Buenaventura Rivera's Obituary
MAMI
Doña Buenaventura Rivera a Builder of Legacies
Today we gather to honor the life of a remarkable woman - my mother Buena Ventura Rivera, born in Cayey, Puerto Rico on September 15th, 1925. She was ninety-nine years old, just weeks away from turning one hundred. Her life was a story of strength, courage, and love - a story that shaped not only her family, but everyone who knew her.
Our mother's early Life in Puerto Rico
She was the daughter of two jibaritos Miguel Rivera Arguinzoni and Josefa De Jesús, raised in the mountains of Toita, Cayey in the Heartland of the Puerto Rico. Life was not easy for her family. They were jíbaros, poor but proud. As a little girl, she worked the tobacco fields barefoot, carrying heavy baskets down the mountain to help her mother and father economically in the household. She had sacrificed her schooling when she began her second grade in elementary school to care for her younger siblings, and she endured the hardships of the Great Depression, when food was scarce and survival was uncertain. Yet even in poverty, she shared what little her family had to eat with others in need within her community. That was her heart - generous, unselfish, and strong.
During her Young Adulthood
As a young woman, she saw soldiers stationed at Henry Barracks in Cayey during World War II, and it was then that she met her first love, Hipólito Jimenez. They married, and she had her first son, Hector Noel Jimenez who is my dearest brother. Life brought her heartbreak when that marriage ended, but instead of giving up, she made the courageous decision to leave Puerto Rico and start anew in New York City - alone, with her young son, and without knowing a word of English.
Life in New York City
In the South Bronx, my mom and her young son Noli now lived in an entirely different world far away from Puerto Rico. She found work in a sewing factory owned by German Jewish immigrants who not only gave her work, but also helped her find a home. She worked hard, built a life, and soon met my father, Albert Lochard. Together, they raised my brother Noli and a family. She became the rock of her household and the pillar of our extended family. With determination, she brought her parents and siblings from Puerto Rico to New York so they too could have a better life.
Her Strength
Our mother was strong in every way. She stood up to hardship and injustice, never backing down. She even once fought off a man in the streets of the South Bronx who tried to steal from her - and she won. She was fierce in protecting those she loved. She once told me that she had a dream where she saw my brother driving a military truck and that he had dozed off. In her dream she screamed out loud my brother's name, "Noli!", which saved his life. Later he communicated to her that he heard her scream while he was driving a military truck, which saved his life. When I was fourteen I was mortally wounded by a stab wound, she tore my jeans with her bare teeth and made a tourniquet that saved my life. That was my mother - fearless, determined, and always giving everything she had for her children.
Her return to Puerto Rico
In time, she returned to the land in 1976 where she was born. With her own hard-earned money, she transformed her mother and father's home and built a beautiful house in Toita. She planted fruit trees, coffee, vegetables - creating a paradise on the same mountain where she once walked barefoot in struggle. Her life had come full circle - from poverty and hunger to abundance and peace.
Her Final Years
In her later years, after Hurricane María devastated the island of Puerto Rico in 2017, we rescued her bringing her back to the United States, where she was lovingly cared for by my brother Noli and his wife Carmen in Florida. Our mom lived a peaceful life surrounded by family, she lived her final days with dignity and love. On August 18th, at 7:43 PM, she passed peacefully, leaving behind a legacy that cannot be measured in years, but in the lives she touched.
Closing
My mother was a woman of courage, of sacrifice, and of love. She taught us resilience. She showed us how to stand strong, and how to give selflessly. She will live forever in our hearts, in our memories, and in the generations she helped raise.
Today we don't just mourn her passing - we celebrate her life. Ninety-nine years of an extraordinary journey. Ninety-nine years of love.
The family of Buenaventura hopes you'll consider supporting the good work Illuminate Heart, Inc. does by donating or sharing with others who'd like to help.
Donate here:
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Please contact the family for information about Buenaventura's Celebration of Life Service.
What’s your fondest memory of Buenaventura?
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Share a story where Buenaventura's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Buenaventura you’ll never forget.
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