Georgia Vancza passed away on March 3, 2023, after suffering a severe stroke. She was born on Oct. 19, 1937, in Glendale, CA to Victor & Maude Folsom. She spent her early life in El Paso, TX with her three brothers Glen, Dale, and Alan, all of whom preceded her in death. Georgia is survived by her children Jim, Mary (both of Tucson), and Veleta (of Kingston, NY). Georgia moved to Burlington, NJ in 1951 to attend St. Mary’s Hall, now Doane Academy. In 1955, she married John Vancza (now deceased), and they moved to Tucson three years later. In 1968 the couple co-founded Tri-Tronics, a company that invented and manufactured electronic training collars for dogs. 

 

A tireless advocate for children and the dispossessed, Georgia spent her life creating what the late civil rights icon, John Lewis, might call “good trouble.” She was a foundational figure in the resettlement of Indo-Chinese refugees to Tucson in the early 1970s. Along with her lifelong friend, Jim Kolbe, they resettled more than 500 homeless Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian youths and adults. Tri-Tronics was instrumental in providing jobs for many of the refugees.

 

Georgia co-founded the Casey Family Program of Arizona, Foster Care Review Boards, Child Protective Services Volunteer Program (Aviva), Court Appointed Special Advocates, Arizona Human Services Coalition, and the Pima Community Foundation for Children. She was awarded the Hon Kachina Award in 1980, which honors outstanding volunteers in Arizona. She maintained her commitment to community service as Executive Director of Arizona Advocates for Children, working closely with Arizona lawmakers U.S Rep. Jim Kolbe, U.S. Sen. John McCain, and Gov. Bruce Babbitt to address critical issues on behalf of abused and neglected children.  During her 1987 testimony before the U.S. Congress to forward the rights of these children, she was asked if she was “stirring up trouble,” to which she replied, “I am trying.”

 

In the late 1990s, she joined the board of directors of the Tucson Ecumenical Council Legal Assistance (TECLA). When TECLA closed its doors in 1999, Georgia helped found and was the first executive director for the Asylum Program of Southern Arizona (now the Asylum Program of Arizona), which, like TECLA, provides legal assistance for immigrants fleeing torture and other forms of persecution.  In 2002, Georgia led in coordinating "Beyond Sanctuary," a celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Sanctuary. More recently, she was an active volunteer and spokesperson for the Samaritan Patrol through the Southside Presbyterian Church, which renders humanitarian aid to migrants in distress in the Tucson Sector of the Arizona/Mexico border. The Southside choir and the Tucson Mass Choir were among her later passions. Georgia's love for jazz led her to host the Django Southwest Jazz festival in Tucson in 2016, with the goal of engaging at-risk young people in learning to play music.

 

Georgia was many things: mother, sister, auntie, dear friend, mentor, inspiration, leader, volunteer, fashionista, singer, costume aficionado, weaver, puppeteer, Brownie & Cub Scout leader, life of the party, troublemaker, Chief Bullshit Officer, pushy broad, and at times, a pain in the butt. May her memory be a blessing.

 

Services will be held at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 W. 23rd St, at 3pm, on April 8, 2023. A celebration of her life /costume party is scheduled in October 2023 (Date TBA). Those interested in attending the costume party should email: celebrationofgeorgia@gmail.com.