Elettra Ann Sorrentino passed away on January 25, 2026 after a prolonged struggle with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. She was 87. A devoted wife, mother and grandmother, she is survived by Michael Sorrentino, her husband of 65 years, brother Kenneth (Karen), sons Mark (Catherine) and Scott, and granddaughters Gabriella and Olivia.

Elettra was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1938. Her frequently mispronounced name is the Italian form of “Electra,” meaning "shining" or "bright," and was likely inspired by a character in the Mozart opera Idomeneo.

After graduating from New Brunswick High School in 1956, Elettra attended the University of Connecticut, where she met Mike Sorrentino, the beginning of a love story that would span six decades. Elettra was one of only six women to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, a notable achievement in 1960. She and Mike were married a few weeks later in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

After living briefly in San Francisco, Oklahoma City (where their son Mark was born) and Dallas, the Sorrentinos settled in Westlake Village, California in 1968. Their son Scott was born shortly thereafter.

Elettra was a pioneer in the annals of Westlake Village, which was in its infancy when the Sorrentinos arrived as one of the early families in the community’s First Neighborhood (as it continues to be referred to today). She was a tireless advocate for public education, supported community causes as a co-founder of the Westlake Junior Women's Club and later as President of the Westlake Women's Club, and continually worked behind-the-scenes as an organizer and facilitator to help make Westlake Village the city it is today. The community also knew her as the beloved and trusted pharmacist at Clark Drugs (later Sav-On). The kids in the neighborhood joked that she was the village drug dealer. And even though she knew the drugs that everyone was taking (and what they were for), she would take all of that information to her grave. During the summertime, Elettra was a regular fixture at Zuma Beach Lifeguard Station #7, the unofficial meeting place for Westlake families.

She was an intelligent, hard-working, no-nonsense, highly-organized, professional woman, who still managed to prepare a home-cooked meal for her family every night (her cooking and baking skills were legendary, especially her homemade marinara sauce and amazing holiday pies). She was also an accomplished seamstress who was frequently enlisted to make costumes for school plays and dance recitals. To her close family friends, she was a confidant, a problem-solver, the cornerstone of holiday gatherings, and a second mom. Although never known for her sense of humor, there was an occasion about once a year when Elettra would say something funny, which would catch everyone by surprise and provoke disproportionate waves of laughter.

Elettra and Mike moved to Palm Desert in 1999, where Elettra continued to work part-time as a pharmacist until her retirement at the age of 77. In the desert, Elettra volunteered as an usher at the McCallum Theatre, where she made some wonderful friends and enjoyed dozens of theatre and concert performances. Her granddaughters, the family pugs (Rocco and Frankie), regular trips to Las Vegas, Hilton Head Island and Hawaii, attending golf and tennis tournaments in the Coachella Valley, shopping on El Paseo, and celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary in Maui with her family — these were a few of her favorite things.

The guiding principle of Elettra’s life was a commitment to excellence in everything she did — as a wife, mother and grandmother, as a loyal friend, and as an enterprising woman working to improve the lives of the people around her. Elettra's legacy, embodied in her contributions to the City of Westlake Village, and professionally as a pharmacist, will forever resonate in the hearts and minds of those who knew and loved her. Elettra, we'll see you at Zuma 7!

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