Obituary of Estervina Toledano

Estervina Rosa Toledano (nee Mina), 97 years of age, died on January 3 1,2010, after a brief battle with her third cancer. She is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Mercedes Willaum, eight grandchildren and seventeen great grandchildren. Mina was born March 9, 1912 in the Dominican Republic to Matilda Inoa and Felix Chavez. At age twenty five she was courted by her late husband Santo Manuel Toledano who she married at age twenty eight. They traveled together and on November 28, 1947, a daughter, Elizabeth Mercedes was born in Puerto Rico. Previous to this, a son, Danilo Jorge was also born to her from a prior relationship, but has since passed. Estervina and Santo settled in Manhattan where she would work in the Local 1 Union as a seamstress making leather handbags for thirty two years before retiring. Throughout this time and until just a few years ago she helped raise many of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She made tremendous sacrifices for them loving, caring, cooking, cleaning and teaching them right from wrong. Always relying on her faith in Jesus Christ and showing us this by going to church every Sunday until she could no longer do so on her own as well as continuing to do the rosary every night. She did this, even after her late husbands passing in 1990 following almost 50 years of marriage. What strength she had. In August 2007, for the first time in her life, she lived on her own. She made new friends, who showed her that even at age ninety five she could learn how to play BINGO. She never stopped to only think of herself and she never wanted to stop caring for us, no matter how grown we were. It is for this reason that Estervina Toledano's memory and legacy will never be forgotten. Your Grateful Family