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Haydee Valentin-Cruz, the mother of Father Eric Cruz, regional coordinator of Catholic Charities in the Bronx, died April 23. She was 92.
A native of Yauco, Puerto Rico, Ms. Valentin-Cruz arrived in New York in the 1940s. She worked for many years at Hearns department store in the South Bronx, and later was a rectory housekeeper at St. Augustine and St. John Chrysostom parishes, both in the Bronx.
Father Cruz described his mother as both “a stern disciplinarian” and “loving mother” who was “incredibly faithful in her conviction of the faith.”
Ms. Cruz, who was separated from her husband, Marcelino Cruz, was a longtime parishioner of St. Augustine. Her first marriage was annulled.
Besides Father Cruz, she is survived by four other children: Elia Cordero, Sandra Naraez, Peter Valentin and Elvin Valentin. (Another son, Pedro, died at birth.) She was the grandmother of 12 and great-grandmother of 13.
Father Cruz offered the Funeral Mass April 30 at St. Philip Neri Church in the Bronx. Burial was in St. Raymond Cemetery in the Bronx.
