Sophia Della Penna

Sophia (Martindale) Della Penna courageously battled familial ALS and wrote this these words before she went home to her Lord and Savior on June 10, 2024. She was born April 29, 1968 in Binghamton, NY, and moved to Melbourne, FL in 2023. She was 56.

Sophia is survived by her loving husband, Paul Della Penna; her doting mother, Nereyda (Netty) Martindale; and her two children, Nicolas and Gianna Perfetti. They were her world. Familial ALS took the lives of her father, David Martindale, and her Uncle Craig Martindale and cousin Emily Martindale. She was also predeceased by her baby sister, Christine Martindale; grandparents, Maria and Jose Mercado and Virginia Martindale Chase.

Sophia was a graduate of Cincinnatus Central School and SUNY Broome Community College. For many years, she served on the Southern Tier New York ALS committee that “Walked to Defeat ALS.” She wore many other hats but her most rewarding, other than being a mom, was caring for the ill and the elderly. She absolutely loved her most recent job working for New York State caring for adults with developmental disabilities.

A special thank you to Dr. March and the amazing team of nurses at Orlando Health Interventional Radiology. Also, thank you to her ALS team at Orlando Health and to the Southeast Florida ALS Chapter. And a heartfelt thank you to her husband, Paul, for his love, support, and sacrifice as he became her caregiver, and their plans for the future were forever changed.

Sophia loved to smile, laugh, dance, eat good food, and be around those she loved. She felt profoundly blessed by the support and love of so many caring friends and family, and her special pets; Lambo and Thumbelina. In lieu of services, Sophia asked that you get together with family and friends, make memories, and celebrate how sweet, yet short, this life really is.