Dominic George Tanzi passed away on May 19th 2015, at the age of 92, in Minden, NV surrounded by his 3 children and their wives. Dominic was born February 22, 1923 in Redwood City, CA to Dominic Tanzi and Palma Tanzi (Tofanelli) Dominic entered the Marine Corp in WWII at the age of 16, lying about his age. At the age of 17 he became the youngest Master Technical Sergeant in Marine Corp history. His battle honors include Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian. He served the Second Division of the U.S. Marine Corps. He received an Honorable Discharge in 1945. After WWII he returned home to San Carlos where he worked in his mother’s delicatessen (Palma’s Delicatessen). This is where he met the love of his life Joanne and they were married on October 12th, 1951. In 1964 Dominic, Joanne and family moved to South Lake Tahoe where Dominic started working at Harvey’s Wagon Wheel in the “Carriage House” as a host. Throughout his career at Harvey’s, his hard work and dedication lead him up through the ranks to become Vice President of Hotel Operations, despite the fact he had less than a High School education. He retired at the age of 80, but continued consulting as executive casino host. He totaled over 40 years of service at Harvey’s. Dominic and Joanne moved to Minden to enjoy retired life and less snow shoveling. Dominic loved golf and played in many prestigious golf tournaments such as the Bing Crosby Pro/Am (aka AT &T Pro/Am). He also loved his many furry friends throughout his life (Bella, Blue, Tobler, Duke, Lupo, Lady, and Stinky) just to name a few. He also enjoyed gardening, gourmet cooking, along with baking Biscotti and Cuccidati for his Christmas gifts to his many friends. He was preceded in death by his wife Joanne on November 2, 2011. He is survived by his children, Steven and his wife Lanna, daughter Michele and her wife Jennifer, and son Scott with his wife Juliette, three grandsons, and seven great-grandchildren. He always taught us to give 100% towards the pursuit of anything we do and if you set your mind to it, you can do it. Never wait to be told what to do, there is always something to do and there is never nothing to do and by all means, find time to rest and enjoy life. There will be a celebration of life on July 18, 2015, from 1pm to 4pm at the Carson Valley Country Club, 1029 Riverview Drive, Gardnerville, NV 89460 (his favorite place to be). In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to: Wildland Firefighter Foundation (wffoundation.org), Wounded Warrior project (woundedwarriorproject.org), Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates (wildhorseadvocates.org), Nevada Humane Society (nevadahumanesociety.org) or your local Hospice.
