Elena Maria Schmidt-Ditizio

Elena M. Schmidt-Ditizio passed away on March 1, 2015 in Petaluma. Elena was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 21, 1961. She is survived by her husband Robert, her son Anthony, her daughter Alessandra, her sister Maria Jose (Mary Jo), her brother Jorge (Georgie), her siblings-in-law Ana Maria, Angela, Louis, Carol, and Michael, her nieces Sofia and Alaina, and her nephews Alejandro, Jeffrey, Joseph, Andrew, Domenic, Vincent, and Jack. Elena received her Doctorate in Education from Penn State University and was a tireless advocate and supporter of education in her community. After moving to Petaluma in 1992, she worked at various teaching positions at the elementary school levels and spent much of her time volunteering for her children's schools in Petaluma (SoMo and KJHS). Aside from raising her family, her love for teaching energized her. Her husband and family would like to express their gratitude to the generous Petaluma community for all of the love and support during her illness with breast cancer. A Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 5, 2015 from 11:00 A.M. until 8:00 P.M. at the PARENT-SORENSEN MORTUARY & CREMATORY, 850 Keokuk St., Petaluma, CA. A Funeral Mass will be held on March 6, 2015 at 11:00am at Saint James Catholic Church, 125 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Elena's team Fight Like a Girl at the Petaluma American Cancer Society's Relay for Life (google search: Relay for Life, Fight Like a Girl! Elena).