Mary Ann Zack

Mary Ann Zack, nee Barnes, passed away on January 26, 2021 in Placerville, Ca. She was 93.

Mary Ann was born in Topeka, Kansas on December 18, 1927. The oldest daughter of the late Harry and Theresa Barnes, she had fond memories of playing outside with her sisters Beverly and Shirley, and her dad whistling to them to come home for dinner. In 1942, the Barnes family moved to San Francisco, settling in an apartment on Scott Street.

Mary Ann and her sisters enjoyed going to the movies on Saturday afternoons, and adored the “heart throb of the day”, Frank Sinatra. She worked at a local dress shop, and at the Shell building in San Francisco sorting mail.

Mary Ann attended Commerce High School, where her favorite subjects were English and short story writing. She graduated in 1946.

One day a tall, handsome young man knocked at their door, asking for a date with her younger sister Shirley. She told the young man she was “too young, but her sister Mary Ann was available”. After that first date, Mary Ann and Joseph (Jack) Zack corresponded by mail throughout his service in the Merchant Marines during the war. They were married in 1947 by a Justice of the Peace, and later in the Catholic Church.

Eventually, Jack and Mary Ann settled in Selma, Ca and went on to raise four children; Genevieve, Joseph, Timothy and James. Mary Ann worked at the Libby’s Cannery, was secretary for an Insurance broker, and worked as the attendance clerk at Selma High School.

Mary Ann loved quilting, square-dancing, and travels across the U.S. and Europe with Jack and her sisters and brothers-in-law. Summers were treasured times with her children, grandchildren and family members at their cabin in Bass Lake, the site of many family gatherings over the years. Once Mary Ann and Jack retired, they moved to their cabin, where she loved spending time with her grandchildren, making their visits special in her own way.

After Jack’s passing, Mary Ann moved to Fresno, and later to Placerville, Ca.

Mary Ann is predeceased by her parents Harry C. Barnes and Theresa (Leonard) Barnes, her husband, Joseph John Zack, and her sister, Beverly Evans.

She is survived by her sister, Shirley Brehm. Her four children; Genevieve Duffy, Joseph Zack, Timothy Zack, James Zack, her son and daughters-in-law; Stephen Duffy, Charlotte-Ann Zack, Cynthia Zack, Kathleen Zack. Her ten grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.

Rosary, Mass and burial will be private in Selma, Ca. A Celebration of Life will be held later this year.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to a favorite charity.