Niyma A. Rivera

Niyma A. Rivera, 16, of Norwich, died unexpectedly on Sunday, November 3, 2024. 

Born on December 12, 2007, in Philadelphia, PA, Niyma was a daughter of Juan Carlos Rivera and Nina Vaphides. In second grade, she moved to Norwich where she attended school. Niyma was currently an eleventh grader at Norwich High School. She found comfort in wildlife and the outdoors and made spiritual connections with nature. She enjoyed reading, could solve intense mathematical problems, loved animals, and liked listening to Frank Sinatra and 1940s music. 

In addition to her parents, Niyma is survived by her grandmother, Catalina Zambrana; siblings, Trinity Williams, of Colorado, Giovanna Hiblong, of Arkansas, and Giovanni; aunts and uncles, Christopher (Shealyn) Maceda, Nicole Vaphides, Jennifer McMullen, Ashley McMullen, Heather Hawley, Alyssa (Jeremiah) Haskins, Lucas Horrell, Jes and Brian Hagenbuch, Claudio Seda, and Jose Cardone; many cousins including, Trent Radie, Carter Maceda, Dilen Maceda, Trisdyn Webb, James Radie, Vincent, Jacob Hagenbuch, Dyjah, Neveah, Kiara, Pablo, Carmello, and Shaneè Bush; and special friends, Makayla Figueroa, Kayleigh Cummings, and Jacob Monroe. She was predeceased by her grandmother, Jodi Vaphides.

A funeral service for Niyma will be held at the Wilson Funeral Home, 68 South Broad Street, Norwich, NY, on Saturday, November 9, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. Friends are invited to the funeral home at 2:00 p.m. until the time of the service.

Memorial contributions in memory of Niyma may be made to the Norwich Stone Quarry c/o the Chenango Greenway Conservancy, PO Box 376, Norwich, New York 13815, or to Rogers Environmental Center, 2721 NY-80, Sherburne, NY 13460.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted with John Antonowicz of the Wilson Funeral Home.