Francis E. Rivera (1945-2024)

Francis E. Rivera, 78, of New York, New York passed away peacefully on Friday, July, 19, 2024. Francia was born on October 10, 1945 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Manuel Rivera and Carmen Espaillat.

Known as Francia, she was a beloved and devoted mother, grandmother and sister.

She had a kind and generous heart. Francia volunteered her time at the St. Rose of Lima church food pantry and loved feeding everyone. She was especially in her glory as a holiday host, where she loved to cook and share food with family and friends – no one left empty handed. She enjoyed comedy and loved to laugh. She had a ubiquitous sense of humor. If you were lucky to get nicknamed by her, you knew you had a place in her heart. Her lifelong love of music and dancing was apparent until the very end.

She immigrated to the U.S. in 1967, lived in New York City and eventually became an American citizen. She worked for the New York City Housing Authority for almost 20 years before retiring. After retirement, Francia was lucky enough to spend quality time with her sister Fabiola in the Dominican Republic, and then extended quality time with her sister, Nieves, in Florida.

Francia is survived by her 3 daughters: Carmen Bittel, Francely Jaquez and Michelle Jaquez, son-in-law David Bittel and grandchildren: George Bittel, Eliza Cepeda, Emma Cepeda, Jeremy Michael Garcia and Jase Garcia. She is also survived by her sisters Fabiola Reyes, Nieves Gomez and Gladys Rivera. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Manolo Rivera, Jose “Chiquitin” Rivera, Cesar Rivera, Radhames Rivera and Julio “Julito” Rivera.

In lieu of flowers, donations to your local food pantry would be appreciated,