Obituary for
Ada L. Rivera-Gonzalez (Torres)
Ada Ligia Rivera Gonzalez, 92, Appleton, died June 24, 2017 at the Willow Lane Assisted Living Residence. She had a long and meaningful life as she remained interested in the people around her and curious about all aspects of life. She was a loving, devoted mother and a trail blazing role model of a professional working woman. As a divorced single mother, she found the balance to do home cooked meals after a full day of work as an Occupational Therapist and even do part-time work sewing custom drapery to supplement household income.
She was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico on May 10, 1925 to Maria Dolores Gonzalez Cruz and Eloy Rivera Torres. She was the youngest of ten sisters and brothers. She was the only one that completed a college education. She first obtained a B.A. degree in education from the University of Puerto Rico and was a math & science teacher for 8 yrs in Junior High school. She then obtained an educational grant from the Puerto Rico government and studied Occupational Therapy at Ypsilanti Eastern Michigan University.
She worked nearly 20 yrs at a government hospital specializing in respiratory diseases and became the director of the Occupational Therapy Department. In 1976 she obtained a job with the Veterans Satellite Clinic in Mayaguez, P.R. for 6 yrs. After moving to New Jersey with her daughter in 1981, she became the Director of the Rehabilitation Services Department at Sea View Hospital & Home in Staten Island, NY for 9 yrs. In all these years practicing her vocation, she helped and advocated for the needs of many people, from children to the elderly. She had high integrity, emotional strength and stamina that overcame many obstacles and enabled her to survive three types of cancers. We are very grateful to Dr. William Guenther, founder of Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology, who saved her life in 2004 and, Dr. Kelly Heindel from Encircled Health who was her primary physician the last years of her life. Last but not least, our most heartfelt thanks to the staff of Willow Lane who were so caring with mother and provided a beautiful natural environment that she enjoyed.
She is survived by her daughter, Ligia de los Angeles Rivera and her wife Miriam Douglass of Appleton, Wisconsin and her sister Leticia Rivera of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. She was preceded in death by three brothers, five sisters and her ex-husband Victor Manuel Rivera.
A funeral service for Ada will be held at 1 pm, Friday, June 30 at Brettschneider Trettin-Nickel Funeral Chapel. Friends may visit with the family from 11:30 am until the time of service. She will be buried in Aibonito, Puerto Rico where she was born, near her parents and other siblings. In lieu of flowers, we kindly request that donation in her memory may be made to FVHO Fight Back Foundation, a local non-profit organization that provides financial and educational support to cancer and blood disorder patients, and to cancer- and caregiver-related projects. Donations can be sent to FVHO Fight Back Foundation, 3925 N. Gateway Dr, Appleton, WI 54913.
