Amy Michele Pittenger, 33, concierge at Gjelina on Abbot Kinney and Santa Monica resident, died unexpectedly on Sunday, September 30, while visiting her mother, Nancy Pittenger Lynch, in Venice. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 13, at 11:00 a.m. at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary, 1218 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
Amy is survived by her daughter Sara Faith Legette, 12, who attended Coeur D’Alene Avenue Elementary in Venice for 2nd through 4th grades. She now resides with her father Charles Wyatt Legette and step mother Janelle in Apple Valley.
To be remembered for her compassion and kindness to strangers, friends and family alike, Amy had an uncanny understanding of others’ problems and brought solace and comfort to many. As her maternal aunt Carol Brown reminisced, “She always had the right thing to say to a friend, or really to anyone in need.”
Born on June 10, 1979 at Tarzana Medical Center to parents Richard M. Pittenger and Nancy, Amy was the adored baby girl of the family and little sister to brothers Christopher Forrest and Jeffrey Thomas. She attended pre-school through high school in Westlake Village and Agoura Hills. During middle school she played softball, until discovering the Academy of Dance, Agoura Hills, where she dedicatedly studied ballet and jazz through her four years at Agoura High School.
Amy’s winning smile and quintessential charm led her to the hospitality industry, where she first worked in restaurant service and sales in Boulder, Colorado and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Her longtime love of the arts and her many creative talents then directed her to a second career in the entertainment industry, where she was initially employed as a personal assistant and eventually a stylist on a variety of major nationally aired television commercials.
She first lived on the west side of Los Angeles from ’05-’07, became a member of the Motion Picture Costume Union and worked at Fox Sports in ’07 and ’08, styling wardrobes of newscasters and sports celebrities for sports commentary programming. She had also worked as a concierge at Fred Segal, Santa Monica and most recently, as concierge at Gjelina on Abbot Kinney, one of the trendiest and most exclusive dining spots in Los Angeles.
Among the many effusive comments from family and friends was her mother’s, “Amy was magic,” Nancy smiles, “pure magic.” This young mother’s loving, caring nature and attentive companionship will be dearly missed and deeply cherished by all who knew her.
In lieu of flowers, online donations may be made in Amy’s memory to The CLARE Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing compassionate treatment and recovery services for alcoholism and substance abuse to individuals, families and the community. http://www.clarefoundation.org/donations.html.
