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February 8, 2023Brack, Dorothy M.
On Tuesday, January 31, 2023, Dorothy Maxine (Mahoney) Brack passed away peacefully, at the age of 95, surrounded by family at her home in Tucson, Arizona.
Dorothy was born the youngest of four children on March 22, 1927 to William Mahoney and Estella (Bingham) Mahoney on a family farm near Oakes, North Dakota. Dorothy was twelve when the family moved to Durango, Colorado in 1939. She graduated from Durango High School in 1944. She was a tom-boy in her youth and participated in many sports while excelling in basketball, skiing, and ice skating. It was in Durango that she met Anthony (Tony) Scott Brack, whom she married in 1948. Together they had seven children while building a life in Durango. Tony and Dorothy shared thirty-eight years together before his death in 1986.
The family moved to Shiprock, New Mexico in 1963 where Tony had been transferred by Vanadium Corporation of America. In 1968, the Brack family moved to Ajo, Arizona after Tony accepted a job as a chemist at the New Cornelia Branch of Phelps Dodge Corporation. They made Ajo their home and built wonderful memories together during the next two decades.
Dorothy moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1987 to be near family. She lived next door to her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Mike, for thirty-six years. During this time, she was the constant for her extended family and so many of their friends. She was the glue that held the family together, and she made everyone feel loved and important. Sunday dinner at Nana’s house became an open invitation event and was attended by family and friends alike.
Dorothy was a life-long Catholic and chaired the Bereavement Committee at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Tucson for many years.
She is survived by six of her children, William (Jean) Brack, Barbara (Michael) Lefler, Kathryn Steward, John (Suzanne) Brack, James (Adolfo) Brack, and Robert (Nora) Brack. She is also survived by twelve grandchildren, twenty-six great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Family was the love of her life.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband Tony Brack, daughter Carol Ann, brothers Thomas and Robert Mahoney, sister Florence Petty, brother-in-law Bob Petty and sister-in-law Frances Mahoney.
A funeral mass will be held in Tucson on Saturday, February 18, 2023 at St. Mark Catholic Church located at 2727 W Tangerine Rd, Oro Valley, Arizona at 10:45 a.m. with a reception celebrating Dorothy’s life to follow at Light The Way Lutheran Church located at 8611 N. Silverbell Road in Tucson. She will be laid to rest at Tony’s side at the cemetery in Ajo, Arizona in a private family service.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, or a humanitarian organization close to your heart.
