Michael Escalante, Activist, School Board Member, Dies
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Michael Escalante, a longtime board member for the Centinela Valley Union High School District, has died of cancer. He was 76.
An active resident of Hawthorne for 50 years, Escalante was a member of numerous service organizations such as the Elks and Knights of Columbus and served as president of the Lawndale Rotary and Hawthorne Rotary clubs. Escalante had been a school board member for 14 years.
Escalante, who died Saturday, is survived by his wife, Eleanor, his children, Michael, Mark and Rebecca Escalante Dittemore, and seven grandchildren.
There will be a viewing at McCormick’s Mortuary at 138th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard from noon to 5 p.m. today. A rosary will be said at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 11854 Acacia Ave. at 7 p.m. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph’s at 9 a.m. Wednesday and burial will follow immediately at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.
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