Foothills Sentry January 2020

Foothills Sentry January 2020 Page 17 OBITUARIES Patricia Bortle 1936-2019 Patricia Lee Dawn Bortle, 83, passed away peacefully on Dec. 15 in Villa Park. Born Sept. 10, 1936 to mother Martha and father Louis, she was raised in Broomall, PA. There, she met her husband-to-be, Alan Bortle, in fourth grade. She fo- cused on basketball, field hockey and lacrosse at Marple New- town High School, and went on to receive her business degree at Susquehanna University as a Kappa Delta. After graduation in 1956, she married Alan. Two years later, in 1958, the newlyweds moved to California, and then quickly to San Antonio, and Heilbronn, Germany where Alan was stationed with the U.S. Army. During their year and a half abroad, Patricia had their firstborn Karen. The pair bought their first home in Santa Ana in 1960, later mov- ing to Garden Grove, to Orange and ultimately settling in Villa Park in 1978. They filled their homes with two more daughters, Jenn and Judi, all of their daugh- ters’ friends over the years and five dogs, including her beloved pal Star. Patricia was lovingly called a “professional volunteer” for all the time she dedicated to being a community leader throughout her life. Starting as PTO President of Taft Elementary (and Bobby Socks Softball manager), she served as a volunteer at March of Dimes and St. Joseph Hospital, was a board member at Salvation Army, was on the board of direc- tors at Community Action Part- nership of Orange County, and was a docent at the Nixon Library. She also worked as the Volunteer Director and Patient Representa- tive at Western Medical of Ana- heim. In 1996, she was elected to Villa Park City Council, and later led her city as mayor pro tem and mayor until 2000. In 2004, she received the “Women Who Make a Difference in Orange County” Congressional Award. She always had time for laugh- ter and fun as well, traveling to 35 countries, taking 23 cruises and enjoying poolside reading in Palm Springs and sledding in Big Bear. She was a poet and writer, loved historical fiction, went shopping with her “lunch bunch,” played hours of bunco and computer solitaire, complet- ed hundreds of crosswords and was even in two bowling leagues. While she was wildly accom- plished, she’s best remembered for her presence -- one that filled a room with levity and open arms. She was a leading lady full of gumption, with an infectious smile and generous laugh. She was admired by many and served as everyone’s confidant, advice giver, partner and best friend. She lived bravely, taking steps others hadn’t before her, with grace and humility. She served with com- passion, lived adventurously and loved endlessly. Patricia is survived by her hus- band of 63 years Alan T. Bortle, her “sistie” Marti Dawn-Brandt, daughters Karen Seeley, Jennifer Hughes, Judi Holst, her nephew, her five grandchildren and the dozens of people she consid- ered family and whose lives she touched. Her celebration of life was held at Fairhaven Memorial’s Waver- ley Chapel. In lieu of flowers, please send prayers, share your favorite stories about her and consider making a donation in her name to one of the following: The Salvation Army or Commu- nity Action Partnership of Orange County (some of her volunteer passions), The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Re- search (for those with Parkinson’s too), and She Should Run (to em- power the next powerful female like herself). Pearl Russo 1927-2019 Pearl Madeline (Del Bene) Russo passed away on Dec. 10 at the age of 92. She was the 13th of 14 children born to Fedele and Anna Del Bene on Jan. 24, 1927 in the North End of Boston. Her father was killed in an auto acci- dent in September of 1928, leav- ing her widowed mother to raise their family through the Great Depression and WWII. She grad- uated from Girls High School in 1945 and went to work at Le- rner’s Department store earning $17.46 for her first full week of work. She left the department store to take a position with the Boston Federal Reserve Bank and later worked as a diamond buyer for Turco’s Jewelry Store. She married John in 1962 and started their life together in Cali- fornia after their June 27 wed- ding. In 1972 they moved to Villa Park and have lived there since. Pearl’s home was her castle, and she enjoyed nothing more than entertaining family and friends. There was always a celebration or holiday to plan and baking to be done. While her primary job was mom and wife, Pearl was an ac- tive member in the Santa Ana College Faculty Wives Associa- tion (1962-1975) and the Sons of Italy Renaissance Lodge. In addition to being room mom for her kids while they attended Villa Park Elementary and Cerro Villa Middle School, she worked three seasons at Albert & James Photography Studio in Orange. She was often known to head to Ralph’s for a couple of items and return hours later after chatting in the aisles with friends from VP. Pearl enjoyed traveling back east and across the oceans to Austra- lia, Japan and Europe to visit fam- ily and make new friends. Cruises to Mexico and Alaska kept her busy when she wasn’t enjoying a card game or a bit of time at the casino. While the past few years were filled