Wanda Lee Sarzotti Rodgers passed away on Monday, August 18, 2025, in Ventura after many years of dealing with painful metastatic bone and breast cancer.
Wanda Lee was born in Ventura on March 23, 1940, to Anton (Fidel) and Irene Sarzotti. She graduated from St. Catherine’s Academy in 1958, attended Ventura College, and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Bacteriology from UC Riverside in 1962. After graduation, she returned to Ventura where she worked as a MedTech at Foster Memorial Hospital which soon after became the new Community Memorial Hospital.
Wanda Lee was a lover of books, animals (especially elephants), cooking, and extreme sudoku. In the early 1990s, she developed a love for country music and met Adrian Bush, who became her dear companion until his death in December, 1998. Wanda Lee and Adrian will be buried together with her parents at Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura.
Those who wish to honor Wanda Lee’s life are encouraged to donate to the Sisters of the Holy Cross at St. Catherine By-The-Sea Convent in Ventura, 1931 Poli Street, Ventura, CA 93001.
Rosary will be held at the JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE at 2 pm on Tuesday, August 26. Address is 757 E. Main Street, Ventura. Mass will be held at St. Catherine’s on Wednesday, August 27, at 10:00 AM. Everyone is welcome.
Wanda Lee will be missed by her many old and new friends, but especially by her cousin Kathryn (Kathy) Gholson Hoffman, and Kathy’s family – husband Howard, daughter Sara Pelley (Chris), son Marshal Hoffman, and granddaughter Hazel Barbara Pelley, as well as Adrian’s sister Virgie Hillegas, and Adrian’s daughter Janet Bush.