Evelyn Corrales gets together twice a month with the “bunco babes” to enjoy friendships developed over a lifetime.
Corrales is one of three original members of the group of 12 women who celebrated a 50th anniversary of gathering to play the dice game. The 77-year-old host decorated her eastside home for their Golden Anniversary. Decorations included gold balloons and table cloths, and leis were handed to the bunco babes as a symbol of love, celebration, friendship and honor.
Champagne was among the refreshments, along with rich candies, snacks and a dessert of chocolate and caramel.
The women, divided into four groups, gathered to play the parlor game of chance — trying to score points while taking turns rolling three dice in a series of six rounds. A bunco is achieved when a person rolls three-of-a-kind and all three numbers match the round number. Prizes include cash, gift cards, flower arrangements and costume jewelry.
Twenty-five games are played, and the evening easily lasts over two hours of dice rolling and girl talk as the women gather twice a month at the homes of different players who host the event.
When Cathy Bird joined the group in 1971, there were eight women who were married to police officers. “We were known as the bunco babes, and the name stuck,” said Bird. Over the years, nurses and teachers were the majority in the group as members changed. “I may not see the women until we play, but I know they are here for me when I need them,” said Bird, 77, a seamstress.
Penny Brock celebrates rolling a bunco during their bi-weekly game.
She recalled emailing the group after her husband contracted COVID-19 after Christmas. He is an asthmatic but did well and was hospitalized for three days. Bird also contracted the virus but was asymptomatic and quarantined for 14 days.
“They supported me and were a big comfort to me,” said Bird about the women.
Newcomer Kim Gerbig, a judicial secretary for Tucson City Court, said she was invited to become a bunco babe by a friend and is looking forward to learning the game from the pros.
“I was 6 years old when they started,” said Gerbig, 57. She said she played bunco four years ago with a different group and likes that the bunco babes do not have a lot of turnover. “I had a good time earlier in the week, even though I did not win. We all fit in together and come from different walks of life and are of all ages,” Gerbig said.
Another new player is Ruth Foster, a retired nurse practitioner, who moved recently from Massachusetts to Tucson.
“This is my first time playing bunco, and it is a really super way to get to know people. This is such a fun group of ladies,” said Foster, 63.
Even though the game is enjoyable, what keeps the women connected is their friendship, and the sharing of experiences during good times and bad times, said Corrales.
“We support each other during divorces, deaths, illnesses and are there to share fun times at weddings, births and graduations,” said the retired insurance agent.
Corrales recalled a hilarious story that the women still talk about. After her divorce from her first husband years ago, she began dating. She met a nice man who had come to her house for dinner, and he asked if he could turn on the fire place. Corrales told him yes, and explained it was a gas fire place. She left the living room for a moment and when she returned his toupee was ablaze, scorching her date’s eyebrows. She did not know he wore a toupee.
Cathy Bird laughs with her table during their bi-weekly bunco game. Bird is one of the three originals still playing 50 years after their first game.
There were no serious injuries, and the story grew to have a life of its own — bringing laughter that causes some women to tear up. Corrales said she dated the man a couple of more times before she ended it.
Then Corrales said she found the love of her life in firefighter Hector Corrales. The two grew up together and went to the same schools — Carrillo Elementary, Safford Junior High and graduated from Tucson High in 1961. They re-acquainted in 1991 at their 30th high school reunion, and married in 1994. Their union lasted for 22 years and Hector, who climbed to fire captain for Tucson Fire Department, died in 2016.
“We give each other advice and a shoulder to lean on,” said Corrales of the gatherings that have no end among the players ranging in ages from the 50s to the 70s.
