Lidia T. Rodriguez

Lidia Tomasa Rodriguez nee Peña, of North Arlington, NJ entered into eternal rest peacefully on Wednesday April, 5, 2023 at Llanfair Nursing and Rehabilitation in Wayne. She was 94 years old. 

The Funeral will be conducted from the Mulligan Funeral Home, 331 Cleveland Avenue Harrison, NJ 07029 on Wednesday at 10:15am.  A Funeral mass will be offered at Queen of Peace Church in North Arlington on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 11am. Her entombment will follow at Holy Cross Chapel Mausoleum in North Arlington. Friends and relatives may visit on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 from 5pm to 9pm. 

If you would like to send a condolence message to her family, please visit www.mulliganfh.com 

Born and raised in Victoria de Las Tunas, Cuba, Lidia lived in Hialeah, Florida for 35 years before settling in North Arlington, NJ. While living in Cuba, she worked as a successful business owner, professional hairdresser and cosmetologist.

Lidia grew up surrounded by siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and even great-grandparents.  They would enjoy special occasions and invite more family and friends to join and celebrate.  As a young girl, Lidia was very fond of her father and loved going to town with him on his business errands.  Her memories include many festivities in their spacious home.  There was so much generosity and an overabundance of love.  As an adult she married the love of her life and created her own beautiful family of five.  She pursued her dream of hairdressing.  She shared memories of her customers who would line up very early in the morning to get their hair cut, dyed, and styled by her. She was so proud and happy. She loved to give “recetas,” home remedies or as it translates in Spanish, “prescriptions.”  She was very helpful to all the people from her town because they went to see her to chat and get family, parental, friendship and all sorts of advice.

She and her family suffered greatly from the separation of her family members for many years due to the regime in Cuba. However, her story has a happy ending, as she was eventually reunited with all of her children and their families in this country and became a U.S. citizen.  Soon after she moved to Florida, there she enjoyed the warm weather in Hialeah.  She lived happily there with her husband, surrounded by her sons and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She continued to keep busy meeting people and hairdressing.  Her elderly years brought her to need the assistance of The Llanfair House in Wayne.  She immediately made friends and was never alone or lonely.  She was always with her friends and family.  She loved listening, signing, and dancing to music until the very end!  Lidia lived an abundantly happy life and left us with the most treasured legacy.   She left us her values, memories, love and so much respect for her family to live on with.  She will never be forgotten and will always be in our hearts.

Predeceased by her husband Teodoro Rodriguez. Lidia Rodriguez Peña is survived by her children, Aida (Vincent) Ortelio, Jose Rodriguez, Argelio (Paola) Rodriguez, Nodelsio(Elena) Rodriguez and Nolberto Rodriguez, her grandchildren, Rosemary (Patrick) Lewczak, Lidia (Manuel) Ortelio, Luis Marco (Jenny) Rodriguez, Brian (Melissa) Rodriguez, her great grandchildren, Emily, Nicholas, Patrick Lewczak, Lorenzo, Gigi Lago, Maya, Andres, Matthew Rodriguez, Jacob Rodriguez, Henry, Argelin, Jeisy Rodriguez, Edelys, Joshua and Juli Rodriguez.  Also survived by her sisters Doris Torres and Gricel Peña, and nieces and nephews Leticia Fabiano, Barbara Oldham and Richard Campana, Jose “Cheo” Peña, Fredesbinda Greenhauf, Joselin “OJ” Peña, Emilia Cristina Peña and Reinaldo Peña.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer's Association in care of the funeral home, in loving memory of Lidia.

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