Carmen Lydia Cruz

Our beloved, dear mother and grandmother, Carmen Lydia Cruz, née Valentín, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Friday, March 19, 2021 at the age of 83. She was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico on December 11, 1937. Those of us who love her will never be the same. Carmen led an exemplary life of gentle yet uncompromising devotion to God, her husband, her children, and her grandchildren. Despite many tribulations throughout her life, she never complained and led a quiet life of trust and contentment with the providence of her God. Most of all, by her words and her actions, she taught those of us blessed to know her how to love. She was willing to sacrifice everything for her faith and her family, time after time. She truly exemplified the words of the poet, “to know her was to love her”.

Carmen was predeceased by her parents and her husband of 43 years, Gerardo Cruz Colón in October 2012. She is survived by her sister Hilda Valentín, sons, Gerardo Cruz, Jr. and Ray David Cruz, daughter-in-law Teresa Cruz, and grandchildren Ralford Pierce, Adrian Cruz, Elizabeth Cruz, Maya Oldham-Lanett, Isaiah Cruz, Carmen Cruz, Sarah Cruz, and Alejandra Cruz. Carmen was a member of Church of the Covenant, Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Hackettstown, NJ.

A graveside service will be held at the Somerset Hills Memorial Park in Basking Ridge, NJ on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at 11am with a luncheon to follow at Church of the Covenant OPC, in Hackettstown, NJ.