Jackie Cardona passed away 11 May 2019 at the age of 85. She was born in the Ventura area to Milton and Mary Kabrich, grew up in San Jose with her brothers Bob and John, lived in Santa Clara Valley almost her entire life, residing in Saratoga since 1959. She attended Notre Dame High School and was a popular cheerleader there. She wed her husband Carl Cardona, also of San Jose, in 1953 and they were married for 65 years until his death in 2018. Their favorite song to dance to was Frank Sinatra's "Moonlight Serenade", which we (her sons) jokingly speculate we may have been conceived to… She founded and ran Plaza Travel Agency in Cambrian Park, which allowed she and her husband to travel to literally every spot on the entire globe over a 40-year period. In the early 60's she was often seen in her aircraft carrier-sized rose pink Cadillac with tail fins driving her two boys, Steve and Mike, to Sacred Heart School in Saratoga and later on to Archbishop Mitty. She was the 'typical' mother of that generation, spending much time taking her boys and their friends to multiple sports practices, games, etc. The tail fins thus made way for the faux wood-paneled station wagon. She was very involved in her church and philanthropic efforts, serving as President of the Women's Club at Sacred Heart, the President of Our Ladies of Charity, and an officer in Eastfield Junior Auxiliary. She was a competitive bridge player and engaged in that often with her gal pals in the neighborhood. Jackie had countless friends and cultivated those relationships with the old adage, 'To have a friend, be a friend.' She grew up with all boys, married a man from an all-boy family, and had only boy children. So, needless to say, she was ecstatic to have grandchildren, particularly a girl one to break up the male-centric locker-room environment she somehow tolerated. Her greatest attribute was her fierce loyalty to her family, similar to that of a lioness protecting her young, or of 'The Godfather' Don Vito Corleone to his sons, or of Rose Kennedy/Barbara Bush to their clans. Of many, my fondest memory of my mother is summer of 1984 and she and I alone went to Europe together as my brother and father had to work at last minute. I remember one evening walking the streets of Venice, Italy with her and just as we sat down at a table in St. Mark's Square, the piano player broke into, "As Time Goes By" from the movie Casablanca. Timeless, classic, not to be forgotten, just like our mother. Friends and family are invited to a memorial mass at Sacred Heart church in Saratoga Friday 6/14/19 at 1100 am and a life celebration at The Parish Center following. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Dementia Society of America.