San Joaquin-Alameda County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....Zunissi, Dorothy Mae July 12 2004
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Nancy Wright nvwright@msn.com July 14, 2004, 4:25 pm

Tracy Press July 13, 2004
Dorothy Mae Zanussi
Sept. 16, 1908 — July 12, 2004

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday for former Tracy mayor 
Dorothy Mae (Soares) Zanussi, 95, who died Monday at Sutter Tracy Community 
Hospital.
Born in Oakland, Mrs. Zanussi moved to Tracy with her family in 1963. Shortly 
thereafter, she started working at the Tracy Defense Depot as an office 
manager, retiring in 1974.
Upon moving to town, she immediately became involved in the community, earning 
appointments to various city and philanthropic committees.
In January 1981, she was appointed to the City Council. In March of that year, 
she was selected to serve as mayor pro tem, becoming the city’s first female 
mayor in 1982. She continued to serve on the City Council until 1990, having 
been chosen as mayor a second time from 1985 to 1986.
“That’s the end of an era,” said former mayor Clyde Bland upon hearing news of 
Mrs. Zanussi’s death. He served on the City Council with her from 1984 to 1990.
He said she often kept the council on track with the simple saying, “Just use 
common sense, that’s all.” 
“And she was a rather saucy lady,” Bland said, recalling that she often spoke 
her mind at meetings. “She was still pretty sharp up till the end.”
Bland said Mrs. Zanussi worked hard with the council to develop the Tracy 
Specific Plan that continues to govern the city’s growth and development. The 
council worked on key infrastructure matters, such as building a new sewage 
plant and enlarging the police department.
“We’re talking about lots of money, which Tracy didn’t have upfront and we had 
to get the development community to cough it up by paying fees,” he 
added. “Dorothy was a real watchdog on financial matters, I think.”
Bland was also Mrs. Zanussi’s insurance agent, remembering well how he was one 
of the few people in town who knew a well-kept secret about the public official.
“People had no idea how old she really was,” he said. “She kind of guarded that 
information. As her insurance agent, I knew when she was born, but I kept my 
mouth shut.”
Cathy Hariton, a close friend of Mrs. Zanussi since the two met in the 1960s, 
echoed Bland’s remark.
“She wouldn’t tell her age until she was 90,” Hariton said. “That was a big 
secret.”
Although Mrs. Zanussi let her hair turn white in recent years, she had always 
kept it colored and “looked the part” of a public official, Hariton said.
“And she always had the lipstick and the earrings; she always looked beautiful.”
Hariton said Mrs. Zanussi took her city and volunteer service responsibilities 
seriously.
“She looked the part when she went into meetings, and she always went out and 
researched and always knew what she was talking about,” she said. “She cared 
about all the people in the town. She cared about the town.”
When she wasn’t serving the community as a public official, Mrs. Zanussi still 
kept a full schedule. 
She served on the Tracy Planning Commission and was involved with the city’s 
Economic Development Committee, among others. She was a member of the Native 
Daughters of California from 1941 until her death.
Mrs. Zanussi earned numerous awards and honors for her civic service, including 
being named the 1988 Woman of Distinction by Soroptimist International of Tracy.
Friends and family remember Mrs. Zanussi as someone who loved playing bingo and 
taking trips to Lake Tahoe, Reno and Las Vegas. She will also be remembered as 
a dedicated mother, a loving grandmother, and a loving friend to many.
She is survived by two children, Robert L. Zanussi of Martinez and Talma J. 
Kaiser, and her husband, Eugene, of Omaha, Neb.; five grandchildren, Jeanne 
Taylor and Steve Zanussi, both of Tennessee, Emily Bottini of San Ramon, and 
Terry Dodds and Patricia Harvey, both of Nebraska; and 11 great-grandchildren, 
Melanie, Domenic and Gianni Bottini, all of San Ramon, Orion, Jacy and Milan 
Zanussi and Sophie Taylor, all of Tennessee, and Kelli, Kristie, Josh and Kyle 
Dodds, all of Nebraska.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Leo E. Zanussi.
Friday’s Mass will begin at 10:30 a.m. at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, 163 W. 
Eaton Ave. Visitation will be observed from 1 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Fry 
Memorial Chapel, 550 S. Central Ave., where a rosary will be recited at 7 that 
same day. Interment will be in Tracy Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the city of Tracy c/o Department of Parks 
and Community Services, 325 E. 10th St., Tracy 95376.



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