Eloina Suarez passed away on March 2, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina after a long battle with Dementia. She was born on December 24, 1940 in San Pedro, Belize to Patricio Fermin & Eusebia Cardenez.
San Pedro was a small island community of almost 1,000 people. It was a bygone place and time where the pace of living was slow, everyone knew each other, there were no telephones or televisions, and the primary source of food was locally caught fish. Eloina was known for her kindness and sweet disposition. She was well loved by her many friends on the island.
Eloina taught primary school from 1955-59. She took her teaching duties very seriously and was the most popular teacher on the island. Everyone in San Pedro who was 50 years or younger knew who she was and referred to her as “Teacher Loinie.”
In 1960 Eloina went on holiday to Miami, Florida. She was one of the first residents of San Pedro to travel to the United States and her trip was the talk of the town. She sent letters back to her family describing the amazing things she saw in America. She was amazed by Miami International Airport which she described in one of her letters as “bigger than all of Belize City” which was the capital of Belize at the time.
While on holiday, Eloina met Anastasio Julio Suarez, as he was exiting a Church service. Anastasio will never forget their first date. He offered to take her anywhere she pleased thinking she’d choose a nice restaurant but was surprised to discover Eloina wanted to go to Church. Romance blossomed and Eloina’s temporary stay in Miami became permanent. They married on November 5, 1960. Eloina spent the rest of her life in the United States as a loving homemaker who devoted her time, care, and energy to her husband Anastasio, her son Julio, and her daughters Lupe and Sandra.
Eloina was a woman of God. One of her favorite Bible verses was John 17:1-3:
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
While Dementia took its toll on Eloina in the latter years of her life, she never lost her love of the Lord. In her last days, when she could barely utter a word, she still recited the Lord’s Prayer over an over. Her spiritual strength in the face of physical and mental adversity was a powerful illustration to her family that eternal glory far outweighs earthly suffering. As stated in 2 Corinthians 4.16-18: “Therefore we do not lose heart for though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. While we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
True to 2 Timothy 4:7, Eloina “fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith.” Her family takes comfort in the knowledge that we will all be together in the Resurrection, standing in the presence of Jesus Christ. “By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.” 1 Corinthians 6.14
Eloina is survived by her loving husband of nearly 61 years, Anastasio Julio Suarez, her son Julio Suarez and his wife, Amy, grandson Matthew, granddaughters Joanna and Michelle; her daughter Lupe Suarez, and grandsons Samuel and Joseph, and her daughter Sandra Suarez Astbury and her husband Jim. She is also survived by her brother Artemio Cardenez, his wife Carmita, and their three children, and her sister Dolin Vasquez and her four children. She was predeceased by her sister Teody Nuñez, and is survived by three of Teody’s children.
In lieu of flowers or memorial contributions, please cherish the people close to you and let them know how much you love them. Online condolences may be offered at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com.
