LaRayne Cleek, Tulare County court executive, set to retire

Tulare County Superior Court executive officer LaRayne Cleek, a court employee for 42 years, will retire Friday.

At a surprise event Wednesday, she received accolades from judges past and present, the district attorney, public defender, sheriff and Visalia police chief.

But she will return in January in essentially the same position until the judges find a permanent replacement.

Cleek was hired in 1973 as an intermediate clerk, working her way up to Municipal Court administrator and court executive officer of the Superior Court.

She oversaw court consolidation and the separation of services from the county when the state took over the Superiors Courts, and led the advisory committee responsible for the design of the new South County Justice Center courthouse in Porterville.

LaRayne was raised in the Porterville area and moved to Visalia in her teen years, graduating from Mount Whitney High School in 1971.

LaRayne is married to Dahl Cleek, retired undersheriff for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 4:35 PM with the headline "LaRayne Cleek, Tulare County court executive, set to retire."