Marta Bertero O’Rourke, 69, passed away at her home on March 19, 2021. Born August 7, 1951, the last of four daughters to Jules F. Bertero, MD, and Mary L. Bertero of Santa Maria, California, Marta grew up amidst the strawberry fields of the Central Valley. She attended St. Joseph’s High School before attending Lone Mountain College (now part of USF) in San Francisco.
During her junior year, she spent a fateful year abroad in Italy where she studied at Loyola University of Chicago, Rome Center. It was here that she met Pat O’Rourke, a Chicago native. This led to a long-distance romance when they returned to the states to complete college.
After graduating, Pat and Marta married in 1973 at the Biltmore Santa Barbara and moved to Pasadena, CA. Two years later, they bought their first home in La Cañada Flintridge, a bedroom community nestled between the Angeles National Forest and the 210 freeway that they would call home for the next 36 years. There, she raised two sons, John and Patrick. During this period, she volunteered a significant amount of time to both the local PTA and the Assistance League of Flintridge.
Aside from managing a family, Marta’s other passion was art. That passion led to a decades- long tenure as a docent at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where she specialized in tours focusing on South East Asian art.
In 2011, they moved to Huntington Harbour to be closer to their new granddaughter, Abbey. Marta O’Rourke is survived by Pat O’Rourke, her husband of 48 years, and her two children: John O’Rourke (Nicole) of Huntington Beach and Patrick O’Rourke (Sandra) of Los Angeles. She is also survived by her older sister, Mary Antonia Weldon (Tom) of Pebble Beach; one grandchild, Abbey O’Rourke of Huntington Beach; and countless nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by her parents and by her two older sisters, Mary Theresa Torre (Gene) of San Jose, CA, and Ursula Smith (James, then Linda) of Middletown Springs, VT.
Due to COVID restrictions, a family-only funeral service is planned. In lieu of flowers, the O’Rourke family asks that you take a couple extra moments out of your day to call someone you love.
