Dena Glatt Obituary: Monrovia, California Resident Dies at 57 Following Sudden Cardiac Arrest – Community Mourns Legacy.

MONROVIA, CA – The quiet, tree-lined streets of Monrovia, a foothill community nestled beneath the San Gabriel Mountains, are known for their historic charm and small-town resilience. But this week, a somber silence has settled over the city as residents grapple with the sudden and unexpected loss of one of their own. Dena Glatt, a 57-year-old longtime resident of Monrovia, California, passed away following a sudden cardiac arrest, leaving behind a trail of grief, disbelief, and a profound legacy of quiet generosity.

Ms. Glatt died on [Insert Date if known, otherwise: recently] at a local hospital after emergency medical services were called to her residence in the southern section of Monrovia. Despite rapid response efforts by the Monrovia Fire Department and paramedics from Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office confirmed the preliminary cause of death as cardiopulmonary arrest due to underlying cardiac etiology, pending final toxicology reports. She was 57.

For a community that prides itself on knowing its neighbors—where the annual Monrovia Days Festival brings generations together and the iconic Old Town’s lamp posts are lit by a dedicated lamplighter—the loss of Dena Glatt feels intensely personal.

The Final Hours: A Community in Alarm

According to emergency dispatch logs obtained by this news organization, a distress call was placed from Glatt’s home on the 200 block of East Palm Avenue shortly before 8:30 a.m. on the morning of her passing. The caller, later identified as a close family friend and neighbor, reported that Glatt had collapsed in her kitchen without warning. The dispatcher guided the caller through hands-only CPR until first responders arrived less than four minutes later.

“It was textbook sudden cardiac arrest,” said Captain Marcus Reed of the Monrovia Fire Department, who was not on the scene but reviewed the response report. “One moment she was reportedly preparing for her day, and the next, she was unresponsive. These events are often silent and swift, especially in women, where symptoms can be atypical or non-existent prior to the arrest.”

Paramedics arrived to find Glatt in ventricular fibrillation—a chaotic heart rhythm that prevents the heart from pumping blood to the brain and body. They administered three rounds of defibrillation, epinephrine, and advanced airway management before transporting her to Huntington Hospital’s Emergency Department. Despite aggressive care in the critical care unit, Dena Glatt was pronounced dead at 10:17 a.m.

Who Was Dena Glatt? More Than an Obituary Page

In the hours following the news, social media platforms became virtual memorials. But to understand Dena Glatt, one must look beyond the digital tributes and into the physical spaces of Monrovia that she helped shape.

Born Dena Marie Herschel on March 14, 1967, in Arcadia, California, she was the eldest daughter of retired educators Robert and Elaine Herschel (both deceased). She attended Monrovia High School (Class of 1985), where classmates remember her as the quiet force behind the yearbook committee and a fierce defender of the school’s arts programs. After graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Business Administration, she briefly worked in corporate logistics in downtown Los Angeles before finding her true calling in nonprofit management.

For the last 22 years, Dena served as the operations director for the Foothill Unity Center, a critical safety-net organization based in Monrovia that provides food, case management, and healthcare navigation to low-income families, homeless individuals, and seniors across the San Gabriel Valley. It was here that her work transcended a job title.

“Dena didn’t just manage spreadsheets and donor logs,” said Maria Sanchez, CEO of Foothill Unity Center, fighting back tears during a brief phone interview. “She managed dignity. When a single mother came in embarrassed to ask for diapers, Dena was the one who would kneel down to the child’s eye level, hand over a toy, and make the mother feel seen, not pitied. She believed that ‘charity’ was a dirty word if it didn’t include respect.”

Colleagues recall that Glatt never sought the spotlight. She avoided photo ops and press releases. Instead, she was the one arriving at the warehouse at 5 a.m. to sort expired labels from still-good donations. She was the one who memorized the names of every regular senior who came for the monthly commodity box. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Glatt worked 80-hour weeks, coordinating drive-thru food distributions that served over 5,000 families per week.

The Medical Context: Understanding Cardiac Arrest at 57

While the news of a 57-year-old dying from cardiac arrest might lead some to assume previous health battles, those close to Glatt describe her as active and engaged. Friends say she was an avid hiker who frequently walked the trails of Monrovia Canyon Park and a volunteer for the annual Monrovia Race for the Cure.

Cardiologists not involved in her care note that sudden cardiac arrest in women between 50 and 60 is often underrecognized. Dr. Leena Patel, a cardiologist with Dignity Health in Glendale (who did not treat Glatt), explained: “Women tend to develop coronary artery disease later than men, but when they do, the presentation can be silent. Symptoms like unusual fatigue, upper back pressure, or indigestion are often dismissed. In many cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in this age group, the first sign of heart disease is the arrest itself.”

