Francisca Cruz

peacefully in her sleep .

She was born and baptized in Caguas, Puerto Rico and graduated from high school.

Immediately afterwards, she worked for a time as a pharmacist apprentice.

When she was 18, Francisca moved to New York City. She met and married the love of her life,

Marcelo Porrata, in the lower east side of New York City. They were married for 62 years.

She loved to dress beautifully and always did her best to look like a 1950’s model.

Francisca had the gift of turning any Puerto Rican dish she cooked into a work of art. Family

members from far and wide still remember her mouth-watering chicken and rice, “arroz con

pollo.” She would bake cakes from scratch and always made family gatherings extra special.

Guests were always welcomed at our home as family and would always leave with a bag of her

delicious food.

She had a unique way of turning sad moments around and making us laugh and had the best

sense of humor. Her favorite thing was when one would say, “What a pity” in Spanish: “Ay”

“Bendito” and she would add, “Platano frito,” (fried plantain) because it rhymed. This would

inevitably lighten the mood.

Francisca, was the kindest, most loving mother anyone could ever wish for. She always knew

when something was troubling one of her children. Her knowing how to support and deliver

kind words to ease hurts was one of her best qualities. She would discipline you one moment

and in the next sit down and turn the situation into a helpful learning experience.

Everyone admired her resilience and fortitude to be able to care for her husband's elderly aunt

for 36 years, never once complaining about her difficult task.

Francisca was a whiz at words and vocabulary and during her 5 year stay in New York City with

her daughter, Luisa, was seen to often finish an entire Words Search book in 3 to 4 days. In

time, she grew tired and gave up the books for occasional games of dominoes.

She had a love for life and would chuckle playing dominoes with her children and Daniel, her

youngest grandchild. She would block everyone's moves, laugh and win nearly all the time.

Francisca enjoyed watching daily shows of the Price is Right and Let’s Make a Deal.

She prided herself on having her hair combed beautifully and also loved her collection of shoes

and sandals.

She loved music and never missed an opportunity to dance a meringue with her husband,

Marcelo. He would always make her laugh with his funny way of dancing to one side only. She

called their dance the “Meringazo.”

In Puerto Rico, upon their return to the island to live, she and her husband, would spend much

of their mornings on their patio. They loved to watch the various birds come to the feeders.

Her favorite were the hummingbirds/colibries.

Francisca was ever so proud of being able to love and cuddle her 5 grandchildren and 6 great

grandchildren. Right before she made her journey "home," she learned of her 7th great

grandchild on the way.

Francisca is preceded by her husband, Marcelo Porrata. She is survived by her daughter,

Luisa Porrata, a retired Nursing Professor and her partner, Deirdra Kearney, an Interfaith

Minister; her son Raymond Porrata, a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and his wife, Jean Porrata, a

high school Teacher; 5 grandchildren: Nichole Peringer, her husband Patrick and their 4

children; Nathan Porrata, his wife Angela and their 2 children, Jason Porrata and his wife Leah

who is expecting their first baby and the 2 youngest grandsons, Jared Porrata and Daniel

Porrata, youngest sons of Raymond and Jean Porrata, as well as a host of loving family and

friends.