Aida Hernandez

Aida Hernandez Aida was born in Colombia, South America and came to the United States as a young woman with her husband Alvaro, and her first two children. She worked hard to learn the language and customs of her new home, and soon began working in the International Department for Caterpillar Inc. After a time, the family moved to New York City, where she eventually worked as a translator for the United Nations. Several years later, now with a family of five children, Aida moved to upstate New York and began her career at IBM. She found a calling there as an educator conducting workshops in the U.S., South America, The Caribbean and the Far East. She flourished in this role because of her love of people and learning, and made many friends along the way. Aida retired to Hilton Head in 1994 to be closer to her family, and adopted the Island as her new community. She found, however, that she still had a great appetite for learning and doing. She furthered her education by obtaining paralegal certification at TCL and becoming an ATA certified translator. With her newfound knowledge, she started her own business, TIA Translation. Over the years she translated documents for the Town of Hilton Head, Hilton Head Hospital, The Municipal Court and the Beaufort County Board of Education to name a few. Aida believed in the importance of helping others whenever she could. Over the years, she focused her efforts on assisting the Spanish speaking community of Hilton Head, through volunteering at St. Francis and Holy Name parishes, Volunteers in Medicine, Legal Aid, Habitat for Humanity, The Crisis Pregnancy Center, The Island Recreation Center and at the Hilton Head Elementary School. She also enjoyed volunteering at the Bargain Box where she made many friends. Additionally, Aida truly loved writing and wrote an advice column for one of the Island's regularly published Spanish speaking magazines. Aida eventually left Hilton Head in 2008 to spend time with her family in both Miami and Los Angeles. Aida passed away in Los Angeles on April 23rd at the age of 87, after a period of illness. She is survived by her five children: Mery Santana, Ivan Hernandez, Diana Casparian, Nelson Hernandez and Danny Hernandez; and by their spouses John, Manuela, Mark and Selden. She leaves a legacy of love to her ten grandchildren: Alex, Jessie, Danielle, Christopher, Kaitlyn, Jaden, Margaret, Tommy, Gabby and Derek. Those who knew her will greatly miss her presence. Her love, generosity, wisdom, enthusiasm and love of life remain here with us. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or the CDC Foundation to Combat the Coronavirus.