Kelli Elaine Longo was born on March 25, 1969, in Tulsa, Okla., and passed away on Jan. 2, 2015.
She played soccer and softball, and was later a cheerleader. Kelli majored in being a social butterfly, her family said, valuing fate, destiny and love.
Kelli was hired by United Airlines in 1990 and assigned to work in Los Angeles. On Nov. 2, 1990, her second day in California, she was out with friends in Manhattan Beach, where she met Frankie Longo.
“They shared the same passions and loved being together,” her family said.
By 1994, they were engaged, and married on May 11, 1996. They wed in Tulsa and held a second celebration in California. They went on a dozen honeymoons, their family said, because one was just not enough.
In 1999, Frankie and Kelli moved to Malibu. On Sept. 21, 2001, Kelli gave birth to a baby girl, Lauren. From then on, the three of them became inseparable.
Lauren’s birth also marked the beginning of many of Kelli’s friendships with other mothers in Malibu. Kelli was a permanent presence at every class and volunteered at every school Lauren attended.
On May 28, 2006, she gave birth to her sons Dominic and Michael, fulfilling the family’s hope of having a boy.
They enjoyed summers at the La Costa Beach Club with friends and family. On any given day Kelli could be seen driving up and down Pacific Coast Highway, taking her children to school and sporting events, her family reminisced.
Her family meant everything to her, loved ones said, and she was a dedicated wife and mother. She was described as spiritual, believing that good things happen to good people, and those around her believed she was a testament to those values. She often said, “Things happen for a reason and it is God’s will…that life is as it should be. God has a plan for all of us, even if we do not know the plan.”
Kelli is survived by her husband Frank, her daughter Lauren and her two sons Michael and Dominic. The Longo family thanks everyone in the community for their generous support and love through this difficult time.