She and her husband founded the company that developed Leisure World
Communities across the nation. A paid obituary in the L.A. Times on
April 23, 2006 says that Set Designer Armour Goetten was her brother.
Another brother Gerald was under contract with MGM.
Along with her husband, Ross W. Cortese, they developed the "Walled
City of Rossmoor" in Los Alamitos, California.
The Alona Cortese Elder Law Center at the Chapman University School of Law, which was founded in 2000, is named for her. The center provides pro bono legal aide to Orange County residents who are needy or of advanced age.
Co-founder of the School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, with her husband Ross Cortese.