Family News & Events
Carmen 'Titi' Rivera Cruz, 1943-2011
-- Carmen Rivera Cruz, wife of René Rivera for 50 years, passed away Oct. 12th from a heart attack. Beloved by all, her passing is a tragic moment and a big loss for the entire family.
Read more detail and see more pictures in the December 2011 edition of the newsletter.
July Wedding For Marina and Dennis
-- Marina Marie Ramos, daughter of Olga M. García and Robert Ramos, and granddaughter of Oscar and Ana (López) García, was wed to Dennis Wayne Nelson in a beautiful outdoor ceremony on July 23rd.
Read more detail and see more pictures in the August 2011 edition of the newsletter.
2011 Family Reunion - The Weather Cooperated!
-- The 2011 Family Reunion was held late June and though it rained and rained before and after the reunion, the weekend of the reunion was beautiful!
Approximately 55 people attended the reunion at the home of Carlos & Garnet Rivera. Orlando Rivera graced everyone with his culinary crafts fixing a traditional Puerto Rican spread including empanadillas, arroz y habichuelas, pasteles de yucca and much more!
The August 2011 issue of the newsletter has many photos of the occasion.
Francheska Rivera, 1991 - 2011
-- "I am writing with the terrible news that Francheska Rivera, granddaughter of Rene and Carmen, passed away in Ponce, Puerto Rico last night after an epileptic attack. She would have been 21 years old in a few weeks.
Francheska (left) and Meryem Merritt(right) at the 2006 Family reunion
She was the daughter of Rene and Titi's late son, Joshua, who died when Francheska was five years old. Francheska had been featured in the "Meet Your Relative" column in the Oct/Nov '09 issue of our family newsletter. Scroll down to page 7 to read about what a fine young lady she was.
The Rivera family is devastated by this tragedy. Please e-mail me if you would like to know how you can help financially.
Start Planning to Attend the 2011 Family Reunion near Indianapolis!
-- Although it is six months away, now is the time to begin planning to attend the 2011 Family Reunion. The next reunion will be hosted by 
Carlos and Garnet Rivera. Dates for the reunion are June 24 - 26.
Early in 2011, this website will have a registration form so you can announce your intention to attend. An early headcount will help the hosts to plan the facilities.
More detail will be provided at a later date with recommendations for accommodations and sight-seeing. (Post Note: Please see Feb-Mar 2011 issue of the newsletter for preliminary information.)
2010 Family Reunion: Such a Good Time for All!
-- Our annual get together was held in the Chicago area this year, Jun 25-28. Myriam 
Pineda and Nellie Feliciano, grandchildren of Carmen Maldonado hosted the event. The festivities were well-attended and everyone had a good time. The weather cooperated and kept the storms away until Sunday morning brunch. Even then, it didn't dampen our spirits. We simply moved indoors and the festivities continued!
Nellie Feliciano has shared her photos (one of them is display here. You can view her photo show of pictures from the three day event online here (www.photoshow.com/watch/iv3mT6TE).
For additional photos and descriptions, read the Aug-Sep 2010 issue of the newsletter available as the current issue until October, or find it in the archives of past issues.
The Rivera Family Tree Is Now Online!
-- Our family tree has now been published online at ylafamilia.tribalpages.com. This website offers 
member families the ability to update their own information to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of the family tree. Best of all, you can upload photos of each of your family members.
Each family is encouraged to register at the site so they can view private information and edit their own data. Please pass this announcement along. The family tree is only as accurate as the information provided by participating family members.