With a broken heart and deep sadness, the family of long time La Cañada-Flintridge resident, Dorothy Gail DeRosa announces her passing.
Dorothy passed away quietly from a severe reaction to the COVID-19 booster at her home on January 12, 2022, with her son, William, at her side.
Dorothy was born in San Diego, California, to Robert and Marslene Carns. Following in the steps of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Dorothy became a teacher. She taught elementary school in Las Virgines, Woodland Hills, and Glendale school districts before taking time off to raise her family. She returned to teaching in the late 1970s specializing in instrumental music in the Pasadena Unified School District and then moved to La Cañada Unified School District, where she worked with the Assistance League after music programs were cut out of the elementary school district budgets. Dorothy went back to college in the 1980s and achieved her master’s degree in education at UCLA.
Dorothy and her late husband, John (Jack) DeRosa, moved to La Cañada Flintridge in 1960 and raised their family between here and Balboa Island, where they spent many summers with the children and grandchildren.
Dorothy is survived by her children, Charlyne, Jamie and William. She was predeceased by her adoring husband Jack and, beloved late son, Jeffrey.
Besides her children Dorothy leaves behind a large family of grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Grandchildren include Marissa Buckish-Campbell, Christopher DeRosa, Amy DeRosa, Danielle DeRosa, Marcie De Rosa, Anthony DeRosa, Abby DeRosa, Kristen Young O’Leary, and Jack DeRosa. Great grandchildren include Brooke Ballard, Charlotte Ballard, Bella DeRosa and Avery Beene.
