Gale M. Orozco, of Vero Beach, passed away peacefully on Dec. 25, 2015, at Indian River Medical Center. Her son, David Orozco, his wife, Victoria, and her daughter, Lisa Pitts, were at her bedside constantly since her illness began one month ago.
She is survived by her brother Glenn (Jeannie) Evans of Columbiana, Ala.; son David (Victoria) Orozco of New Zealand; and daughter Lisa (Brian) Pitts of Doylestown, Penn. She has two granddaughters, Cassidy and Kendra Pitts, and two nieces, Earth (Harold Hegg) Evans of Minneapolis, Minn., and Eden (Levi) Frost of Tulsa, Okla.
Orozco was born March 2, 1942 in Davenport, Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education and a Master of Education from the National College of Education. She taught multiple levels of art and math as well as other subjects for 21 years in Iowa, Texas, and Illinois. She moved to Port St. Lucie with her now deceased husband, Hector “Rocky” Orozco, in 1998 before settling in Vero Beach in 2012.
Her greatest pleasures included being with family, traveling the world, photographing what she saw, and translating her photos to watercolor paintings. She dearly loved her rescued dog, Rusty, and all animals.
She was a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and the Artists Guild Gallery of Vero Beach.
On Wednesday, Dec. 30, a viewing will be at 2 p.m. followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m., both at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Vero Beach. Lowther Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Burial will take place later at Arlington National Cemetery next to her husband.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to HALO No-Kill Rescue (halorescuefl.org) or the National Elephant Center (nationalelephantcenter.org).