November 11, 1946 - May 5, 2020
Ninfa was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on November 10th, 1946 and passed away on May 5th, 2020 at the age of 73 years old.
She leaves behind a loving husband, Hector Ramon Lima, four children: Crosby, Eddie, Mark, Jane; and seven grandchildren: Kenneth, Kaitlin, Shannon, Amberly, Rebecca, Aidan, and Andres.
Ninfa was raised in Ecuador by her parents Angela and Humberto Gonzalez along with her siblings: Rosa (Onofre), Leopoldina Cruz (Cabrera) , Humberto, and Victor. Her family instilled in her values of spiritual faith, love, hard work, and community. Ninfa attended schools in Guayaquil and ultimately decided to work to help her family deal with the poverty that was faced within the country.
Ninfa sought to have a better life for her family and set her sights to move to the United States, even though she did not know English. Ninfa arrived in New York City in 1968. She married Hector in 1969 after he followed her to the US and they began to establish their family life, raising children during the 70s and 80s in which NYC was in the midst of a financial crisis and was crime ridden. They worked hard and ensured that they created safety for their kids within their home. In 2006, Ninfa became a US citizen, accomplishing a lifelong goal. Throughout her life, Ninfa created a foothold in the US for the entire family and manifested a passion for a better life for her sisters, cousins, and their children. Today, the extended family is spread across the globe from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Ninfa lived her life with persistence and a need to perform her work with a beautiful smile. She cared very much for the people she met daily at her job and home. When she first arrived to NYC, Ninfa worked in various factories and completed a course as a hairstylist. She eventually found work as a cleaning lady in an office building in Manhattan. In September 2019, she retired after 39 years of dedicated work as an office cleaning lady. She was a proud member of the worker’s union, Teamsters Local 808.
Her beautiful smile will always be remembered, her caring soul, she went out of her way to make sure people were taken care of. Her children recall “Life brought so many challenges to our mother that would make some want to quit, she took it on as a challenge, and she told herself these problems would not undo her. She taught us how to persevere and enjoy the moments, remember how you feel so that it drives you and softens your soul. Thank you, Mom, you taught us how to be a better people despite all the struggles.”
“The prettiest smile hides the deepest secrets. The prettiest eyes have cried the most tears. And the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.”
On May 5th, 2020, Ninfa succumbed to symptoms related to coronavirus. Her faith in God never faltered, as she stated – “I am always in the hands of God”.
Her final resting place will be at St. Michael’s Cemetery, East Elmhurst – New York. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to be made in Ninfa’s honor to a charity she strongly supported – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital www.stjude.org.
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St. Jude501 St. Jude Place , Memphis, Tennessee 38105
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