Dodgers

Jo Lasorda, Widow of Dodgers Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda, Dies at 91

Tommy Lasorda and Joan Miller met at a Greenville Spinners minor league baseball game in 1949. They were married for 70 years.

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Jo Lasorda, the widow of Dodgers’ Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, has died at 91, the team announced Tuesday.

Lasorda died Monday evening at her Fullerton home. Her husband of 70 years died Jan. 7. 

"The Los Angeles Dodgers family were saddened to learn of the passing of Jo Lasorda,'' the Dodgers said in a statement Tuesday. "She was surrounded by her loved ones at her home.''

Jo Lasorda was born in Greenville, South Carolina. The two met at a Greenville Spinners minor league baseball game when Tommy Lasorda was a pitcher for the then-Brooklyn Dodgers' farm team.

They married on April 14, 1950.

The couple lived in Fullerton for 68 years. The city had already been planning to honor Tommy Lasorda on Wednesday -- which would have been his 94th birthday -- with "Tommy Lasorda Day.''

City spokeswoman Anissa Livas told City News Service on Tuesday morning that the city had just learned of Jo's death and would likely change plans to honor Jo's memory.

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"I expect some sort of change, but nothing is solidified yet,'' Livas said. "We will be honoring her in some form. We'll be going over the schedule (of Wednesday events) to make sure we can do something for her tomorrow.

"We're very saddened by the news.''

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 is survived by daughter Laura and granddaughter Emily, as well as sister Gladys Reeves of Greenville. She was preceded in death by son Tom Jr.

Details about a cause of death were not immediately available. Funeral plans were not immediately available.

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