with trips to the hospital and unbearable pain, she persevered and kept going. It wasn’t a good day unless she had accomplished something, and that something was usually doing for others. Pearl is survived by her hus- band John; daughter Madeline Grant (and Ronnie); son John Jr. (and Sandra); the three reasons she fought every day to live, her grandsons John, Joseph and Ja- cob; her older brother Mario Del Bene (San Marcos, Calif.) and older sister Mary Morteo (Fram- ingham, Mass.). Phil Brigandi 1959-2019 Phil Brigandi, Orange County Historian, passed away Dec. 12 at the hospital in which he was born, St. Joseph Hospital in Orange. He was just 60. Phil, always interested in local history, graduated from Orange High and joined the board of the Orange Community Historical Society at age 19. He then re- ceived his degree in history from California State University, Ful- lerton and joined the board of the Orange County Historical Com- mission. In 1990, he became Museum Curator for the Ramona Pageant in Hemet, California, a position he held for 13 years. Phil returned to Orange County in 2003 to become the first Or- ange County archivist after the county’s bankruptcy. He had earned the Eagle Scout award as a youth, had written a book about Boy Scouting in Orange County, and became a fixture at the Scho- epe Scout Reservation at Lost Valley Boy Scout Camp, volun- teering there each summer for over 30 years. Phil published his first book on Orange history at age 23, and continued to chronicle the lo- cal history of Orange, Temecula, Riverside and San Diego for the rest of his life, crafting several dozen books and countless ar- ticles. He enjoyed interviewing longtime residents, meticulously researching local lore and sharing his stories. Brigandi suffered a heart attack on Sunday, and died from compli- cations just four days later. When he was missed that Thursday evening at the Orange County Historical Society meeting, mem- bers went to look for him, and were shocked to discover he had passed. Phil never married and leaves two brothers. A memorial will be held by the Historical Society on the evening of Jan. 9; funeral ser- vices will be at Fairhaven Memo- rial Park on Jan. 19. He will be sorely missed. MiltonWalter Verberg 1921-2019 Milton Verberg, Pearl Harbor hero, passed away Dec. 19 in Or- ange. He was 98. Milton was a real cowboy in New Mexico, hailing originally from Wisconsin. In the fall of 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, was trained as a medic in San Francisco, and chose to trans- fer to Pearl Harbor. While on leave there, he was in a bus at Hickam Field and headed for Waikiki Beach. At that mo- ment, the Dec. 7 attack at Pearl Harbor began. In returning to Fort Shafter, he was ordered to the hospital to await the injured. He refused and returned to Hickam Field to aid the wounded there. Later, hit in the face by shrap- nel from a bomb, he was again ordered to the hospital, this time for himself. Again he refused, and stayed to help those more serious- ly wounded than he. Near the end of the attack, he watched the last nine Japanese aircraft fly overhead. He could clearly see the lead pilot in the Japanese plane. Two years later, in 1943, on duty at Waikakalaua Hospital on Oahu, Milton met Lt. Maureen Strever, a nurse. They married that May, and from that union had a daughter, Kathleen, after the war. Decades later, at the 50th anni- versary commemoration at Pearl Harbor, he met that same Japa- nese flight leader he had seen dur- ing the attack at Pearl Harbor. In 2016, on the 75th anniversary of the attack, a book was published detailing both of their first-person accounts of the event. Living in Orange, Milton lost his beloved Maureen some 15 years ago, and leaves behind his daughter Kathleen. Milton Ver- berg was not just a survivor of Pearl Harbor, he was a hero, with a Bronze Star to prove it. Clockwork Oranges find a new home The Clockwork Oranges robot- ics group, comprised of students from Villa Park and El Modena High Schools, has been searching for a place to build robots prior to the competition season, which commenced the first Saturday in January. Advisor Bill Gaines reports that they have secured space in an old automotive shop at Foothill High, and, in return, Clockwork Oranges will help Foothill develop a team. Students founded the team in 2011 without school support, space or funds. The team has thrived with funding from Boe- ing, JC Penney, Stay-Linked and other organizations. The team uses the funds to participate in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Rec- ognition of Science and Technol- ogy) robotics competitions. On the first Saturday of Janu- ary, FIRST releases the require- ments for a new game and a goal. Teams throughout the world are challenged to design, build and code a robot that can play that specific game. Students work af- ter school and over the weekends, prepping for regional competi- tions in February and March, and championships in April. Clockwork Oranges has earned numerous awards throughout the years. Off season, the team assists with VEX robotics games and hosts Robot-In-A-Day events for younger students. To see the build or donate, see frc4322.com