Lena Longo

August 6, 1930 - July 26, 2021 It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our mother, Lena Longo. She died at home in Pacific Palisades on Monday, July 26th of heart failure. Lena was born on August 6th in 1930 as one of two children and following her brother Peter in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. Both of her parents emigrated from Russia. Lena's mother died when she was age 5. She grew up living at times with relatives, at times with her father and brother and during high school in a boarding house. She recalled her many jobs as a child during the Great Depression and WWII, including working on farms and in factories, as valued experiences and opportunities. During high school she completed the pre-college curriculum, had a special interest in languages and science and enjoyed sports including swimming in the Welland Canal and being the captain of the high school basketball team. With no financial options to attend college, but with a dream to have a professional career outside of working in an office, she elected to attend nursing school. At St. Joseph's School of Nursing in Toronto she thrived in the world of medicine and made life-long friends. She married our father, Dominic, and they settled in Welland, Ontario where they started their family while she managed life as a working mother serving as a full time RN at Welland General Hospital. In the late 1950s, with two young children, Lena and Dominic immigrated to Los Angeles for new opportunities and better weather in California. Lena was recruited to St. Vincent's Hospital where she worked night shifts so that Dominic could start his first US employment, working on the used car lot at Ben Alexander Ford in Highland Park, CA. Eventually having six children, Lena became a full-time mother but kept her passion for medicine with subscriptions to medical journals, courses, volunteer work and eventually earning another nursing degree from the University of Redlands. One of her volunteer jobs included serving as an inspector for nursing homes. She was a life-long learner and traveled throughout the US and the world with the Los Angeles County Art Museum and the Craft and Folk Art Museum. Other major endeavors in Lena's life included her consistent support of Dominic and his dream to have his own car dealership. She helped to make possible his founding of Longo Toyota in El Monte, California in 1967. At the same time, she spent a lifetime providing care, support and presence to our sister Patti who has severe cerebral palsy. Lena advised that someone should find a way to treat brain disorders. Her efforts included support for Ability First, Momentum (United Cerebral Palsy), the Orthopedics Cerebral Palsy and Cardiology Programs at UCLA, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Coelho Center for Disability Law and Loyola Law School, Cal State Los Angeles School of Education Disabilities Program, among others. Lena Longo was predeceased by her son Danny, and is survived by her other children and their spouses, Frank (Anne), Patti, Joseph (Jaimee), Nancy, Peter (Cathy); her 10 grandchildren, Tatum, Grayson, Lacey, Ashley, Alexandria, Joseph, Sophia, Daniel, Dominic and Ryan; and her many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in her name to AbilityFirst or Momentum. AbilityFirst: https://www.abilityfirst.org/get-involved/donate-now/; or check can be mailed to: Lori Gangemi at AbilityFirst, 1300 East Green Street, Pasadena, CA 91106. Momentum (United Cerebral Palsy): https://momentum4all.org/donate/; or check can be mailed to: Amy Simons at Momentum, 6430 Independence Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367