Celina R. Hernandez

Born of Venezuelan parents in Bocono, a city in the Venezuelan Andean state of Trujillo in May 1932, Celina moved to Caracas, Venezuela during her early adulthood. She eventually immigrated to Brooklyn, New York, USA with her husband and young daughter. Celina lost the love of her life, her husband John (of 57 years) on November 16, 2012 and is survived by her daughter, Jo Ann (“Nena”).

Celina always dreamed of having many children, but alas only had one child. As a result, she began to babysit children, from newborns to teenagers. She babysat in her home in Park Slope, Brooklyn and in the homes of several Columbia University professors. Word of mouth quickly spread of a petite, Venezuelan lady who loved children and enjoyed interacting with them. As a result, she was frequently contacted via referrals. For several individuals, she was the one who assisted them with their newborns which included bathing, feeding and changing their infants. Over the years, many expressed their gratitude for having Celina in their lives at that important point in time.

After several years, she decided to pursue a career with the New York City Board of Education as a High School teacher. She continued to demonstrate her love for children, especially New York City teenagers (!!!) by listening to their life stories and encouraging them to continue their studies, no matter what hardships they currently had in their lives.

Celina loved to cook. This included typical Venezuelan dishes, like arepas, hallacas, empanadas and caraotas (black bean soups) as well as American dishes, like turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. On one occasion, she cooked a 25lb, turkey for her family of three that lasted until Easter of the following year. Over the years she collected recipes, and loved to bake bread, cake and cookies. In addition, she had a sweet tooth, something her daughter recalled as she had made homemade flan from scratch (not out of a box).

Celina enjoyed listening to several female performers including Dolly Parton, Cyndi Lauper and Bernadette Peters. But, her ultimate favorite was listening to the soundtrack of the Broadway musical, “Les Miserables”, which she would play over and over again.

Celina had been described by her family and friends as an “incredibly helpful, woman”, who was also very “smart, loyal and strong”, all of which she exhibited on a daily basis. Her daughter would always describe her mother as a “very tough, determined” woman which was indicative of her Taurus horoscope. But, along with this, she also loved to help others of all ages and ethnicities and would often state that “En esta vida, todo tiene remedio, menos la muerte” (In this life, there is a solution for everything, except death).

“Thank you Mami, for everything you have done for me, for being my No #1 cheerleader. You have shown me how to be a strong, independent Latina woman, and to treat everyone with love and respect. I will miss you dearly, but I know that you have been reunited with Viejo. Tell him Hola and Bendecion for me” - Nena