She is survived by her loving family: son George Troop and Julie Andringa of Washington, D.C.; son William Troop of Belmont, MA, and Cary Morse of Lexington, MA, and by grandchildren Henry and Alice Troop, also of Lexington, MA. Her extended families in Nicaragua and Mexico also grieve for her loss.
She was predeceased by husband, George Troop of Mexico City, Mexico, and by her only sibling, Manuel Cordero Sanhueza of Managua, Nicaragua.
Myriam’s life defied the conventions of her time. She supported herself as a young woman, and later became the breadwinner for her family. As a widow, it was she who guided her teenaged sons into adulthood.
In her later years, Myriam impressed all who knew her with her youthful looks, sunny personality, quick laugh, and a playfulness that defied her advanced age. Ever the sharp dresser, she liked to look nice at all times, just in case.
And when asked how she was, she would always answer with one of her signature phrases, delivered in three languages with a smile: “No tan très bien como vous, pero un poco very well.”
Myriam was born on September 30, 1920, in Jinotepe, Nicaragua, the daughter of Manuel Cordero Reyes, also of Jinotepe, and Lidia Inés Sanhueza Saavedra, who was born in Chile. During her childhood, Myriam’s father Manuel was active in Nicaraguan politics and served as the country’s foreign minister. Myriam studied in France and Belgium in the late 1930s, but was forced to return home early as World War Two was brewing on the Old Continent.
Upon her return to Nicaragua, Myriam was very active in Managua’s social scene and was at one point elected a beauty queen by members of the capital’s press corps. Her newspaper clippings from that era show her getting as much attention from the Nicaraguan press as her foreign minister father.
After her father passed away in the 1940s, and as the Somoza dictatorship was taking hold in Nicaragua, Myriam left the country to start a new life in the United States. In Washington, D.C., she went to work as an administrative assistant for a new United Nations agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). She would remain with that agency for more than three decades.
In the 1950s, Myriam accepted a new assignment with the FAO in Mexico City. She eventually ran operations there. It was in the Mexican capital that she met her husband, George Troop. And that’s where their children, George and William, were born.
In 1970s, the FAO again transferred Myriam, this time to headquarters in Rome, Italy. Soon after, Myriam joined FAO’s protocol department, where she helped plan visits by heads of state, lavish diplomatic receptions, and the annual FAO general assembly. It was her dream job, as the daughter of a former diplomat.
When it came time to retire, Myriam decided to move to the Washington area again, to be near her children. Later, she was thrilled to become a grandmother. When her grandson Henry was a toddler, he called her “Blipi,” and the nickname stuck. She always loved music, and just recently she enjoyed singing “Cielito Lindo” with her granddaughter Alice.
Even at the age of 97, Myriam never failed to offer visitors a smile and a laugh. And she will always be remembered with love by family and friends for her grace, impish smile and charm. She will be sorely missed by all.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Nicaraguan Red Cross by using the link provided below donations.
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