Rochelle Daley Tatrai-Ray
Rochelle Daley Tatrai-Ray, age 46, CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, passed away on Thursday, December 18th, 2014.
She was the beloved daughter of Gai Linn (Daley) Tatrai and Louis Tatrai.
She is survived by her two daughters: Marisa Ray and Selena Ray; two sisters: Gai-Linn Sitta and Dana Febbraro; and three nieces: Lauren Sitta, Brynn Sitta and Maria Febbraro.
Rochelle was born on Thursday, June 20th, 1968 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
She was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Peter J. Daley and Gladys (Moyer) Daley; and her paternal grandparents, Louis B. Tatrai Sr. and Margaret (Milcheck) Tatrai.
Rochelle was the Salutatorian of the 1986 Class of Charleroi Area High School.
She graduated with Honors from Washington and Jefferson College with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She also received her Masters of Arts degree with Honors from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
She was a Licensed Mental Health Therapist.
Rochelle started her career as an instructor at the Westmoreland County Community College, Carlow College and Duquesne University in Pennsylvania.
Then she became the Supervisor at Family Based Mental Health.
She went on to become Program Director for Behavioral Health Rehabilitation Services.
She moved to Florida in 2003 to become the Clinical Administer at Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, where she later became Chief Operating Officer (COO). At the time of her death, she was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services.
Rochelle was a frequent public speaker and advocate for children’s and mental health policies.
She has presented at numerous State, National and International Conferences including SAMHSA’s National GAINS Conference, Creating Effective Services in Washington, D.C.; and the Association of Jewish Family and Children’s Agencies International Conference in Montreal, Canada.
She co-presented at the National Consortium of Torture Treatment Programs at the National Conference in Washington, D.C.
Most recently, she had been advocating for additional funding for Hernando County to help troubled individuals find employment to allow them to provide support to their children.
She successfully advocated to allow services to be provided in Pasco County to unaccompanied children from Central America.
She established a number of advisory boards to engage key stakeholders in advocacy efforts for the disadvantaged, including those with mental illness, refugees, and our local Jewish Community.
Rochelle was a member of the Central Florida Behavioral Health Network Board and a member of HUD Housing EGRET-HERON Board.
She was a Founding Member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority at Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, Pa.
She also had been a member of the First United Methodist Church Charleroi, Pennsylvania.
Friends will be received in the MARISCOTTI FUNERAL HOME, Anthony N. Mariscotti, Supervisor, 323 Fourth Street, California, Pa., today, Friday, December 26th, 2014 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m.
Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 27th, 2014 in UNITED CHRISTIAN CHURCH, 499 East Malden Drive, Coal Center, PA 15423 with Reverend Jana S. Quisenberry officiating.
Interment will follow in LaFayette Memorial Park, Brier Hill, Pa.
Donations, in lieu of other tokens of sympathy may be made to a College Trust fund for Rochelle’s daughters, which is being established at Bank of America, or to a fund in Rochelle’s name at Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services. For the trust fund, a deposit can be made at any Bank of America branch; and for the Gulf Coast Jewish Family fund, donations can be made online at www.gcjfcs.org