Ana Maria Garcia

B: NOVEMBER 6, 1923

D; November 3, 2016

Ana was born in Quebradilla, Puerto Rico on November 6, 1923, the first child of Isidro and Ceferina Nieves. She was the oldest of 5 children, As a young child she was given to her father’s brother and his wife to raise as they were unable to have children of their own. Though the adults considered this a wonderful gift Ana always felt her parents had abandoned her. A feeling she took to her grave as she never got over being given away. Ana’s father died at age 94 but, she lost her mother due to pneumonia after the birth of her son Jorge at age 30.

Ana grew up poor but attended school throught the 8th grade. She was a good student and wanted to continue to High School but that required tuition fees that she could not afford.

She met Pedro Rivera, a young man in her town and married him at age 16. He made his living as a traveling salesman and had his new bride living with his mother. The relationship between Ana and his mother was strained as mom had her heart set on a different young lady for her son. Ana gave birth to Pedro Jr. and after 3 years of marriage she moved back with her parents and ended the marriage. Ana worked as a nursed aide in a TB hospital to support herself and her son. A job that she spoke of often and a few patients that she cared for and remember throughout her life.

When the War ended in 1945 her mother encouraged her to go to the United Stated and seek better opportunities. Ana and a girlfriend boarded a Navy Transport ship and headed to New York. She was extremely sea sick during the 3 day trip and thought back to the beginning of the war when she tried to enlist as a Navy nurse. She always laughed when she told me the story, imagining herself on board a ship and suffering seasickness all the time. Fortunately, the Navy recruiter turned her down. At 4’11” and 86 lbs he told her a strong wind would blow her off the ship and sent her home to grow some more.

Ana arrived in New York a 22 yr old looking for work and no knowledge of the English language. She soon discovered the Jewish merchants in her neighborhood were wonderful teachers as they took the time to teach her the English words for everything they purchased and correct her grammar as she made her requests. She quickly learned the new language. Ana started working in a office manufacturing factory , “Art Steel” on their assembly line. She soon met a young man, Luis Garcia who worked in another department. As the saying goes the rest is history. They married on August 30, 1947. On June 1, 1948 their daughter Edda was born followed by their son Luis jr. on March 2, 1951. Ana’s dream of more education was constantly on her mind. When her husband was offered a Job with Art Steel in the new California factory she agreed to go. She arrived in California in November of 1957. This opened new doors for her. She learned how to drive and in spite of having a full time job and a family to take care of she started going to school for English as a second language in preparation for further education. In 1960 she took time off of work and went to school to become an LVN. She was finally doing the work she had dreamed of doing all her life.

A few years went by and it troubled her that she still lacked that High School diploma. It was time to go back to school. She started taking her classes a few every semester and she graduated and received her High School diploma in January 1974. Another milestone reached.

Though she was happy working as an LVN in the ICU she realized there were many procedures her patients needed that she could not perform as an LVN. This started to weigh heavy on her mind as she felt she could give better care, so her next goal was started. She started taking classed at MSAC and then switched to ELA College because of its proximity to her work. She received her AA degree and her RN license in 1979 her greatest achievement yet. Ana continued to work as an RN in Intensive care and Intensive Cardiac Care until she was 74 years old. She had put in her retirement notice to the hospital at age 65, but the director of Nursing kept asking to stay until she could find someone to replace her. Neither of the ladies was in a hurry to find the replacement. Technology came in to the hospital and Ana had no typing skills and feared she would have to retire. The younger nurses she worked with knew her to be an excellent teacher so they took over and solved her problem. She dictated her notes and they took turns typing into the system for her. She finally retired at age 74 but as late as September of this year she was still telling me she wished she had never stopped working.

Ana was a wonderful mother to her 3 children and to her grandchildren. She was always there to help in any way she could. She set a great example of work ethic and determination to achieving your goals in life.

Ana lost her husband in 1996 and she sold her home and moved in with her daughter Edda and son-in -law Larry. She traveled to Puerto Rico and enjoyed a coastal cruise with Larry and Edda. Her dementia started to slowly manifest and became very noticeable when she returned home after caring for her son Louis after he was injured at work. She was no longer able to drive and she became progressively worse.

In 2013 she awoke in the middle of the night and got out of bed and fell. A trip to the emergency room revealed a broken arm. She was sent home in a temporary cast to wait for the swelling to subside so they could apply a cast. Three days later she got up in the middle of the night again and fell and cut her head. She was admitted to the hospital and had surgery on her arm to repair the break.

It was with a heavy heart that I made the decision to put her in an assisted living facility where she could be watched and assisted with her needs 24 hrs a day. She lived at Bridging Lives until 5/1/15 then moved to Renaissance Village. At Renaissance she had 4 caregivers that treated her like family and loved her dearly. Mom fell and broke her hip on Oct 18, 2016. After her hospital stay management wanted to move her to their cottage for the more debilitated patients. Three of her caregivers came to me and asked me to tell management I did not want her moved. The all three stated they would take care of her themselves. And that they did.

Ana is survived by her sister Lucy, her 3 children and their spouses. Pedro and Juanita Rivera, Edda and Larry Jones Louis and Lucy Garcia. Eight grandchildren and numerous great and great-great grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by all of her family and friends.

CHEERS TO A LIFE WELL LIVED!