Michael John Ditore

DITORE, Michael John Native of Philadelphia, PA, passed away on March 6, 2015. Mike was born on August 24, 1924, to Giuseppe and Annuziata Ditore. He served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Core between 1942 and 1944 and was a Ball Turret Gunner in the European Theatre. Mike was shot down twice earning a number of medals including the Army Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. Following his honorable discharge, he attended the University of Missouri, where he obtained his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and was a member of the Triangle Fraternity. On December 27, 1948, he married the love of his life, Geraldine Olsen. They moved to Southern California eventually settling in Sacramento in 1957 where they raised their four children and he worked at Aerojet-General for over 30 years as an aeronautical engineer managing many departments. Mike earned a Masters Degree in Applied Mathematics in July 1966 from Sacramento State College, pursued a Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer at University of California, Davis and received an Instructor Credential from The California Community Colleges in 1980 in the subject matter areas of Engineering and Mathematics. While working at Aerojet, he also taught Mathematics and Engineering at American River Junior College and National University. Mike was a member of Toastmasters and won numerous public speaking awards. He enjoyed playing tennis, golf, and water skiing but, mostly spending time with his wife and four children camping, fishing and horseback riding. He was young at heart, never looked his age and could fix anything. He loved having fun and helping others personally and professionally. He was preceded in death by his sister, Mary Valenti Giampietro, his brother, John Ditore, numerous sister and brothers-in-law, and his son, Richard Ditore. He is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, his wife, Gerry, his sons, Steven and Mark (daughter-in-law, Debbie Burns), and his daughter, Deborah. He was so loved by his family and will be missed forever. A celebration of life will be held on Thursday March 19 at 10:00 am at Mount Vernon Memorial Park, 8201 Greenback Lane.