Sally Tanner left us on August 20 at 7:30 pm. Her two sons were by her side as she peacefully stepped into the next chapter of her fabulous existence. She was larger than life, as all of the many many people, whose lives she touched, will attest to.

She was born Marcella A. Zinski in East Chicago, Indiana. She was the last born of eight children born to Anton and Mary. It was the year 1926. She was raised in Indiana and it was where she started her first protest. It was the beginning of a political career.

When Sally graduated from high school, her parents moved to Southern California. A few years passed and the war began. Sally got a job as a riveter like Rosie. She soon got a promotion and became the girl on roller skates, delivering blueprints to all of the different contractors within a giant complex.

Very early in Sally’s life people realized that she was a special human being.

After the war Sally met a man named Paul Tanner. She married Paul and they had two children, Timothy Paul, and Christopher John. She got a job as an administrative assistant, for Assemblyman Harvey Johnson, a good Democrat.

When Harvey Johnson retired, Sally ran for his seat in the California Assembly, where she spent the next 14 years making our world a better place to live. She was the First Chair of the Clean Air Clean Water committee. She started the California Consumers Board. She also chaired the Toxic Waste Committee. She authored, among her many bills, the Lemon Law. During her tenure she had a park and two streets named after her. Halfway through her career she divorced her husband and raised her boys by herself. Her and her boys stayed very close for the rest of her life. She was the best mom on the planet.

As her career was winding down she met Whittier’s Honorable Superior Court Judge Patricia Hofstetter. They became partners in life. Together they found the, “Dream Come True, Town of Ferndale.” They bought, the home she died in, the same day they drove across the Fernbridge for the first time. Together they learned to fish, and became, arguably, the best fishermen in California. They won the Cal-Ore Steelhead tournament three times. Sally fished until she couldn’t. She once caught a Sturgeon 8’6” long. Her last fishing trip was with her boys. She caught the most and the biggest.

A memorial celebration of Sally’s life is planned for on Wednesday, September 1 in Ferndale. Masks are required and attendees are also required to be vaccinated. For details about the memorial celebration, please contact Karen Pingitore at (707) 407-5668.

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