[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.

                          ____________________