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Rose Filicetti, a former Mountain View Whisman school board member and longtime advocate for public education, died on Nov. 10, from complications following heart surgery. She was 73.
For decades, Filicetti worked to improve local public education, including 10 years spent serving on the Mountain View Whisman School District board. She was also the executive director of the Santa Clara County School Boards Association for more than 15 years.
Born in 1952 in Sunnyside, Washington, Filicetti earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington in 1974. She went on to earn a master’s degree from Golden Gate University in 1979.
As a Mountain View Whisman school board member from 1994 to 2004, Filicetti played a significant role in the merger of the Mountain View and Whisman school districts in 2001. According to Judy Crates, who was the principal of Bubb Elementary School at this time, combining the two districts, which Filicetti helped guide, unified the overall Mountain View community.
Filicetti was a “force to be reckoned with” while serving on the school board, Crates said, adding that Filicetti had a strong commitment to helping children who were often overlooked.
“When Rose said something, people listened,” Crates said. “They might not have agreed, but they listened.”
Filicetti also always made sure to listen to others, Crates said, noting that she will miss being able to go to Filicetti for calm, reasonable and honest advice.
“She had a real talent of allowing people to open up to her and have her listen and provide a response,” Crates said.
Filicetti and her husband, Neal Savage, lived in the city of Mountain View for nearly 30 years. The couple raised three children together – Matt, Andrea and Torie. In 2010, with the intention of retiring, the couple moved to Capitola.
Matt Savage described his mother as a “community-focused” individual who dedicated much of her life to improving the lives of others and reducing inequities locally.
“Whether it was when we lived in Mountain View, or after she moved to Capitola, she was just always just trying to help people, connect people with resources and do what she could to serve her community,” Matt said.
He added that his mother “wasn’t really good at retirement.” After relocating to Capitola, Filicetti continued to work and serve the community, taking a job as a senior field representative for Joe Simitian, who was serving as a state senator at the time.
Simitian and Filicetti first crossed paths roughly 25 years ago. Once Simitian began serving in the county and state legislature, he started interacting more with the Santa Clara County School Boards Association, which included Filicetti.
“Rose was always the point person, putting things together, making things happen,” Simitian said.
When he suddenly needed someone to be his eyes and ears in Santa Cruz County for his last two years as state senator, he thought of Filicetti, who was just about to move to the area. Simitian recalled Filicetti being hesitant at first because of her lack of established local connections, but he assured her that the role would be a great way for her to get to know people in her new community.
“I had no doubt that she would be very well connected in short order to folks throughout the county, and that’s exactly how it happened,” Simitian said. “Rose was a natural connector. That was one of her great gifts.”
After working with Simitian, Rose went on to serve as a delegate assembly member for the California School Boards Association. Additionally, she became a trustee for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and a founding board member for the nonprofit Digital NEST, an organization aimed at providing underserved communities with the skills and resources needed to launch successful careers.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to local organizations, including one Filicetti founded: Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County. The group aims to widen networks of support and community connections by strengthening relationships among local nonprofits.
On Tuesday, Nov. 18, Mountain View Mayor Ellen Kamei adjourned the City Council meeting in Filicetti’s honor.
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Rose was a big woman who lived a big life. She and Neal raised three fantastic children, and her legacy will live on in Mountain View, Santa Cruz and beyond. She will not be forgotten by the legions of people who knew her. It would be a wonderful and appropriate tribute for a Mountain View school to be named for her in the future.