Eleanor Mastroianni

October 17th, 1931 - August 24th, 2021

Eleanor (Rubino) Mastroianni, of Garden Grove, died August 24, 2021, just weeks shy of her 90th birthday. Born in Monaca, PA, on October 17, 1931, she and her husband, Armand Jay, were owners of Jay’s Catering, a well-known Southern California caterer. Jay’s Catering started by using her family recipes. Without Eleanor’s remarkable know-how and unwavering support for her husband, many would say that Jay’s wouldn’t have got off the ground. Ellie’s Table Egan House, the Mastroianni Family Bakery & Cafe in San Juan Capistrano, is named in her honor. Eleanor’s passion is so vividly displayed in her recipes and embodied in the Ellie’s Table and Jay’s Catering slogans: “Happiness is Homemade” and “Bringing People to the Table Since 1967”.

Eleanor met her husband, Jay, one evening while working at Elsie’s Conway Corner in Rochester, PA. He worked pumping gas at the station across the street. Even though she was spoken for, Jay insisted on taking her out for a few dances at the local dance hall. After four months, on July 25, 1953, the two were married. Eleanor’s determination to do what was best for her family is what always pushed her to make important, life-changing decisions. In 1958, during a major downturn in the economy, Eleanor had to make the difficult decision to move cross country. She convinced Jay to move to California, a 3,000 mile trek, where she would work at Palm Harbor Hospital (now Garden Grove Hospital) and become the Assistant Director of Nursing and Jay would later start Jay’s Catering. She spent twenty years working as an RN providing care to those in need and eventually retired her nursing cap for a chef's hat at Jay’s Catering. Many of her recipes are still in use today, including her lasagna and carrot cake, the most popular dessert at Ellie’s Table. Eleanor was strong, honorable and dignified. Behind every great man is a great woman.

The daughter of Giovanna and Sabatino Rubino, Eleanor is survived by her three children and their spouses, Linda & Uriel Loaeza, of Tustin, John & Debbie Mastroianni, of Murietta, and Michael & Theresa, of Corona; eleven grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren, with two more on the way; three siblings, Florence Podolak and Jackie Ciccozzi of Monaca, PA and Betty Flati of Westminster. She was preceded in death by her three brothers, Anthony, Samuel, and Robert as well as four sisters, Anne Barco Michaluk, Alice Cucinelli, Rose Rubino and Dorothy Josipovich.