Virginia James Rivera

Shortly after her arrival, her parents, Bruce and Ruth James, moved to Independence, Kansas where Virginia spent her childhood and high school years, developing her love of music, and playing the violin in the Independence High School orchestra. She followed in her mother’s footsteps by finding the love of her life while studying nursing at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Nursing School in Chicago where she met Victor Manuel Rivera, a dashing Loyola medical student from Coamo, Puerto Rico.

Upon graduation and not knowing a word of Spanish, she followed her heart by flying to Puerto Rico to marry Victor on February 16, 1942 in the chapel of Fort San Felipe del Morro in San Juan. Victor, having enlisted in the army after Pearl Harbor, was allowed three days with his new bride before leaving her in the care of his father and two spinster aunts, a household where no English was spoken. Virginia learned Spanish very quickly. Married for 53 years, Victor and Virginia enjoyed life to the fullest raising their two children, Victor Manuel Jr. and Mary Elena, boating, traveling, dancing, attending medical conventions, hosting family reunions and gatherings with friends, and taking care of their immediate and extended family. Virginia loved to cook and took great pleasure feeding her family both American and Puerto Rican dishes. In 1995 her journey became difficult after the loss of her husband.

In 1999 she moved to Rome to be close to her daughter and family. Her deep love for Victor and her beloved island of Puerto Rico was clearly evident by all the photos, paintings, and art work that surrounded her. A gentle woman who always had a smile on her face and excelled in the art of correspondence, she will be greatly missed.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur Bruce James and Ruth Crans; her husband, Dr. Victor M. Rivera; her sister, Elizabeth Brown, and her granddaughter, Andrea K. Rivera. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Victor Manuel Jr. and Michelle Rivera, Mary Elena and Jeff Kirk; her grandchildren: Joseph Manolo Kirk and Ana Maria Kirk; her stepgranddaughter, Young; her sisterinlaw, Gloria Braña; her nieces and nephews: Rebecca Brown, Ruth Ann Axt,; Osvaldo and Blas Rivera Cianchini; Jose Rafael, Dinorah, and Arnaldo Rivera Braña; Luis Rafael, Sergio, Julio M, and Luis Mercado; and her dearest friend, Dra. Marisa R. Ramirez de Arellano.

Virginia and Victor’s ashes will be commingled and at a future date buried in the Rose Garden at Riverside Presbyterian Church in Cocoa Beach, FL.