Maria Rodriguez

Maria Rodriguez

May 30, 1951 – October 27, 2025

Maria Rodriguez, a beloved matriarch and lifelong Brooklynite, passed away peacefully on October 27, 2025, at the age of 74. She was born on May 30, 1951, to Alfredo Alvarez and Ramona Rivera, and she built a life filled with immense love, unwavering strength, and joyous laughter.

Maria is now joyfully reunited in the afterlife with her brother, William Rivera, and her faithful, recently departed dog, Casper, who was surely waiting for her with a wagging tail.

She leaves behind a legacy of love in her devoted husband, Victor Velazquez; her stepson, Victor Velazquez Jr.; and her children: Orlando Guy Rodriguez, Tony L. Rodriguez and Shawn Rodriguez, Brian D. Rodriguez and Dionne V. DeFlorimonte, Brenden J. Velazquez and Sully-Ann Santiago, Janie Broner and Terrence Brown McAddley, Mya Rodriguez and Juan Estrada, and Liza Rodriguez.

Maria's love multiplied with each new generation. She was a cherished grandmother to Makayla, Michael, Anola, Tony Jr., Jonathan and Willa, Jaiden Z., Maliya, Braysen, Reece, Rhassan Jacob Augustin, Arieana Head, Dominic Velazquez, Nelson J., Melody R., and Luna Maria Estrada-Mora. The family's joy was made complete with the arrival of her great-granddaughter, Josephine Ray Rodriguez. She is also survived by her dearest friend, Deborah Lewis Prodell, whom she considered a sister, and her adored niece and nephew, Liza Rivera and Robert Rivera, and their older brother William Rivera along by her sister Elizabeth Alvarez and niece Marienella Echevarria.

To know Maria was to be welcomed into the warm, aromatic, and lively heart of her home. She was the undeniable anchor of her extensive family, a woman whose love was not just felt, but actively built and provided. Maria expressed her devotion through her hands-whether making rice for a family feast, offering a comforting embrace, or gently (or not gently), guiding her loved ones with her famously stubborn will. She believed fiercely in her family and was their greatest fan when it came to listening to their humorous stories.

Her kitchen was the family's compass point, a place where countless souls were nourished by her legendary cooking and her infectious laughter. It was here that she seamlessly tied together a wide and beautiful range of people-children, stepchildren, partners, friends, and grandchildren all found an equal seat at her table. In a family of many branches, Maria was the strong, deep root that held them all together. She created a world where everyone belonged, and her home was a sanctuary of acceptance, support, and celebration.

Maria's stubbornness was matched only by her capacity for joy, a combination that made her both a formidable force and the life of every gathering. She taught her family the resilience to endure life's hardships and the wisdom to find humor in the midst of them. Her legacy is not one of grand gestures, but of countless small, consistent acts of love: a always-full plate, a perfectly timed piece of humor, and the unwavering certainty that, no matter what, her family was her greatest masterpiece.

She will be profoundly missed, but her spirit will live on in the stories shared over a home-cooked meal, the stubborn streak in her children and grandchildren, and the enduring bond of the beautiful, sprawling family she created and cherished.

A service to celebrate Maria's life will be held on October 31st at Grace Funeral Chapels, 607 North Conduit Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11208.