FULLERTON, Calif.—The Fullerton City Council will close Tuesday night’s meeting with a moment of silence for Jo Lasorda, the widow of former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, following her death Monday at age 91.
Anissa Livas, a spokeswoman for the city, said the council’s tribute was one of two planned for Jo Lasorda, who died at her Fullerton home. The city will also hold a moment of silence for Mrs. Lasorda on Wednesday morning, during an already-planned news conference proclaiming Wednesday as “Tommy Lasorda Day” in Fullerton.
Wednesday would have been Tommy Lasorda’s 94th birthday.
“We’re very saddened by the news” of Mrs. Lasorda'a death, Livas said.
“Tommy Lasorda Day” will feature a daylong string of events, including the city signing a Sister City covenant with Tollo, Italy, in honor of Tommy Lasorda’s parents.
Tommy and Jo Lasorda lived in Fullerton for some 68 years, according to the city.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers family were saddened to learn of the passing of Jo Lasorda,” the Dodgers said in a statement Tuesday announcing Jo Lasorda’s death.
“She was surrounded by her loved ones at her home.”
No cause of death was given.
Jo Lasorda died at 8:59 p.m. Monday, according to the team.
Tommy Lasorda died Jan. 7 at age 93. The two were married on April 14, 1950—a 70-year union.
Tommy Lasorda managed the Dodgers for 20 years, from 1976 to 1996, leading the team to two World Series championships. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a manager in 1997.
Jo Lasorda was born Joan Miller in Greenville, South Carolina, on March 14, 1930, and met Tommy Lasorda at a Greenville Spinners minor league baseball game in 1949, when he was a left-handed pitcher for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers’s farm team.
Jo Lasorda is survived by a daughter, Laura; a granddaughter, Emily Tess; and a sister, Gladys Reeves of Greenville, S.C. A son, Tom Lasorda Jr., died in 1991.
Funeral services were pending.
