Sally Ann DeRosa

Sally Ann DeRosa passed away peacefully on July 31 at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish. Sally was born on July 20, 1919, in Indianapolis.

She was raised on a small ranch in the San Fernando Valley of California, and later moved with her family to an avocado ranch in Vista, Calif. She graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse and joined the cast as an actress in a radio soap opera about a family who coincidently shared her mother’s maiden name, Brewster.

Her father, Hamilton Pope Jordan, was an engineer on the Pan American Highway, and her mother, Elizabeth Brewster, was an elementary school principal who graduated from the University of Southern California in 1928. Sally was proud that her family heritage traced back to William “Elder” Brewster, the religious leader of the Mayflower. Sally’s mother was a Daughter of the Mayflower, Daughter of the American Revolution and a Daughter of the Confederacy.

Sally was an avid ice skater and was asked to go on tour with the Ice Follies, but after a fall she was unable to make the tour. As fate would have it, she was set up on a blind date where she met her future husband, Vincent DeRosa, who served in the Army Air Force Orchestra and later became a professional French horn player. If she had gone on tour, they may never have met.

Sally married Vincent Jan. 20, 1945. They had two children, John and Elizabeth. Sally and Vincent would have been married 70 years next January. Eleven days before her passing, family and friends gathered at their home in Whitefish to celebrate her 95th birthday.

She is survived by her husband, Vincent DeRosa of Whitefish, and La Canada Flintridge, Calif.; her son, John DeRosa, and his wife, Dee, of Corona del Mar, Calif.; her daughter, Betty DeRosa, of Whitefish; her sister, Mary Elizabeth Davis, of San Diego; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are Ian Ullman and his wife, Meredith, of New York City, J.D. DeRosa, his wife, Perry, and their children, Sebastian and Madeline, of Brentwood, Calif., Deanna and Tom Coale and their children, Paul and Laura, of Mission Viejo, Calif., Jacob Ullman, his wife, Xandi, and their children, Skylar and Nolan, of Costa Mesa, Calif., Dr. Vincent DeRosa, his wife, Ann-Marie, and their children, Dominic, Nico and Joe Hamilton, of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Ashley MacLaren of Seattle.

Sally loved to tell jokes and share family stories. She loved dogs and birds, and enjoyed talking with her parrot, Cheech, her family cockatiels, Alfalfa and Lola, and her family dog and cat, Bailey and Callie. She loved Christmas and decorated her house every year with music boxes and a Christmas village. Her favorite Christmas decoration was a dancing Santa. Sally and Vincent traveled to many countries together in Europe and Asia and enjoyed vacationing in Maui, Hawaii.

Sally will be sorely missed by all of her family and friends. Private family services will be held.

Arrangements entrusted to Austin Funeral Home.