Dianne Zielinski, Parent, Co-Worker, Wife, Mother, Dies at 49

Dianne Zielinski grew up in Windsor Locks, and her children grew up in Danbury. Where they grew up and how they were doing was what mattered to Zielinski, who died on Thursday at age 49.

Zielinski attended Western Connecticut State University. She settled in Danbury, where she married Joseph Zielinski, and the couple had two children, Steven and Thomas, one in college, one in high school.

"They were the light of her life. She lived for those kids," said Pam Evanuska, who worked with Zielinski in the Town Clerk's Office when Zielinski was hired in 2001. "She was my best friend. The false IDs used to drive us crazy."

Zielinski was in charge of birth certificates, as the city's registrar of vital statistics, and she was known for giving people a hard time for using false documents in an attempt to acquire legal documents. She copied false documents and forwarded them to federal or state authorities. Zielinski won an award from the Connecticut Passport Agency in 2005, a part of the U.S. Department of State, for her work on false identification.

"It was a very busy time in Danbury with all of the convenance transactions and the new residents," said Dean Esposito, who served for a year as Town Clerk after the resignation of Town Clerk Michael Seri. "She'd come in early and stay late. She was a good employee."

"I just can't believe it," Esposito said.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton recalls Zielinski discovering the same woman had married four or five people over the last two years in what was thought to be a case of fraud. Investiagtors thought the woman was agreeing to marriage for money from immigrants attempting to win legal status.

"Dianne actually remembered she'd been married earlier, and Dianne figured it out," Boughton said. "Dianne spotted it and she put an end to it. She worked hard for the residents."

Nobody said Dianne Zielinski was a push-over or weak. "She was dedicated to her family. She was set in her opinions and she could be headstrong," said Lisa Todman, who worked with Zielinski in the Town Clerk's office for seven years. "When I'd talk about my daughter, you could feel her rewind the years in her eyes and think about her sons at that age. Her eyes lit up. Her life was those boys. Your mother is your mother. She did everything for them. Dianne was not done with the work she felt she had to do for those boys."

Tracey Knight, who joined the Town Clerk's office within two weeks of Dianne in 2001, said Dianne helped train her. "We worked together the whole time. She picked up things really quickly. She was able to train me."

Town Clerk Lori Kaback said, "She did her work and she did it well. I could always count on her," Kaback said. "I still don't believe it. She lived for those kids. She'd be at sports games. She'd be at practice. Everyday she spoke about those kids."