[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E427-E428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE OF MARY JANE McSORLEY GARAMENDI
______
HON. ZOE LOFGREN
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my colleagues in the California
Democratic Congressional Delegation, Congressman Pete Aguilar,
Congresswoman Karen Bass, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Congressman Ami
Bera, Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Congresswoman Lois Capps,
Congressman Tony Cardenas, Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congressman Jim
Costa, Congresswoman Susan Davis, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier,
Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, Congressman Sam Farr, Congressman John
Garamendi, Congresswoman Janice Hahn, Congressman Mike Honda,
Congressman Jared Huffman, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman Ted
Lieu, Congressman Alan Lowenthal, Congresswoman Doris Matsui,
Congressman Jerry McNerney, Congresswoman Grace Napolitano,
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Scott Peters, Congresswoman
Lucille Roybal-Allard, Congressman Raul Ruiz, Congresswoman Linda
Sanchez, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, Congressman Adam Schiff,
Congressman Brad Sherman, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Congressman Eric
Swalwell, Congressman Mark Takano, Congressman Mike Thompson,
Congresswoman Norma Torres, Congressman Juan Vargas, and Congresswoman
Maxine Waters, to honor and remember the life of Mary Jane McSorley
Garamendi. Mary Jane passed on March 19, 2015, amongst the prayers and
support of her loving family and friends. The matriarch of the
Garamendi family and a lifelong resident of Calaveras County,
California, Mary Jane had a strength of spirit and benevolence of
character that built a vigorous family, vibrant community, and lasting
legacy.
Mary Jane was born on March 21, 1921, the granddaughter of
pioneering Irish-Italian immigrants. When she was only three years old,
she and her sister, Anne, lost their mother and a newborn brother, but
their devoted father succeeded in raising them to be strong and
independent young ladies on the family cattle ranch in Chili Gulch.
Mary Jane attended and graduated from Mokelumne Hill Elementary School
and then from Calaveras High School in 1938. In 1942, she graduated
from the University of Nevada Reno with a teaching credential for
elementary and high school.
At college, Mary Jane met Raymond V. Garamendi, a fellow student and
the love of her life. Following their graduations, they spent the years
of World War II stationed at posts in California, Florida, and Georgia,
and then returned to Chili Gulch to build their family home on the
cattle ranch and begin their life raising seven children. They grew up
part of the ``Greatest Generation'' and were determined to teach their
children the tradition of agriculture, the power of education, and the
importance of good governance.
Mary Jane's narrative is one of family, service, and community
betterment. Always deeply engaged in civic affairs, she participated in
the Mokelumne Hill Elementary School Parents Club, Mokelumne Hill
Community Club, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church Altar Society,
Calaveras County Historical Society, Calaveras County Democratic Club
and Central Committee, Calaveras County American Association of
University Women, Mokelumne Hill Community Historical Trust, and the
Mokelumne Hill History Society. She volunteered as a Cub Scout leader
and Catechism teacher, served as a foreman on the Calaveras Grand Jury,
and became a Board Member for the Mark Twain St. Joseph Foundation. She
was a devout Catholic and lifelong parishioner of the St. Thomas
Aquinas Church in Mokelumne Hill, which afforded other opportunities to
engage and enrich the community. Whether she was serving at the
Calaveras Women's Shelter, the Mokelumne Hill History Center, or the
Calaveras County Museum, she readily and enthusiastically donated her
time, heart, and energy to the people and places around her.
A civic leader, Mary Jane was honored by the Phi Beta Phi Fraternity
in recognition of 75 years of membership, earning the honor of
induction into the Diamond Arrow Society. In 2009, she was named the
State of California ``Woman of the Year'' by her son, John Garamendi,
who was California Lieutenant Governor at the time. Her contributions
to education, agriculture, and government also helped earn an honor for
the Garamendi family by the Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog
Jubilee.
For Mary Jane, life itself was an act of joy and remembering. This
shone through her commitment to the preservation of her rich Irish-
Italian heritage and her careful studying of the Pitto and McSorley
family histories. When Ray passed away in 1991, Mary Jane oversaw the
family ranch alongside her son, Robert, allowing the working traditions
to continue uninterrupted. The Ranch, which received a California
Agriculture Heritage Award in 2005, is now in its 152nd year of
operation, spanning six generations and lending a sense of tradition
and timelessness to the family's weddings, reunions, and Christmas
parties.
Mary Jane was a friend, a global adventurer, and the best sports
enthusiast her children and grandchildren could ever hope for. Mary
Jane's love and legacy continue on in the spirit, vigor, and joy of her
21 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren. She will be remembered for
her unconditional love, her interminable commitment to service, and the
popsicles she kept stocked in the freezer for
[[Page E428]]
the children to enjoy after summer swims. Reflecting back on her proud
gold country heritage, her many years of good health, her large and
ever-growing family, she would often say, ``I am a very lucky lady.''
We were lucky to have known her, and are filled with gratitude for the
opportunity to honor such a full and profound life.
____________________