D
ennis was born in San Mateo. Graduated from Los
Gatos High and received a degree in Psychology from
San Jose State University in 1969. Early in life he lived
in Japan. After college he worked in Alaska and traveled to
Europe where he eventually managed the infamous bar and
restaurant, Mother Earth’s Lost and Found in Paris. There he
met Maria Pietri, his wife of 25 years.
Dennis and Maria returned to the Bay Area where Dennis
worked as a carpenter. During this time, their daughter,
Honorine, was born. In 1986 Dennis joined South County
Housing and found his life’s work. He started as a project
director and in 1997 became the CEO. During his tenure
Dennis was involved in the construction or more than 3,000
affordable housing units in Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey
and Santa Cruz. In his lifetime, Dennis was responsible for
managing the construction of over one billion dollars’ worth
of affordable housing.
Dennis Lalor steered South County Housing through some
great years and some very difficult years. In the end he had to
guide the agency through liquidation. Changes in legislation
and the recession hit the agency hard. The process of shutting
down South County Housing weighed heavily on Dennis but
all the while, he remained an advocate for affordable housing.
He traveled the country sharing his expertise. Over the years,
this interesting man from the small town of Gilroy became a
nationally-recognized expert on affordable housing.
Dennis served on various committees of LISC (Local
Initiatives Support Corporation) and received a LISC
Scholarship Award in 2005 and Rural Champion Award in
2015. In 2018 LISC asked its peers, partners and collaborators
to provide a single word to describe Dennis. The following
“Wordle” was shared with Dennis before he passed away.
the agency. And in smaller more personal issues like when
Manuel Huerta, a mentee of Dennis at SCH, was confronted
by an angry homeowner ranting about “poor people.”
Dennis responded in a firm and compelling manner that
“poor people” were not bad people. He then proceeded to
quiet the protest with dignity and a convincing pitch for his
affordable housing project.
Jean Zlotkin, his companion and travel buddy during
the last few years, noted that even in the last months of his
battle with a brain tumor, “He suffered well. He found joy
in his life’s work. He cared a heck of a lot for the down and
out.”
South County is grateful for having such a capable and
multi-faceted advocate for affordable housing.
Fittingly, at the end of the Celebration of Life event held
for Dennis Lalor, his friend, Peter Alsing, sang “The Parting
Glass,” a traditional song popular in Ireland and Scotland,
often sung at the end of a gathering of friends.
Oh of all the money that e’re I spent
I spent it in good company
and of all the harm that e’re Ive done
alas it was to none but me
for all I’ve done for want of wit
to mem’ry now I can’t recall
so fi ll to me the parting glass
good night and joy be with you all
Gang of 5: David Ferrier, Stan Keasling, Dennis, Peter Carey, John Mealey
Dennis was often associated with the “Gang of Five,” CEO’s
of various affordable housing associated organizations in
California. For nineteen years this group met twice a year to
reinforce each other and work for better affordable housing in
California. The bond among them was so strong that over their
19 years of meetings, only twice were one of the “Gang”
missing.
Dennis had impact on big-picture issues like the fact that
none of the affordable housing units in the South County
Housing (SCH) portfolio was lost in the shutting down of
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Dennis, Matt Huerta, Seth Capron, Ellen Weech, Paul Weech at the
groundbreaking for Camphora Apartments in Salinas.
december 2018-january 2019
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