Obituary of Alicia Peralta

Alicia Peralta, age 92, passed away on November 14, 2023. Alicia is survived by her five children, Emma and her husband William, Steven and his wife Mary, Rocio and her husband Mark, Leslie, Sylvia, and seven grandchildren. She was predeceased by her infant twin son, her parents, two sisters, son-in-law Jonathan, and her beloved husband Leo.

Alicia was born in Mexico in January, 1931. She was the second of six children. At the age of 14, she went to work at “La Perla”, a fine candy factory. She worked there until she married Leo in 1958. A few years later, leaving her parents and siblings behind, they immigrated to Brooklyn, New York with their two daughters aged one and a half and three. Her extended family in the U.S. was now her two brothers in law and their wives.

In addition to being a loving wife and mother to her five children, she was a hard working woman. She had the spirit of a “pioneer woman”. She came to the U.S. not knowing how to speak any English and with only a grade school education. Knowing that it would be hard to get a job, she signed up to attend a night program to learn how to read and write English. She later held many job positions including Barton’s Candy factory line worker (night shift), pre-school bus chaperone, sales person and display window designer/buyer for Barton’s Candy, sales person at hotel concession shops, part-time proxy filing clerk and lastly, full time billing clerk at Chase Manhattan Bank until she retired in 1994. Working at Chase was a highlight of her life because she felt she had achieved “the American Dream”.

Alicia was a very giving woman; always putting aside to give money to charities and to family in Mexico. In particular, to help nieces and nephews in Mexico finance some of their education. She kept a “ledger” to ensure she kept to the household budget and every penny was accounted for. She made friends easily and loved to converse with friends and strangers alike. She especially loved to dance and read books. Anywhere there was lively music, she was the first to get up to dance, followed by her husband and sisters. Her most treasured possession was her Reader’s Digest books. In fact, when she had dementia she kept asking suspiciously if someone was taking them because she was sure she had a least sixty books on the shelf. In fact, she may have had close to a 100 books!

Alicia – mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, you have inspired us throughout our lives. You will be dearly missed!

The visitation for Alicia Peralta will be held at Marine Park Funeral Home on Friday, November 17, 2023, from 2:00 to 5:00 PM and 7:00 to 9:00 PM. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady Help of Christians Roman Catholic Church on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at 9:30 AM - the family will gather at the funeral home by 8:30 AM. The Commital Service will immediately follow the Funeral Mass as Holy Cross Cemetery.
 

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For those who wish to send a floral tribute to the wake service, please call Floral Fantasy Florist at 718-238-6978 or CLICK HERE to be directed to their website.