Ana Celia Lherisson

Ana Celia Lherisson was born September 22, 1944 in Rios Piedras, Puerto Rico to Celia Ortiz
Aponte (2014) and Jose Diaz Bernabe (1983). She was the oldest of six siblings and one
stepbrother, Jose Norbert (2002) Juan Raul, Aleida Maria, Rosario De La Cruz (2007), Luis
Antonio, and her stepbrother, Edgardo Rosario (and wife Gloria).
Ana graduated from high school and moved to New York when she was 17. She worked at
Banco Popular and met her first husband Frank Hernandez. They married in 1965 and Ana
began to work for Frank's family business. They went on to have three children, Celines, Luis
(2000), and Coralie.
Ana and Frank amicably divorced and she continued to work with Frank as Executive Director of
the family business. Ana traveled and danced competitively with Arthur Murray and won many
trophies for Latin ballroom dancing. She also helped Frank with fundraising efforts through
annual telethons and volunteered her time with the Crippled Children of Puerto Rico. An
example of Ana's unwavering loyalty can be seen through her lifelong care and support of her
family, especially her mother-in-law, Ines Hernandez Rosa (2006).
Ana met and married Reginald Lherisson in 1987 and they moved to Flushing, Queens. They
traveled and enjoyed dancing salsa together every weekend at the Copa Cabana and the Red
Parrot, in NYC. Later, they spent many weekends in Mohegan Sun, all while tirelessly helping
build a successful moving and shipping family business for 50 years.
Ana enjoyed shopping and going to see musicals and movies with her children and spending
summers with her family while working in Cerro Gordo, Puerto Rico. Ana loved her beautiful
hand fan collection she built over the years. Lovingly known as the Queen of flan, we always
looked forward to her flan at the holidays and no one has ever come close to replicating its
deliciousness. She loved listening to music, especially her favorite singers Caterina Valente and
Barbara Streisand. Ana loved being a dog/cat mom to her beloved predeceased dogs and cat,
Phoebe, Gypsy, and Georgie. Ana loved spending time with family and friends, especially her
only grandson, Patrick Luis McDonagh.
Ana retired in 2017 and was a pioneer in her field of international office management. We
always told her she should have been a lawyer, due to the way she effortlessly handled any
legal situation that came her way. She single-handedly coined the term and achieved the
lifestyle of "hourless, timeless, scheduleless." Timeless especially is how we thought of
her-beauty and grace under fire. A force to be reckoned with.
Ana survived a stroke in 2021 and was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in December 2023. She
contracted covid pneumonia and she died peacefully in her sleep. After 24 years of the loss of
her beloved son, Luisito, to suicide, they are now together.'
Ana is survived by her husband, Reginald Lherisson, her former husband and dear friend, Frank
Hernandez, her daughters, Celines and Coralie (along with her boyfriend, Robert "Tito" Rubino),
her grandson, Patrick Luis McDonagh, her siblings, Juan Raul Diaz (and wife Tuty), Aleida
Maria Diaz, Luis Antonio Diaz, her stepbrother, Edgardo Rosario (and wife Gloria), her stepson,
Todd (and his wife Vanessa), and numerous aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, and countless
friends and business colleagues, including Candida G. Gomez and Elba Garay (and husband
Tony). She is predeceased by her beloved son, Luis Francisco Hernandez in 2000.