LI Grandmother Honored Posthumously In Hispanic Parade ‘Royalty’

PATCHOGUE, NY — When Doña Isabel Rodriguez stepped into a room everyone knew it.

The Patchogue matriarch who hailed from Puerto Rico was well known as a business owner and community leader who helped young women find a sense of community as they grew up in the village. She started a small twirling group for pre-teens to twirl their batons — keeping them gainfully occupied — at the Four Sisters Recreation Center.

Doña Isabel and her family would also never refuse recent immigrants who might be feeling a little lost and were in need of a helping hand to guide them in their new homeland, often took them to Salvation Army for clothing. In her home, traditional food was always cooking and any visitors would always have to sit down and stay for a plate.

“People called her doña, that’s an honor,” recalled her granddaughter, Maryanne Rivera-Nugent, who will be taking her place in Patchogue’s Hispanic Heritage Parade on Sunday.

Doña means lady in Spanish, and Isabel had all of the attributes with her giving heart and a deep-rooted sense of community.

Doña Isabel later ran a pageant in which teenage girls competed for scholarships, and among the prizes was a trip to Puerto Rico so that they could learn about their Hispanic heritage.

“She wanted people to understand where they came from,” Rivera-Nugent said.

She said that her grandmother could do anything skillfully, and would often arrange for sponsorships, easily securing American Airlines for the pageant with her charisma. She remembers meeting the mayor of San Juan and lunching with the first lady.

Those were the kind of scenarios that Doña Isabel made happen.

“They would greet us as if we were royalty,” Rivera-Nugent said.

In her lifetime, Doña Isabel ran small businesses from a social club to an adult home, and was the founder of the Spanish Society of Suffolk County, Inc.

It was her goal to keep her roots alive.

“She was my mentor; she showed me everything, but always looked to the good,” said Rivera-Nugent. “I am who I am because of her.”

Doña Isabel taught her granddaughter how to cook … but for 15 or more.

When Rivera-Nugent was later married with a small daughter, Raquel, she had to re-learn her skills.

“I had to teach myself how to cook in smaller portions,” she said with a laugh.

Rivera-Nugent said she was the first in her family to go to college, and when she was away at school, her grandmother would send her care packages with rice and beans — one time she even sent an avocado wrapped in a coat.

Her grandmother wanted her to remember who she was, and would joke that even though she was away at college in her new life, she still needed — and wanted — rice and beans.

“She always stood as she was royalty to me,” Rivera-Nugent said.

Sadly, her grandmother died in the 90s, and her mother, Alicia Rivera, in 2016.

As Rivera-Nugent takes her grandmother’s place in Patchogue’s first Hispanic Heritage Parade on Sunday, she will be wearing a set of earrings, as well as a broach that she gave her, marking her memory. She will also be wearing a scarf featuring the Puerto Rican flag.

Rivera-Nugent has walked the parade route for many a year since she was a little girl in the 4th of July Parade up until now as a member of the Patchogue Lioness Lions Club. But this one will be different for her.

“I think it’s important because when I was growing up, the Hispanic community was very small,” she said, noting that now there are many different nationalities and multicultural groups.

For her, the parade is significant because, as her grandmother instilled in her, it’s important for everyone to know who they are and where they come from.

“We all have our traditions — the Irish, the Italians, and the Hispanics are a big part of the community,” she said of Patchogue. “If you look at where we are today, a big part of it is Hispanic. It’s important for us to be a part of it.”