The Glatt family has since released a statement urging people in the Monrovia community not to speculate on Dena’s private medical history but to focus on CPR training. “If there’s any legacy from this nightmare,” the family statement read, “let it be that every person who reads this learns hands-only CPR. The paramedics did everything right. But the minutes before they arrive are everything.”

An Outpouring of Grief: Monrovia Reacts

By midday following her death, the flag at the Foothill Unity Center was lowered to half-staff. A growing pile of flowers, handwritten notes, and small potted succulents—Dena’s favorite plant—appeared on the center’s front steps.

Monrovia City Councilmember Becky Shevlin issued a formal statement: “Dena Glatt was the backbone of our city’s compassionate response to hardship. She didn’t just live in Monrovia; she fortified it. On behalf of the City Council, we extend our deepest condolences to her family and to her second family at the Unity Center.”

Local businesses also paid tribute. The Monrovia Coffee Company renamed a drink for her—the “Dena’s Dark Roast,” a black coffee with a single sugar cube—because, as the owner said, “She was straightforward, strong, and sweet only when you got to know her.”

But perhaps the most moving reaction came from the people she served. Harold Finnegan, 74, a retired veteran who relies on the Unity Center’s food deliveries, showed up to the center with a hand-painted rock that read “Dena’s Angel.” He said: “She remembered I liked chunky peanut butter. Not creamy. Chunky. And she’d set a jar aside for me. That’s who she was. In a system that treats you like a number, she remembered a preference. That’s love.”

Family Remembers: The Private Dena

Beyond her public service, Dena Glatt was a devoted sister, aunt, and friend. She is survived by her younger brother, Michael Glatt of Portland, Oregon, and her older sister, Rebecca Glatt-Hernandez of Monrovia. She was predeceased by her parents and her longtime partner, David Morrow, who died of cancer in 2019. Those close to her say she never fully recovered from Morrow’s death, channeling her grief into the Unity Center’s cancer support programs.

In an exclusive interview, Rebecca Glatt-Hernandez shared a side of Dena the public never saw.

“She had a dark, dry sense of humor that would make a sailor blush,” Rebecca recalled, laughing through tears. “And she was obsessed with forensic crime shows. Every Sunday night, we’d watch ‘Dateline’ together. She’d text me her theories before the commercial break. She was usually right.”

Rebecca also noted that Dena had recently adopted a rescue cat, a grumpy senior calico she named “Pismo,” after Pismo Beach—where the family vacationed every summer. Pismo now lives with Rebecca. “Dena would joke that she and the cat were both 57 in ‘humans years’ and had the same creaky joints.”

The Funeral Arrangements and Legacy Fund

A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, [Insert Date], at 11:00 a.m. at Douglas & Zook Mortuary, located at 600 E. Foothill Blvd., Monrovia, California. The service is open to the public, a reflection of how many lives Glatt touched. A private interment will follow at Live Oak Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to the “Dena Glatt Memorial Food Security Fund” at Foothill Unity Center. Donations can be made online or in person at the center’s Monrovia location. The goal, according to Maria Sanchez, is to fund a mobile food pantry van—a project that Glatt had been advocating for since 2021.

“She drew up the business plan herself,” Sanchez said. “We’re going to name the van ‘Dena’s Wheels of Mercy.’ She would have hated the corny name, but she would have loved the result.”

The Broader Conversation: Cardiac Arrest in Middle-Aged Women

Dena Glatt’s death has inadvertently sparked a community-wide conversation about heart health for women in their 50s. Monrovia’s YMCA has already announced a free “CPR & Heart Health for Women” workshop scheduled for next month, in Glatt’s honor.

Dr. Patel, the cardiologist, emphasized that the signs of impending cardiac trouble in women are often misinterpreted: “We think of clutching the chest like in the movies. But for women, look for sudden cold sweats, nausea, lightheadedness, and a sense of ‘doom’—a feeling that something is wrong without being able to name it. Dena’s passing is a tragedy, but it can serve as a call to action.”

Conclusion: A Light Extinguished Too Soon

In the end, Monrovia, California, has lost not just a resident, but a moral compass. Dena Glatt lived a life that did not seek headlines. She sought results. She sought fairness. She sought to make sure that no child in her city went to bed hungry and no senior felt forgotten.

As the sun sets over the San Gabriels and the lamplighter makes his evening rounds along Myrtle Avenue, the people of Monrovia will feel her absence in the smallest moments—in the food bank line, in the quiet of a Sunday night with no “Dateline” bets, and in the sudden, sharp reminder that life, no matter how quietly lived, is precious.

Dena Glatt is survived by her siblings, her cat Pismo, and a community she held together with little more than kindness and grit. She was 57 years old. Cardiac arrest may have stopped her heart, but it will not stop the mission she championed.

Rest in peace, Dena. Monrovia will take it from here.