Obituary of Nilsa Rivero

Nilsa Rivero  
August 26, 1958 – February 21, 2022                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Nilsa Rivero, born on August 26th, 1958 in Manhattan, NY, transitioned to ancestor on February 21, 2022, after a 6 year silent battle with breast cancer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Nilsa is preceded in death by her father, Teodoro Rivero Rodriguez, her husband, Fred Patterson, her brother Jose Antonio Rivero, and her twin grandchildren, Angel Walters Patterson and Nova Walters Patterson.           

She is survived by her mother, Ana Herminia Diodonet-Mejil, 92, her brother Teodoro Rivero, her 7 children, Bianca Aquilino-Genao, Christopher Aquilino, Sunni Patterson, Mustafa Patterson, Abdul Patterson, Muhammed Patterson, An-Nisaa Patterson, her granddaughters, Najzhay Vega, Noemi Genao, Nia Genao, and Mila Patterson and grandson, Sterling Sullivan.           

She is also survived by her Godmother Mama Elsa, many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and her honorable extended children.           

Nilsa attended St. Cecilia Catholic School in New York but completed academics at Franklin D. Roosevelt School in Guanica, Puerto Rico.

She briefly studied psychology at Lehman College in the Bronx, NY but changed career paths when she started a family.

She was community-driven and a champion for the underserved which is why she enjoyed working for Sun River Health for the last 34 years.

She was extremely committed to the mission statement of the organization and was a dedicated advocate for the community of Peekskill, where she worked and lived.           

Nilsa was a spiritual woman. She loved to dance to Salsa, R&B, and Afrobeats music. She enjoyed learning about her African and Puerto Rican roots and treasured her African art and sculptures. She loved chocolate, drinking tea, and the color black. She was the queen of positive and profound quotes. She enjoyed gardening, taking scenic walks with her grandchildren, and spending quality time with them. She loved animals and honored the beauty of the earth every moment she had. You could often find her sitting on her porch staring up at the heavens (as she would say).          

She loved unconditionally and knew how to make people feel special. She was genuinely thoughtful and gave selflessly so it was only fitting that her favorite book was “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. She was in fact, “The Mother of Many”. Those that knew her often called her Momma Nilsa as her motherly love poured onto the many people she loved.

She was amazingly strong, compassionate, protective, and loving, and yet nothing we could write could come close to describing the blessing she has been.

In life, she had many accomplishments, but if you asked her, she would tell you that her greatest accomplishments are her 7 children.

Homegoing Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at 11:00 am, at Joseph F. Nardone Funeral Home, 414 Washington Street, Peekskill, NY 10566.

Interment will take place immediately following at Hillside Cemetery located at 1033 Oregon Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567.