direction in 2018, almost two years after Eunice Ulloa’s return as mayor.
Over the years, both Walker and Ayala were prominent Democrats. It was largely assumed that Bob Ulloa and Eunice Ulloa, too, were Democrats. While there are indications that in the 1970s and 1980s the Ulloas were Democrats and that Bob Ulloa remained a lifelong Democrat, in 1998, when Eunice Ulloa ran unsuccessfully for a position in the California State Senate representing what was then the 32nd District, she did so as a Republican. She is still registered with the GOP.
Ulloa left office in 2004 as the result of a failed campaign for county supervisor, but returned to elective office as a councilwoman two years later. She then served 12 years as a council member before running for and returning to the mayor’s post in 2016. In the 1970s, when she was then going by her maiden name, Eunice Shaffer, she and Bob Ulloa, a Navy veteran seven years her senior, Ulloa were working for what was then one of the region’s largest employers, General Dynamics, in Pomona. They worked in different roles and in different divisions, but met at an employee potluck. They married in June 1975 and moved to Chino, on a 1.1 acre-farm in the north part of the city, five years later. Beside a grand home, the farm featured a barn, a corral and a riding arena, as well as four horses, different types of birds including chickens, tortoises, dogs and cats.
As a Chino resident, Bob Ulloa was a board member and eventually the chairman of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the California Institution for Men.
After retiring from General Dynamics, he served as a field representative for Ayala when the older man was in the California State Senate. He recreated by restoring vintage cars and flying hot air balloons. He was a member of the Chino Hills Lions Club and the Chino Mounted Posse, as was Eunice.
Bob is survived by Eunice and their children Nicole Abarca, Erika Jackson, Robert Ulloa Jr. and Troy Ulloa.
Stacey Schooler was the daughter of Jim Schooler and his first wife, Marlene Price.
She was born on September 19, 1979, in Palm Springs, three years after her parents moved to Yucca Valley. She lived in Yucca Valley most of her life, with the exception of the time she was attending college in Northern California.
She was a graduate of Yucca Valley High School and Copper Mountain College and then obtained a bachelor’s degree in communications at California State University, Chico.
She was employed by the Town of Yucca Valley, State Farm Insurance, Inspire Real Estate and her own Scans by Stacey digital conversion business. Her dream job, which she never quite achieved, was to work for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Stacey volunteered extensively in community activism with the Joshua Springs Calvary Chapel in Yucca Valley, most notably the Calvary Bible Institute and Joshua Springs worship team. She actively participated in other efforts in support of Miracle League Baseball, Dreams for Kids, JS Thrift Store, Partners Against Violence and the High Desert Pregnancy Clinic.
A passionate Dodgers fan, Stacey overcame significant physical challenges and possessed an engaging personality, social talents few others could match and the ability to enrich the lives of others.
She valued immensely, and was valued by, her family and friends.
Stacey is survived by her mother, Marlene Price, her father, Jim, and stepmom Dawn Schooler; brothers Michael, Jay, Andrew and John; as well as nephews Lucas, Zakk, Evan, Wesley, Joshua and Grant, and niece Zoe; and several aunts, uncles, in-laws and cousins.
A celebration of Stacey’s life, which ended peacefully on January 29, 2026, will be held Saturday, February 21, at 11 a.m. at Joshua Springs Calvary Chapel in Yucca Valley.