Gary Herron

Rio Rancho district 3 city councilor and deputy mayor Delma Petrullo battled for the arts in Rio Rancho, often coming out victorious.

Petrullo, however, was unable to defeat cancer; she succumbed to the disease Wednesday morning at the age of 60. She had been moved to hospice care Sunday, said Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack, who saw her that day.

“I think Delma knew and she became at peace because her comment was also, to me in writing because she couldn’t speak, was, ‘Tom, you’re going to have to find somebody to replace me.’ ”

Swisstack said that won’t be easy.

“She was one of those councilors that had passion for making her community a better place to live,” he said. “She was always concerned about the quality of life for the residents, both the safety part of it as well as the aesthetic part of it. Delma truly cared about serving her constituents and serving the city. In light of Delma’s illness, she never let that deter her from her role as a councilor and her responsibilities to this community.”

Information regarding a memorial service for the councilor will be made available shortly and posted to the city's Web site, ci.rio-rancho.nm.us.

Those wishing to leave their thoughts and memories about Councilor Petrullo can visit caringbridge.org/visit/delmap and post comments under the guest book section. Messages will be viewed by members of the Petrullo family.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Rio Rancho Community Foundation, c/o Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, 4001 Southern Boulevard SE, Rio Rancho, 87124-2069.

See the Sunday, June 7 issue of the Rio Rancho Observer for more on Petrullo.