Julia Figueroa, age 94 years, of Readington Township, NJ, returned peacefully to the arms of her Lord on Monday, June 6, 2022, at home, surrounded by her loving family and under the caring watch of Hunterdon Hospice.

Julia was born on August 16, 1927, in Lares Puerto Rico and raised “en una finca con una tienda” (farm with a shop) where she learned all about the love of God, family, and community from her loving grandparents, Marcola and Jesus, and her mother, Juana, all of whom preceded her to heaven.  She was also predeceased by two siblings, Alfredo, and Amparo, who was also her very best friend.

At a young age Julia managed “el taller” (seamstress workshop) and learned responsibility, generosity, stewardship, and servant leadership.  She was a free spirit who loved “travesuras” (mischief). One of many stories regarding her spirit includes jumping on a makeshift see-saw and subsequently losing her eyebrows!  An avid horseback rider, Julia prided herself with having the fastest “yegua” that once outran her schoolteacher’s pedigree horse with her steering the way to joyful victory.

Coming to New York City in 1952, Julia would marry Victor Manuel Yrizarry, whom she had met in Lares. Sadly, she would become a young widow at the age of 38, and would then raise her three children, Jose Manuel, Laura Luz, and Magda Noemi, with God by her side as their Heavenly Father. After her children were grown, Julia married Nilo Figueroa, and is his widow and the stepmother of his two adult children, Nilo Jr. and Carmen. She is a second mother to her two sons-in-law, William and Ray, and daughter-in-law, Celeste. Julia was blessed with seven grandchildren, Aaron, Andre, Elliot, Jaselle Juliet, Jasmin, Melissa, and Renee, and nine great grandchildren, AJ, Claudia, Elianna, Gabriel, Isaiah, Julia, Julian, Lucas, and Sterling. With many adored extended family, Julia was a loving aunt to many nieces and nephews who, like her children, found joy in the loving and welcoming homes she built.

Julia was courageous, strong, generous, humble, and kind, a truly virtuous woman with a peaceful spirit and a faith that was never shaken. She lived with eternity in mind and Christ as her standard. Above all else, Julia loved God and started each morning at 5:00 a.m. in God’s Word and prayer, with a burning hot cup of Bustelo. She prayed without ceasing for her children, the generations that followed, and the entire extended family, desiring that all would make Jesus Lord, and center, of their lives. Many sought her wise counsel and without judgement, and with unconditional love, she listened well, and her advice was grounded in scripture, without anyone necessarily knowing that was the case.

A longtime Sunday School teacher and Deacon for many years at “la Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana de Brooklyn”, what was most important to Julia was to be a living testimony to God’s word and will. She strove to love deeply, live peacefully, and let her light shine without condemnation. Many came to know the Lord because of her life, not her words.  When she relocated to Florida with Nilo, Julia joined “la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Palm Coast”, where again she served as a ministry leader. A seamstress by trade, she was also a phenomenal cook, and she used these skills, including making delicious pasteles with her buddy, Angelica, to raise thousands of dollars for the building fund that resulted in a modern facility that today houses a thriving church in Florida.

Julia was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2010 and came back to the Northeast to live out her life close to her three children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. In the care of her youngest, la Chiringa, and her husband, Ray, in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, Julia took part in many celebrations over the last twelve years of her life – graduations, marriages, births, deaths – and the family gatherings were constant. During these gatherings, Julia was known to take on the younger generations playing hours of Chinese checkers and maintaining her championship status for years. Telenovelas and quilting were also favorite pastimes. Daily trips to Walmart for fabric became a ritual for Julia and Ray, as did preparing meals together (thanks, Mami, he’s a great cook now!). The sharing of childhood memories was also a source of great joy for all.

Beyond her loving family, God assembled a team of angels to love, and be loved by, Julia, and to help take care of her as her health deteriorated and until God called her home on Monday. These angels include Dr. Theresa Sacchieri; Johanna, Veronica, Marcela, and Luz; Lisa, Melissa, and Liz of Hunterdon Home Care; as well as Sheri, Robin, and the many others of Hunterdon Hospice. Each were a blessing to Julia, and her family prays for God’s blessing upon them all.

Please note: the family requests that all those attending services at the funeral home kindly wear a mask at the following events celebrating Julia:

Julia will lie in repose on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, from 6:00 -7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. Reflections from family and friends will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and to which all are welcome. If you are unable to attend the service but would like some words read on your behalf, please click HERE to send an email to the funeral home with your thoughts. Kindly include your contact information.

There will be an additional period of visitation on Thursday, June 9, 2022, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. at the funeral home. This will be followed by a funeral service at 11:00 a.m., again to which all are welcome.

Realizing that some may be unable to attend due to the pandemic, the family reflections on Wednesday evening, and the funeral service Thursday morning, will be live-streamed, with the stream being active starting at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. To watch, please visit Julia’s main obituary page on this site (the one you were just on), and you will see a link to watch the services in full.

Graveside services will take place on Saturday, June 11, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. at Flagler Memorial Gardens, 511 Old Kings Road South, Flagler, Beach, FL 32136, under the direction of Craig Flagler Palms Funeral Home, 1-386-242-4956. 

You are encouraged to visit Julia’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

Memorial contributions in her honor may be made to Hunterdon Hospice, c/o Hunterdon Healthcare Foundation, 9100 Wescott Drive, Suite 202, Flemington, New Jersey 08822, or online by clicking HERE, or to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601, or online by clicking HERE.

____________________________

Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

To send flowers to the family or place a tree in memory of Julia Figueroa, please visit our Tribute Store.