Obituary of Angelita Velez-Torres

Angelita Velez Torres "Angie" or "Angelita" was born Angela Velez Torres in Morovis, PR on April 25, 1924. She was the daughter of farmers Antonio Velez and Rita Torres, both of Morovis. Angie's mother died fifteen days after giving birth to Angie. She and her four siblings were raised by a maternal aunt on a farm. Her widowed father remarried giving her thirteen more siblings. Angie was always independent, strong, resilient, resourceful, and very creative. She grew up in the healthy environment of a farm in barriada La Pesa, Ciales where she helped her family raise pigs and chickens. They also harvested eggs, coffee, vegetables, and fruit. Early on, she learned to sew, embroider, and crochet. These and reading became her passions. As a young adult, her mother-aunt moved the family to Santurce. She attended Central High School in San Juan. She went to work upon graduation and shortly thereafter, while in her early twenties, married Virginio Rivera Genera of Arecibo. She was proficient enough in sewing that she designed and made her bridal gown. In 1950, she gave birth to Jaime Hernan, her only son, who was named after her mother-aunt's beloved deceased son Jaime. After the death of her beloved mother-aunt in 1954, Angie sold the family home in Santurce and purchased a home in Reparto Metropolitano, Rio Piedras. However, in 1957 in search of better opportunities, she moved to NYC and settled in The Bronx. There, she made a living in the garment industry along Manhattan's Prince Street. Angie's second child, Enid Beatriz Alvarez, was born in 1965 in The Bronx. In addition to using her amazing sewing skills that earned her a living, she made her own clothes, handbags and coats. She also took great pride in making baby clothes, baby blankets with embroidery and crocheting baby sandals for her granddaughters and later her great grandchildren. Her beloved hand made items that have been passed down from her granddaughters to her great grandchildren. Her last designs with her signature embroidery were created a few months before her stroke and preserved carefully for her granddaughter Samantha's first child due in May. Upon retiring in 1982, Angie made her way back to her beloved island. Never a friend of cold weather, she couldn't wait to return to her homeland. While in Puerto Rico, she lived in her house in Rio Piedras and when that became too much, she purchased a condo in Hato Rey. During her time back she enjoyed planting in her yard, visiting with her family and going on cruises. In 2000 due to age and desire to be closer to her children and grandchildren, she returned to the US. She was incredibly healthy and active and remained so until her ninety-second birthday when she suffered a stroke and required total care. She lived out the final two and a half years of her life at United Hebrew Nursing Home in New Rochelle, NY where daughter Enid was a fixture at her side. She passed peacefully on the morning of March 29th. Those are a few highlights of a humble life well lived. What words can't fully express are what she left us by way of example – the value of hard work and perseverance, true faith, grit and resilience, education, dedication to family, ingenuity, and frugality. For these things and more, we will all be eternally grateful and feel blessed to have had her in our lives for so long. Angie is survived by her siblings, Pedro, Jaime, Avelino, Mercedes and Margarita, her son Jaime Hernan Rivera Velez, MD, daughter in law, Carmen and her daughter Enid Beatriz Alvarez Velez, granddaughters Yesenia, Enid, Meshal and Samantha, and great grandchildren Maxwell, Blake, Eliott, Orion, and Willow, all of whom who she adored.