Santa Clara lost one of its great ladies last week. Laura Mahan died peacefully in her home surrounded by family at the age of 98.
Born in San José to Italian immigrants, Theresa Fasano Stasi and Canio Stasi, after graduating from high school Laura married her husband of nearly 60 years, former Santa Clara Council Member John Mahan, with whom she traveled the world.
In testimony to her inexhaustible energy for living, several years after John’s death she reconnected with her former high school sweetheart, John Lucchesi, and the pair spent three years together before Lucchesi’s death.
Despite being the wife of one council member and mother of another, former mayor Patricia Mahan, Laura was a community leader in her own right. She served on Board of Directors of the Santa Clara University Catala Club, was President of the Santa Clara Woman’s Club and worked for many years as cafeteria manager at Scott Lane School. Laura was noted for her enthusiastic participation in the Woman’s Club annual regifting auction, bidding items up to ensure the highest return for the club.
Laura is survived by her three daughters, Regina (Jeannie), Patricia and Bernice Mahan; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Memorial services are June 24, with visitation 9 to 10 a.m. at Lima Family Mortuary, Santa Clara, and services at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Clare Chapel at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery, followed by a reception at the Woman’s Club Adobe, 3260 The Alameda, Santa Clara. Donations in Laura’s memory can be made to Santa Clara Woman’s Club for preservation of the historic Adobe.
Share your memories of Laura and expressions of sympathy at www.limafamilysantaclara.com for the Mahan family.
