Doña Betsaida Gutiérrez Rodriguez Rico
She leaves a huge legacy of her work for justice in the
Jamaica Plain community and the world
Doña Betsaida Gutiérrez Rodriguez Rico has died. She was born on June 12, 1952 to the late Emiliana Alvarado and Antonio Rodriguez Torres. She had 14 siblings: José Rodriguez, Ricardo Rodriguez Pérez, Jaime L. Rodriguez Pérez, Oscar Rodriguez Pérez. Keren Rodriguez Pérez, Rolando Rodriguez Pérez, Nelson E. Nieves, Norbert L. Nieves, Nury N. Nieves (deceased); Norma Nieves, Nelly A. Nieves, Nancy Nieves, Miguel Pérez and José Pérez (deceased). She was the mother of Nancy Rodridguez and an ‘adopted mother’ to the Fernandez family children and many others. She also leaves behind many nieces and nephews.
At the age of 18 Betsaida moved to Boston, MA for more opportunities. Her first jobs included cutting fabric at a clothing factory in Chinatown and doing secretarial work in the Boston area. When she was in her thirties, she started her career in community service and community organizing in Jamaica Plain. She first worked at City Life/Vida Urbana as a community organizer, helping to produce the bilingual newspaper CommUnity News/Noticias de la Comunidad, and teaching first-time home buying classes to hundreds of Spanish-speaking community members.
Then, at Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), she worked as a community organizer, advocating for the preservation and new development of affordable housing options in Jamaica Plain. Her work was instrumental in building two cooperative housing communities. She then worked as a family advocate at ABCD/JP Head Start working to ensure that families were full partners in their children’s development and learning. While working, she also earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Services from Cambridge College.
For her last job, she worked as the first coordinator of the Jamaica Plain chapter of MatchUp, focusing on connecting elder community members with volunteers. She was particularly successful with outreach to the Latino community through programs such as the medical escort program that provided bilingual volunteers to accompany elders with limited English to medical appointments.
Betsaida also served on many community organizations including the Community Advisory Board at the Southern Jamaica Plain Community Health Center for 20 years. She was an elected member of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council. Most recently, she was active with the Friends of Blessed Sacrament, an advocacy group for affordable housing in Jamaica Plain.
In 2010, the affordable housing building developed by JPNDC at the former Blessed Sacrament Church site was named the Doña Betsaida Gutiérrez Cooperative in honor of her many years of work and advocacy. She found many more ways to work for the causes she supported – peace, women’s rights, racial justice, gender rights and more. She was a proud Boricua and focused her education and organizing efforts on the Latino community. She has left us a huge legacy of her work for justice in the Jamaica Plain community and the world.
Betsaida was a long-time gardener at the Southwest Corridor Community Farm and for more than four decades shared her experience, knowledge and love of growing food with her fellow gardeners. She also enjoyed reading, writing poetry, cooking, making jewelry, and listening to the music of Celia Cruz, Hector Lavoe and El Gran Combo. Her travels took her to Cuba, Louisiana, Florida, New York, Washington, DC and back home to visit family in Puerto Rico. She also loved spending time with her many friends of all ages from JP and beyond.
The visiting hours were held at Mann and Rodgers, 44 Perkins Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 on Sunday, July 7th. Live stream will be available (https://www.mannandrodgers.com). The funeral service was on Monday, July 8, at the same location. Live stream was available (https://www.mannandrodgers.com). Interment was at New Calvary Cemetery in Roslindale. Help us Pay Tribute to Doña Betsaida Gutiérrez https://gofund.me/6318adfb.
Barbara Ramos
Of North Carolina, formerly of Jamaica Plain
Barbara Ramos, 77, passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours on June 20, 2024. She was born in Boston to the late Robert and Thelma Smith. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Ramos was also predeceased by her sister, Lilian, brother, Robert Jr., and her first husband James Matera.
She attended Boston Public Schools before receiving her diploma from Girls’ Latin High School. She was employed for more than a year at N.E. Bell Telephone Co. as an operator, then worked for I.C.S.C. in Boston and worked with her mother making jewelry displays and for 30 years, she was an associate at T.J. Maxx in Norwood, Mass., and Durham, N.C. Her hobbies included needlepoint, candlewicking, collecting seashells, dollhouses, making miniature furniture, cooking, baking and reading books (her favorites were Stephen King).
Mrs. Ramos is survived by her husband of nearly 41 years, Paul D. Ramos, her sister, Beverly O’Hara and her husband, Neil, her daughters: Melissa Doerr and her husband, David, Meredith Renduchintala and her husband, Madhu, grandchildren: Celine, James, Erin and Alexa along with several nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the doctors at Duke Cancer Center (Dr. Marc Crawford, Dr. Eziafa Oduah, surgeons: Dr. Betty Tong, Dr. Peter Fecci, radiologist Dr. Trey Mullikin, Dr. Jenny Van Kirk), Catherine Sellers, M.S.N., R.N., Jennifer Cornejo, M.S.N., R.N., palliative care director, Elizabeth Fricklas, Tara Hermann, P.A-C., the nurses in the E.R., the nurses of the 8th Floor of Duke Central Tower, the nurses of the 9th Floor ofDuke North, Hillcrest Convalescent Center, Nurse Susan, C.N.A. Mary Johnson and other C.N.A.s, the Physical Therapy staff (Dan, Scott, Terisa, Devine, Heather, Emily, Kris, and speech therapist Phyllis) — and the nucleus of all of this was Dr. Kombiz Klein and P.A. Chelsea Johnson.
The family would also like to thank Right Time Healthcare (Nancy O’Kella, C.N.A. Kia, and C.N.A. Quiana), Duke Hospice (Joanna, case manager Nurse Hailey, Nurse Robin, Nurse Jennifer, Nurse Cheryl, Angela, Schira, Rev. Terry Pike, receptionist Felicia,C.N.A. Junetia, and C.N.A. Angelina), and Immaculate Conception Church (Father Hugh Macsherry, O.F.M., Father Gonzalo Torres, O.F.M., Marge Burton, church coordinator).
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 12 at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Burial will follow in St. Matthew Catholic Church Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a memorial donation be made to Duke Cancer Center, 20 Duke Medicine Circle, Durham, N.C. 27710
(https://www.dukecancerinstitute.org/give-duke-cancer-institute).
The family is being assisted by Clements Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc., Durham.
Online condolences may be sent to www.clementsfuneralservice.com