Beatrice Ridao, 87, died on September 15, 2018 at Sunrise Bluemont Park Senior Living in Arlington, VA, where she resided for almost 3 years and was lovingly cared for during her decline due to dementia.
Her passionate spirit lives on in her husband of 66 years, Manuel Francisco Ridao. Their four daughters and their families will miss her tight hugs and generosity: Betty Keller and John, Mequon, WI; Maria Wallis and Marvin, Whitefish Bay, WI; Mercedes Ridao, Boston, MA; and Diana Page and Christopher, Alexandria, VA. She will be cherished by her 10 grandchildren: Jennifer Keller (deceased), Jonathan Keller and fiance Lauren, Anthony Wallis and wife Maggie, Alexander Wallis, Andrew Wallis, Lauren Makholm and husband Bill, Karla Makholm, Daniel Makholm, Henry Page and Caroline Page. In August, her only great-grandchild, A. Bennett Wallis, was born to Maggie and Anthony.
She was born Beatriz Alvarez Cantillo Cortez Martinez in Barranquilla, Colombia on March 28, 1931 to Alberto Alvarez Cortez and Luisa (Cantillo Martinez) Alvarez. Second of four daughters, she was a devoted sister to Mabel (Alvarez) Wuilleumier (deceased), Maria Antonia (Alvarez) Nieto and Estela Alvarez (deceased). She was blessed with 36 cousins, and continued loving communication with some of them until recently: Josefita, Luz, and Amalita. A valedictorian graduate of Colegio Maria Auxiliadora, she was proud to go to work upon graduation at Esso Colombiana S.A., where she became an accomplished administrative secretary. Beatrice valued her faith in God, her family and education. She was admired for her passionate recitations of Spanish poetry and was an avid novel reader all her life. Her dream of attending college in the United States was never realized but remained an inspiration.
Beatrice and Manuel married in 1951 after a long teenage courtship and moved to Venezuela for two years. In the winter of 1966, they moved from Barranquilla to Milwaukee, WI with their three daughters and would have Diana two years later. Life in the United States was initially tough but she managed to juggle work, public transportation, English classes, motherhood, and learning the American culture. She became a citizen in 1971, and shortly thereafter a homeowner and a driver. With her inspiration to have all her daughters attend college and become self-sufficient, Beatrice carried on without complaint or selfishness. She volunteered her lunch hour once a week to serve the poor at a church downtown. She enjoyed her work as assistant manager in the international department of the First Wisconsin Bank (now U.S. Bank) where she had good friends until her retirement.
In 1990, she and Manuel moved to Cape Coral Florida, where she nurtured her beloved garden of fruit trees, graced with a small statue of the Virgin Mary, and enjoyed welcoming her daughters' families with Colombian foods and dips in the pool. Beatrice loved the water and would join her grandchildren on outings to the beach and Splash water park. Her banana bread, grapefruits and mangoes were stuffed in one's luggage upon departure of those famed vacations when "life stood still."
Never allowing an idle moment or honoring retirement, Beatrice went to work at Cape Coral Hospital daycare. Missing her grandchildren profoundly and loving young children, she found this intensely fulfilling. When she switched to working in the medical library, she balanced her week as a private caregiver to an infant and a 2-year-old in her neighborhood. She remained close to the O’Connors beyond the 5 years of her employment. As in Milwaukee, she made close friends with her neighbors and the Kuckas were especially dear to her. After 23 years, Beatrice and Manuel moved to Arlington, VA to live near the Pages, where they could enjoy grand-parenthood with the youngest in the family. A lover of dogs, Beatrice found therapeutic comfort in the Page’s chihuahua pug, Santi. Her steady decline from dementia complicated her independence but she found her move to Sunrise a comfort and a joy.
Beatrice's life will be honored with a memorial mass on October 27, 2018 at 2:00 pm at Immanuel Church on the Hill, 3606 Seminary Rd, Alexandria, VA 22304. Visitation will begin at 1:00 pm. All family, friends and acquaintances are welcomed.
Remembrance donations may be made to Cape Coral Hospital Auxiliary, 636 Del Prado Blvd, Cape Coral, FL 33990.
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