DUARTE >> A memorial service will be held today for Duarte Mayor Pro Tem Tzeitel Paras-Caracci, who died last month after a nearly three-year battle with lung cancer.

Paras-Caracci died June 25 at age 49.

A host of elected officials, friends, relatives and Duarte residents is expected to attend the memorial, which will be held at 10 a.m. at the Duarte Community Center, 1600 Huntington Drive. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m.

Among those set to attend are Duarte City Council members; Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-El Monte; and state Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-Glendale.

Paras-Caracci was first elected to the council in 2001. She was the first Filipino American to be elected to the Duarte City Council and the first Duarte High School graduate. She served as mayor in 2006, 2011, 2015 and 2019.Memorial » Page 6

“We have suffered a huge loss in our city and I am profoundly saddened as Tzeitel was an immensely capable member of our council as well as a great personal friend to me, as well as many others,” Mayor Margaret Finlay said in announcing her death last month. “Her smile and energy were infectious, and it was an honor to serve on council with her.”

Born Aug. 8, 1972, in Quezon City, Philippines, and named for the eldest daughter from the Broadway musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” Paras-Caracci and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1975 and to Duarte in 1985. She graduated from Duarte High School in 1989 and Woodbury University in Burbank.

Paras-Caracci died at her home surrounded by family, Finlay said.

Paras-Caracci is survived by her parents, Lino and Russel Paras; her husband, K.C. Caracci; their son, Jack Russell; stepdaughter Dr. Blake Caracci; and her brothers Bertrand and John Paul George.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggested donations to the City of Hope at cityofhope.org/giving/give-honor-or-memory.

The memorial will also be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel: youtu.be/jRqSylDh94Q.