Obituary of Nereida Rodriguez

Heaven received a new Angel on Sunday, March 1, 2020, Nereida (Santos) Rodriguez, 72 of Franklinville, NJ went to be with the Lord. Nereida was born in Comerio, Puerto Rico on October 1, 1947, the daughter of the late Carmelo Santos and Celia Matos. Nereida was predeceased by her beautiful, loving daughter, Nadine Rodriguez, and brother, Anibal Santos. She is survived by her son, Nicolas Rodriguez III; grandchildren, Nicolas Rodriguez and Jilian Lebron; sisters, Maria L Perez, Maria A Laboy (Luis Ramos); brother, Carmelo Santos and companion Antonio Ortega. She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, family members and friends. Nereida graduated from Edgewood High School and was raised in Hammonton. She married Nicolas Rodriguez II and had two lovely children. Nereida worked for Atlantic Human Resources, Ancora and later worked for the Vineland Developmental Center, where she was promoted to Cottage Training Supervisor. After working for 30 years, at a job that she loved, she retired in 2000. At the VDC, she worked with the CWA Union as a shop steward and in 1984 was elected branch president. During her years as president, she brought attention to the toxic waste in the grounds of the VDC. Because of her hard work, the toxic waste was removed at the VDC and the surrounding community. She was later presented with an award for her hard work and activism in the union. In addition to being involved with the union, and social issues, her love for music and entertaining gave her many years of enjoyment. Nereida had an absolutely beautiful, versatile voice and loved to perform. She created the singing duo Night and Day, Noche y Dia with her sister, Maria. The duo performed in Okinawa, Japan for Hispanic Heritage Month, and across the USA. One of the highlights of their singing career was performing the Star Spangled Banner for the Phillies. Another was when Nereida performed "Neither One of Us" at the Apollo in NYC to a cheering crowd, how happy she was and how proud Maria was of Nereida's performance. They also performed at weddings, night clubs and festivals. Nereida was the happiest when on stage. She was a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, cousin, God mother, grandmother and friend. Her outgoing personality and compassion for others made her a wonderful best friend. So many people were the recipients of her joy, humor, and love. Nereida will be terribly missed by all but the other half of the Night & Day duo will be in mourning for a very, very long time. We Love you Nereida, you're forever in our hearts! Family and friends will be received to celebrate her life on Friday, March 6, 2020, from 6 pm to 9 pm at the DeMarco-Luisi Funeral Home 2755 S. Lincoln Ave, Vineland. Church visitation will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2020 from 11:00 am to 11:45am followed by a Funeral Mass at 12 pm at Christ the Good Shepherd Parish, St. Isidore's Church, 1655 Magnolia Rd, Vineland, NJ 08361. Nereida will be laid to rest at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Vineland. For those who wish, memorial contributions may be made to Hispanos Pro Educacion Scholarship Fund. Memories, thoughts and prayers may be extended to the family by visiting dlfuneral.com.