Dorothy Gleason

Dorothy M. Gleason

Resident of Sunnyvale

1913 - 2010

Dorothy M. Gleason passed away on Tuesday, November 9, from complications of illness at age 97. Born in Chicago, IL, the daughter of judge Eugene McGarry and his wife Eleanor, Dorothy was the last living of eleven children, nine of whom lived to adulthood. She was recently preceded by her adored brother, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Joseph McGarry of Cupertino, who passed away just seven weeks prior.

Dorothy married Edward Kane Gleason in August, 1941, and she is survived by their four children: Thomas Kane Gleason (Marilyn); Jean Chialastri (William); David Edward Gleason (Andrea); and Mary Custer; grandson Evan Custer (Erin), granddaughters Erin Custer and Colleen Gleason Baicher (Greg), and great-granddaughter Ashlyn Baicher.

The family lived in Chicago and Evanston, IL until 1955 when they moved to Atlanta GA where Ed worked as a sales manager. Georgia in the 1950s was still segregated, and neighbors criticized Dorothy for paying black houseworkers more than the standard $5 daily wage. In 1958 they moved to Dallas TX, and in the summer of 1959 they drove to California, believing it was their one chance to see the Golden State. But soon after, Ed was transferred to San Francisco, and they bought a new house in Sunnyvale and became Californians.

The family joined the new parish of The Church of the Resurrection; mass was initially held in a storefront, then in the current site on Cascade Dr. where Dorothy attended weekly mass. The family also enjoyed attending baseball games at Candlestick Park, and Dorothy remained a Giants fan the rest of her life.

In 1962 Ed formed his own distribution business with friend Tom Morgan and two others, Great Western Sales Agents. When Ed died in 1971, Dorothy, age 58, had to create income, so she found employment at the Mt. View office of the Dept. of Motor Vehicles where she worked for 10 years, making many longtime friends. She retired at age 70 with a small pension, and the sales commission from Ed's partners which they paid her for another ten years.

Despite health problems including complications from stomach surgery and severe migraines, Dorothy managed to create her own life alone and lived comfortably in an apartment in Sunnyvale until the age of 93. The family then helped her move into Pilgrim Haven, now the Terraces of Los Altos, where she stayed under the loving care of the staff until her death. She lived to see her beloved Giants win the World Series in 2010, which seemed a fitting tribute to a long life filled with patience, endurance, decency, faith and love.