Anita Pastorelle

Anita Pastorelle, 82, born on March 13, 1936 in Bronx, New York, passed away on June 15, 2018 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease. She is survived by her daughter Donna Willshire and her husband Allen Willshire, daughter Marguerite Virden, and son Joseph Pastorelle and his wife Lisa Pastorelle. She also leaves behind her loving grandchildren - Brian, Chris, Anthony, Jessica, Haleigh, Vincent, Adam, Victoria, Amanda and Dominic.

Anita grew up in Brooklyn, New York as an only child, a good student and a Dodger fan. Upon graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School - Brooklyn, she worked as a secretary and could type and take shorthand at 100 words per minute.

In search of better weather and new opportunities she moved to Southern California with her husband Paul and two daughters. Shortly thereafter, her son was born. Her biggest joy was being a mother.

As a full time mother, she returned to the workforce and worked as an executive secretary at General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman. The jobs were exciting and challenging, dealing with the Pentagon and The White House on Top Secret projects on a regular basis.

However, being a devoted grandmother was her most fun and enjoyable job. Sleepovers, vacations, Scrabble games and Seinfeld marathons were just a few of the activities she shared with the grandkids.

In retirement, she enjoyed traveling, Angels baseball (she never forgave the Dodgers for leaving Brooklyn) and spending time with family.

Though her health declined in her final years, she remained happy, joyful, and perhaps most importantly, full of laughs, until the day she passed. Her final words were, "I love you."