Margaret Mary Zaninovich
April 19, 1925 - February 25, 2021
Margaret M. Zaninovich left this world to join her husband and God on February 25, at home with her family, and at peace. At her request, do the math if you must know her age.
She was born to Croatian immigrant parents from the Island of Hvar, Katina and Frank Surjak. Her parents arrived in America, married shortly thereafter, proudly attained citizenship, and spent the next years working diligently in the farming business. They instilled in their only child the virtues of love of country, hard work, humility and spirituality.
Schooled in Fresno in early years, Margaret attended Bakersfield High School and Bakersfield Junior College, living in nearby Arvin. In 1950, she married Martin J. Zaninovich, moved to the home they built together in Delano that still remains the family home, and raised a family. Margaret was righteously disciplined in the management of her home, taking that career (and the raising of her three children) very seriously. An omnipresent force and companion to her Martin, her velvet hammer approach provided an enviable partnership in their long and unparalleled happy life together.
Never forgetting her humble roots, Margaret continually gave back, both civically and by quietly serving the needs of others. A member of Arvin's Entre Nous Society, she participated in Delano's St. Mary's Catholic Church and Altar Society, President of St. Mary's Educational School Board, the Henrietta Weill Child Guidance Clinic, Delano Women's Club, California Women for Agriculture, and longtime member of the Bakersfield Country Club. Her proudest professional moment was being removed from her children’s parochial school board for opposing the presence of religion books that were political in nature. Taking on the Catholic Church neither intimidated nor deterred her mission. The books were removed from the curriculum. She served on the board of Jasmine Vineyards, Inc. for 30 years, occupying a seat not usually reserved in those early years for wives of founders. Martin afforded all women, and most especially his Margaret, the highest of respect and esteem.
Margaret practiced "farm to table" and "sustainability" long before such terms were coined. She fed a goodly portion of Delano with her annual vegetable garden of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers and squash (the seeds of which she propagated from her Croatian relatives) and spent the fall months pickling, making Alacante jelly and syrup, and perfecting her Ribier grape pie, a recipe she finally shared with the table grape industry. She demonstrated for her children the disciplines of hands-on and do-it-yourself, all the while remaining stately, beautifully coiffed, and an unabashed lover of "pretty things" and shoes. She shall long be remembered and loved as a beacon of strength cloaked in elegance.
After 61 years in Delano, Margaret and Martin lived with their eldest daughter Katina in Santa Barbara, though Margaret never truly admitted to being permanently gone from the Delano house. Katina's unmatched loving care provided the perfect ending to this storybook marriage, which ended with Martin's death in 2014. With the help of the Angeles sisters and their extended family, Margaret was well loved and cared for by Katina in a manner most befitting her.
She is survived by her children Katina Zaninovich, Sonya Cesari (Paul), and Jon P. Zaninovich; four adored grandchildren, John and Katharine Etsell, and Eleni and Sophia Zaninovich; loyal sisters-in-law Winifred Pandol and Audrey Zaninovich, many loving nieces and nephews, as well as lifelong dear friend, Sonja Ducato.
Internment will take place at Delano's North Kern Cemetery. Memorial contributions appreciatively suggested to Santa Barbara Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care (VNA Health), 509 East Montecito Street, Suite 200, Santa Barbara, California 93103.