Ana Alonso, 91

July 18, 1930 - January 13, 2022

Ana Alonso, beloved mother and grandmother, a member of the Lancaster community more than 30 years, died at a local health care facility on Jan. 13. She was 91.

The cause of death was COVID-19 pneumonia, although she was fully vaccinated and boosted.

Her family is grateful for the care she received from clinicians and support staff, for faithful shepherding from her church community, and for the steadfast attention of her longtime caregiver.

A funeral Mass will be held Sat. May 28 at 11 am, at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 558
W. Walnut St., Lancaster, PA 17603.

Ana was born Ana María Zaldívar in Havana, Cuba. She came from long-established Cuban families that made their mark in public service, journalism, and law. Hers was a family of judges. Ana’s father worked his way up through the court system to serve on the Supreme Court of Cuba.

On her mother’s side, a great uncle was part of Cuban history as an adviser to leaders of the War of Independence. He later became the foremost advocate of a free and independent press in Cuba, while also representing his country in Mexico and Washington. Her cherished maternal uncle was a prominent lawyer, who held senior Cuban legislative and executive branch posts, and served as a diplomat. Ana said she was most influenced by her maternal grandmother, an independent woman with a stoical nature, who raised six children on her own.

Ana was the oldest of three children and the only girl. Her surviving brother recalls that as kids they liked to ride bikes and roller-skate. They would take walks in Havana. Ana was a very good swimmer and an excellent student. She motivated her brother to study, and he chose law.

Ana attended the University of Havana Law School and graduated in 1952 at the top of the class. That was 70 years ago.

It was at the university that she met her future husband, Luis Ricardo Alonso, an aspiring lawyer and journalist, active in politics. Ricardo was the son of a Spanish immigrant who had come to Havana barely a teenager and began working in a shoe store. There, according to family lore, he would sleep on the floor at night. Through skill, hard work, and by saving his pennies, Ricardo’s father became a successful businessman. He married a Cuban girl who was the daughter of Spanish immigrants.

Ana and Luis Ricardo were married in 1953, and had three children: Ricardo, Ana María and Armando. They aspired to a storybook life together, and to a better future for their country.

Luis Ricardo was part of the opposition to Cuba’s authoritarian rule and when the 1959 revolution succeeded, he went into the Fidel Castro government. He was appointed to a series of diplomatic posts, eventually becoming a young ambassador to the United Kingdom. But he remained a believer in democracy, and in 1965, he resigned from the Cuban government, making a public break with totalitarianism.

The family came to the United States in 1966 and moved around before settling in the Boston area. Luis Ricardo was by then a published novelist, and he became a university professor, teaching Spanish and Spanish literature. Ana became a Spanish teacher at a high school in suburban Boston. She also earned Master’s degrees in economics and Spanish.

As a teacher, Ana tried to instill in her students a love of the Spanish language and expose them to the voices of great writers from Spanish-speaking countries. But first she insisted they learn the fundamentals of pronunciation and grammar.

A letter from the principal noted Ana’s “academic rigor” but added that “she also brings a concern and caring that helps students flourish.” The letter described a student who was losing interest in school until Ana asked her to tutor a classmate. “This girl’s self-esteem grew as she recognized her teacher’s confidence in her,” the principal wrote.

Luis Ricardo came to Lancaster in 1975 to teach at Franklin and Marshall, which became his haven in academia. They were a commuting couple for a time.

In a life that saw changes and trials, Ana’s most painful loss came with the death of her youngest son Armando in 1984.

She had felt the closest to Armando, and she was completely devastated. Seeking peace in her heart, she began regularly attending a Catholic healing service in downtown Boston, led by a charismatic priest. The Catholic Church was part of her growing up in Cuba. Later, she told how at one of those Boston services she received a clear assurance that Armando was well. A priest of that same downtown shrine wrote to her, “praise God for his graciousness to you over the years and reaching out to touch you and make you whole.”

But the loss of Armando remained a deep wound that Ana carried the rest of her life. She struggled and she poured out her heart in personal prayer. In 2003, Ana participated in an Emmaus Retreat in Miami. She described how she shared her anguish with the Lord, seeking strength and love to keep going. She said she needed the strength and peace that only the Lord could give her.

Ana remained devoted to her Catholic faith. She found rest in receiving Holy Communion. A eucharistic minister from Sacred Heart in Lancaster recalls that even when Ana was feeling out of sorts, wanting to be left alone, all he had to do was start reciting the Lord’s Prayer and a change would come over her.

From Havana to Lancaster, Ana’s Catholic faith connected the pieces of her life.

As we celebrate Ana’s life, we are grateful for the love and care she showed us as mother, sister, abuela, tía, mother-in-law, neighbor, and friend. Her love languages were the giving of gifts and cradling babies. We also relish the memory of her gazpacho soup, paella, croquetas, breaded steak, Christmas fruit cake, and fresh strawberries soaked in sweet wine with cinnamon. Also, she never lost her Cuban love of baseball.

Luis Ricardo preceded Ana in death. Her youngest brother Manuel, and sister-in-law Silvia also preceded her in death.

Ana is survived by her son Ricardo and daughter-in-law Myrta of Arlington, Va.; her daughter Ana María and son-in-law David of Tucson; her grandchildren Luis (Dana), Marisa (Pabitra), Carlos (Jessica) and Colin; her great-grandchildren Jonah, Jacob and Karuna; her brother Miguel and sister-in-law María Julia of Miami; her brother-in-law Enrique and sister-in- law María Amelia of Madrid, and her many nieces and nephews, and their families.

God grant Ana the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Watch the tribute video