Luz E. Reyes

Luz E. Reyes entered peacefully into God’s heavenly kingdom on Sunday, July 30, 2023 at the age of 91.

Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico on June 18, 1932 to Rafael Rojas and María P. Vargas, she grew up there as the fourth of five children.

After high school she worked at Puerto Rico’s Planning Board as a secretary. One day a fellow soldier gave her oldest brother Guillermo a ride home from Camp Tortuguero and that was when our father Edison Reyes discovered the light of his life and our mother Luz met the love of hers. They married on January 1, 1955 and lived many places on military orders: Monterrey, California; Bonn, Germany; Ft. Belvoir, Virginia; Ft. Buchanan, Puerto Rico (during Edison’s two-year service in Vietnam); and Wiesbaden, Germany. They settled in Puerto Rico in 1970 until November 1989, when they moved to Jacksonville, Florida to be closer to their children. She was a member of Christ the King and St. Joseph Catholic Churches.

Luz was a woman of great faith, a devout Catholic who unreservedly gave of herself to family, friends, and community. She had a special relationship with our Blessed Mother, often seeking her wisdom and praying the rosary. Above all, she loved the Eucharist, and we are grateful that Holy Communion was her last meal when she received the sacrament of anointing of the sick.

We remember her fierce love as nurturer, caregiver, advocate, encourager, and mentor embodied in the many ways she took care of us, her family and ailing parents in Puerto Rico, and our father during his prolonged and progressive health challenges in his later years.

She had a gracious smile, a hearty laugh, and a compassionate heart for those in need. Her kindness was rooted in love and courage to act in everyone’s best interest. Many were touched by her acts of generosity, often hidden, and respected her sense of what was right and just.

Our mother reigned in the domestic church of her home and ruled from her kitchen, where she gave expression to one of her love languages in delicious meals prepared and served at a table where all were welcome. She ran a tight ship, ensuring order, cleanliness, beauty and consummate hospitality, often hosting festive gatherings and receiving guests in her home for short or more extended visits.

She loved to sew, crochet, read, write letters, travel, and her ritual morning and 3pm coffee – loves that many were blessed to share with her.

In what must be a most joyous heavenly celebration of Perpetual Light, Luz is now reunited with her beloved husband of 61 years, Edison Reyes Matos; parents Rafael Rojas and Maria P. Vargas; siblings Guillermo, Rafael Jr., Eugenio and Carmen Rojas Vargas; niece Luz Enerys and nephew Gilberto Rojas.

She is survived by daughter Sylvia Reyes-González (husband César González); son Edison Reyes, Jr. (wife Patricia M. Reyes), three grandchildren who were her pride and joy: Gabriela Ysabel Riedel (née González, husband Ben and great-grandson Boone Michael), Rafael Isaac Reyes, and Milla Marie Reyes; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Our family is profoundly grateful to the staff at Wyndham Lakes Assisted Living and Haven Hospice for their care, St. Joseph pastoral ministers, and all who loved our mother. We will all meet her beautiful spirit, very much alive, in the many places and ways where her soul flourished among us.

A rosary service for Luz will be held Monday, August 14, 2023 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 11801 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32223. A committal service will occur Tuesday, August 15, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Jacksonville National Cemetery, 4083 Lannie Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32218.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.hgmandarin.com for the Reyes family.