Miguel Ramirez

Miguel Ramirez was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, on May 8, 1930, the third of five children to Concepción and Juan Ramirez. He spent his childhood fishing, picking mangos from the neighbor's tree and playing with his brothers by the beach- his favorite place in the world.

At age 16, he came to NYC with his family for a better life and moved to the Bronx. Mike quickly became used to city life, but remained a beach kid at heart. He was amazed a few months after his move when he saw his first snow fall. He would tell us the story of how amazed he was to see the snow every year when the first snow fell again.

He started working at Savoy Brass where he brought home $6/week and he gave his whole check to his mom to help to contribute to the household. While working at Savoy, Mike would accompany his older brother, William, after work each day to pick up his sister in law, Christina (Shorty) who worked at a sewing factory. It was on one of those trips that Mike met Rosario, who worked with Shorty and soon became the love of his life.

Mike and Rosie, as he called her, started dating and soon set a date to get married on October 11, 1952. The newlyweds didn't have much to time celebrate before Mike shipped off to the army to report for basic training at Camp Kilmer, NJ. From basic training, he went onto Fort Leonard Wood, MO where he trained with the Army Corp of Engineer Mike served in the Korean War and it was almost nine months to the date after he shipped off that his first child, Miguel Jr, was born.

After his return home from the Army, his second child, Daisy, was born. Mike got a job with Jacobi Hospital as a porter, but soon moved up to the mailroom and finally to the pharmacy. In his spare time, Mike and his brother William spent many hours building their boats, Joan (pronounced Joann) and Daisy. Mike completed his GED and took the MTA test, which he passed. Mike started as maintenance and after several years, he took another test and became a conductor.

In 1972, Mike bought first house in Queens Village, which he lived in until 2013. Mike enjoyed his job as conductor till the day he retired. He enjoyed traveling to Puerto Rico and Florida to visit with family and friends. Mike had a heart of gold and he took great pride in helping his neighbors, family friends with any financial or handyman problems. As the last surviving sibling among his brothers and sister, Mike also took pride in being a confidante and advisor to his nieces and nephews.

Mike was family oriented and enjoyed spending with his loved ones. He is survived by his son, Miguel, and daughter, Daisy, son-in-law, Freddy, daughters-in-law Patricia and Sharen, as well as his five grandchildren - Sandy, Mikey, Jason, Jacqueline, and Jr and his two great grandchildren - Laylanna and Noah. Mike is also survived by his nieces and nephews - Maria, Willy, Felix, Joan, Georgie, Mildred, Elsie, Katie, Wanda, Wally, Wilma, Willard, Warren, Ruben, Iris, Edwin and Irene - and their families.