will I still be your movie star
Irma Fuentes, of Ramsey, New Jersey, beloved sister, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, departed this earthly life and found the eternal rest of the Lord on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
Born May 24, 1933, Irma grew up as one of four siblings in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and arrived in New York City as a 15-year-old with little English. Under the careful watch of the Sisters of Charity, an order of nuns who guided her way, her unflappable faith, and her determination to succeed, she created a life for herself and planted the hearty seeds of her American Dream.
Irma was a graduate of the Cathedral High School Class of 1952 and believed whole-heartedly in the power of education and the importance of hard work. She led by example, ensuring that despite any language barrier, she would graduate high school and further her education however she could, including fine arts courses at Columbia University.
She met the love of her life, Rafael, and was married in Howard Beach in 1961. They welcomed five children and dedicated each and every day to providing for them between Long Island and Puerto Rico. She believed in the goodness of people and the significance of being independent, but never forgot her origins, regularly sending photos back to her family on the island, each one a snapshot of a rare and beautiful woman unafraid of the world in spite of all its obstacles — a woman who, all in all, achieved precisely what she set out to.
She joins in heaven her beloved husband, Rafael Fuentes-Melendez; her mother, Venancia Montalvo, of whom she was the proudest daughter; her sister, Arminda Acevedo; and her brother, Angel Bonilla.
Irma is survived by her children, Brunilda Capozello (Daniel), Noemi Villani (Vincent), Clarissa Fay (Matthew), Gidget Nelson (Steve), and Alfie Fuentes (Laura); her grandchildren, Elisa, Anthony, Nicolas (Marisol), Joseph (Marissa), Julianna Franklin (Angus), Angelina (Keeler), Dylan (Katie), Natalia, Miranda, Lucas, and Oliver; her great grandchildren, Eva, Vincent, Meadow, and Viviana; her brother, Luis Cuesta; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews. They will carry on her legacy of strength, love, and togetherness. In her last moments, she reminded her descendants to “always stick together.” She was proud of them. They were her reason for it all.
She will be remembered in every moment where she is not, her values embodied by the family she leaves behind.
….
From “Desiderata,” which hung prominently in her home, and whose truths lived innately in the great woman we lost:
“And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.”
Howard Beach
I see you on the side of every seashore
everywhere you are not
the end has no end
I watch you clean the clock
and rewrite time
each second like lightning
on an empty beach. You swam out to
an endless sea on a quiet night
in the best ending I could never write
It rains
but now I see
love perennial like the passing of time
like the grass each blade a reason to try
life through the eyes of a little girl
The day has come,
and yes. It is still a beautiful world.
❤️❤️❤️