Stephanie Ann Serrano-Osorio

Stephanie Ann Serrano-Osorio Resident of Watsonville, CA June 9, 1979 - Nov. 5, 2012 Stephanie Ann Serrano-Osorio, the beloved wife of Christopher Osorio and mother of Malia and Miles daughter of David and Debra Serrano, sister of David, Marcus, and Nicolas Serrano, daughter-in-law of Manuel (Susan) Osorio, Gloria Osorio, sister-in-law of Jerry (Nancy) Osorio, Leticia Osorio and granddaughter of Rosie, and loved by numerous, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, passed away peacefully on November 5th after a courageous two-year battle with inflamatory breast cancer. Stephanie was born in Watsonville and attended Hall District Elementary, Pajaro Middle School, Watsonville High School, UC San Diego, and received her Register Nursing Degree from Cabrillo College in 2010. Stephanie was a superb student and athlete. During her junior year at WHS, Stephanie competed in the National Model UN competition in New York City and also traveled with the Mock Trial Club. During the summer of her junior year of high school she traveled to Germany and Paris as a foreign exchange student. Stephanie was an outstanding softball player and was a starting pitcher for the WHS team and continued to play in the Watsonville Adult Co-Ed League with her family. In her twenties, Stephanie began competing in marathons and other distance races, including 8 straight Wharf to Wharfs, the Big Sur Marathon, Nike SF Marathon, Inaugural San Jose Rock and Roll Marathon, Santa Cruz Half-Marathon, Pajaro Valley Mother's Day Run, and more. In April 2011, two days after a chemotherapy treatment at Stanford Hospital, Stephanie completed the SC Half-Marathon. Running brought tremendous joy to Stephanie and she continued to run while she battled cancer. Running kept her motivated and focused. She felt that it was really important to do the things you love regardless of what is going on in your life. After her diagnosis, Stephanie encouraged her family and friends to collectively support her fight against cancer by creating "Team Steph," and under Stephanie's leadership the Team raised over $10,000 combined for the 2011 and 2012 Relay for Life and joined Stephanie at local races including Wharf-to-Wharf, the Santa Cruz Half-Marathon and 10K, the Firecracker Run, and the Pajaro Valley Mother's Day Run. Stephanie was a loyal fan of the Dallas Cowboys, she even traveled to Dallas to see them play and never missed an opportunity to see them locally. She was just as loyal to the Oakland Athletics and has been going to games since she was a child in the eighties. In May 2012, it was a honor for Stephanie to be chosen to represent cancer fighters as the MLB's Oakland Athletics Honorary Bat Girl at the Mother's Day game. Her message for fellow cancer fighters was "You fight, you live, you breathe, and you just live life normally. It changes you as a person, but it does not change the way you live your life." Stephanie leaves behind hundreds of family members and friends, many who will continue to honor her legacy by raising money to support other young cancer patients in the community as "Team Steph". There will be a Rosary for Stephanie on Friday, November 9th at 7pm and a Mass on Saturday, November 10th at 11am at Resurrection Catholic Church in Aptos. Stephanie's family would like to thank: Dr Wu and staff at PAMF Oncology of SC, Dr. Watson from Hospice, Dr. Mollick from Stanford, Dr. Imahara, Dr. Fabry, Good Shepherd Catholic School, Salesian Sisters for all their efforts during her courageous battle. In lieu of flowers a Trust fund has been set-up for Christopher and Stephanie's children at Santa Cruz County Bank, Watsonville Branch, 595 Auto Center Dr. Watsonville, CA 95076.