Doris Maslach

Doris Cuneo Maslach

June 19, 1921 - April 7, 2013

Doris Cuneo Maslach, a Berkeley civic leader, and a beloved mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully last Sunday in El Cerrito, at the age of 91. Doris was born in New York City, the second child of San Francisco natives, Egisto Cuneo and Ruth McLean. The Cuneo family lived in Pearl River, New York, a fondly remembered time in Doris' childhood, before the family returned to Telegraph Hill in North Beach. Her grandparents had immigrated to San Francisco from Italy, Scotland and Denmark in the 1860s. A family historian, Doris was proud of her cultural heritage and the artistic legacy of her renowned uncles, Rinaldo Cuneo and Cyrus Cuneo, and her father, Egisto. She brought together paintings by all three brothers for the first time in posthumous exhibitions at the Canessa Gallery and the Museo Italo Americano.

A passionate and accomplished student, Doris was one of the few women to earn her degree in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1941. She then completed a master's degree in child psychology from Boston University and became interested in family counseling. In Boston, she married her Galileo High School classmate and fellow Cal alum, George J. Maslach. The couple built a house in the Berkeley hills, overlooking the UC campus where George taught engineering and served as a senior administrator. While raising her three children, Doris played a significant role as a civic leader in Berkeley. She was involved in a number of school board elections and efforts to desegregate the Berkeley K-12 schools in the 1950s. She believed in access to education and actively helped raise funds for alumni scholarships at UC Berkeley. Doris was a long-time campus supporter, student-housing advocate, and rent board commissioner. In the early 1980s, Doris was instrumental in helping the University acquire the site of the former California School for the Deaf, which then became the Clark Kerr Campus of student residence halls. In 2001, one hall on the Clark Kerr Campus was named for George and Doris Cuneo Maslach, in honor of their many contributions to Cal. Doris' perspectives on her life experiences are reflected in A Life History with Doris Maslach, an oral history conducted in 2004 at the Bancroft Library.

Doris enjoyed traveling extensively around the world and regularly spending time with her immediate family at the special vacation home they had built at The Sea Ranch, California. Doris is preceded in death by her husband George, sister Barbara Cuneo Stone, and brother Gordon Cuneo. She will be dearly missed by her friends and family and is survived by her children: Christina Maslach Zimbardo, James Maslach, and Steven Maslach; and by her grandchildren: Zara, Tanya, Dillon, Jamie, and Zachary. Service will be private, but a memorial celebration for friends and family is being planned. To honor Doris' life and legacy, gifts may be made to the Doris Cuneo Maslach Fund, for scholarships for Cal students. Checks made out to CAA should be sent to Joani Carpenter [CAA, 1 Alumni House, Berkeley, CA 94720-7520], who can also be contacted at 510-643-3919.