A patriarch is defined as the male head of a family or tribe – as a man with 40 living descendants representing 5 generations, this title fits Radames Acosta. A patriarch is also defined as a man who is the oldest and/or the most venerable member of a group, one who calls for respect through age, character and attainments impressive through age, and after 99 years on this earth, this distinction also applies to Dad.
He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Oscar Acosta and Dolores Nava in 1919 on July 18th or 19th or 20th – differing birth certificates and oral legends have debated this issue for decades; birth certificates also differ as to whether his first name has an “s” at the end or not. Radames was the next to the oldest of 4 brothers and one sister. They lived humbly in Ponce, so humbly in fact that Dad was unable to finish his schooling because his family was unable to secure the $1.50 needed for him to return to school.
However, humble beginnings did not deter Radames’ enthusiasm for life and he had his sights set on fame as a baseball player. He played outfield for Los Leones de Ponce, a professional baseball team of Puerto Rico. The highlight of his baseball career was batting against the famous Satchel Paige, who is notable for being one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history. Dad faced him one time. Satchel struck him out on 3 pitches.
As glorious as a baseball career might appear, it did not pay enough to support Radames and his new bride, Carmen Marin, whom he married on November 6, 1943, and to whom he was married for 70 years. So being a risk taker, Radames approached someone who owned a construction business and offered to work for whatever they would pay him if the carpenter would teach Dad his skills. And he was hired! Being a quick learner, he became a fine carpenter, a skill he would rely on to help him move his family to New York City in 1953 in hopes of providing a better life for his wife and 3 children, Ruben, Philip, and Enid.
The family settled into a one bedroom, third floor tenement walk up in Manhattan’s lower East side, with the communal bathroom in the hallway and a bathtub in the kitchen. Radames was fortunate enough to secure a job with Hertz Incorporated, working both on the body of trucks and, once they realized that he was a fine carpenter, on the Hertz business offices and even in the homes of managers of the company. He also did some freelance carpentry work on referral, once working for an older man with a palatial home by the name of Trump. Dad said the elder Trump was an OK guy, but he wasn’t so impressed with the man’s son, Donald. The job at Hertz resulted in an improvement in salary, and Radames was able to buy the family one of those new inventions, a black and white television. Dad worked for Hertz until he retired.
While living in Manhattan, the family was approached by a neighborhood missionary, Mrs. Petrale, who engaged the neighborhood children after school in crafts, songs, and the good news of the saving gospel of Christ. Enid and then Carmen would accept the Lord, but though he might attend a service at Easter or Christmas or when the children performed, Radames resisted accepting the Lord as his personal Savior, resisted for decades. However, every now and then you would have a glimpse that the Spirit was speaking to Radames’ heart as evidenced by an open Bible left on the table when no one else but Dad was home.
The family then moved to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, where Ricky joined the family, then to Bushwick and then Ridgewood. In every apartment, Radames would renovate, upgrade and make each apartment a finer place to live in. When he moved to Ridgewood, he had finally saved enough money to purchase a home for his family. They lived there until 1975 when they moved to Hollis, Queens. During all this time, the family continued to pray for Dad’s salvation, and on April 26, 1989, Dad accepted the Lord, praying with Ricky and Rebecca in their home. A year later, they moved in with Ricky’s family in Bellerose.
Radames became an active participant of the local church in New York, endearing himself to the members of the church not just in NYC, but in many localities across the U.S. as he offered his carpentry skills to those who needed them, becoming a carpenter in the service of the Lord.
Radames and Carmen changed residences several times again, living with Ricky and Enid and again with Ricky when Mom suffered a heart attack in 2010 and spent 3 ½ years in a nursing home. Radames visited her every single day, sitting with her from early morning to after dinner, until she went to be with the Lord in December of 2013.
Dad then took turns living with Enid in California, visiting New York and living with Philip, until September of 2017, when he experienced several falls, went into rehab, and then into long term nursing care at Ozanam Hall in Queens. During his time there, he became known as a man who would freely chat, especially about baseball, accurately quoting stats of baseball players as far back as 50 years ago.
On Friday, August 24, 2018, Radames sat chatting with the other residents awaiting breakfast. As he was being escorted in his wheelchair to the breakfast table, the Lord called Radames home and he was gone instantly, having been on this earth for 99 years. His descendants are: his children – Ruben, Philip and his wife, Aimee, Enid, Ricky and his wife, Rebecca; his grandchildren – Sophia, Steven, Debbie, Phillip (who is with the Lord), Michele, David, Richard, Gina, Eric, Benjamin, Madeline, Ashley, Isaac, Rachel, Emmelyn; his great grandchildren – Amaris, Olivia, Ethan, Daniel, Frisco, Ashley, Devin, Marcus, Alyssa, David, Devin, Joshua, Jay, Jameson, Everett, Daniella, Aiden; his great great grandchildren – Aliyus, Aaliyah, Alejandro, Sloane.
With Carmen’s passing 4½ years ago, and Radames’ passing this month, our older generation has gone on to be with the Lord. Their presence and blessings will be greatly missed. We, the children and descendants, must now step up to the front line. May we honor our earthly father and mother as well as our Heavenly Father by our living and our speaking as we await the Lord’s calling or His soon return.
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