Carmen Rivera Rodriguez was the adoring wife of Jesus Rodriguez for over 50 years, the indestructible mother of 3 boys; Jesus (Junior), Mario, and Francisco (Frankie); and the doting grandmother of 6 grandchildren. She was a sister to 10 and the second oldest of the bunch. She was a loving neighbor and friend.

These are things most of us can claim to be: a sibling, a parent, a grandparent. But Carmen did these things well. She loved to love other people and she made sure everyone in her life felt taken care of. It was something she was good at, whether that meant providing a roof over someone's head, making sure no one went hungry, or calling to make sure things in your life were going okay.

Carmen came to America at a young age of 17 and started a foreign, unpredictable new life for herself and the family she eventually created. It's impossible to imagine the amount of courage and resiliency it would take to step into a future so unknown. It's impossible to put into words how impossible it is that she succeeded in a place where she couldn't even speak the language.

She wasn't a particularly proud woman, but she was proud of herself for choosing this life, proud of her children for continuing it and proud of her grandchildren for just about everything like clearing their plate of food or asking for seconds.

Carmen would not want to talk about the end of her life. She hated the end of things from when people left her house to when people she loved passed away.

She preferred the start of things, the start of new lives.

Carmen died at age 72 on November 26, 2019 surrounded by her family who cared for her when she couldn't take care of them anymore. But her life continues through the love she so freely gave to everyone else around her.

She held people together, cried with them when they were sad, and laughed with them as often as she could.

She is survived by her loving husband Jesus; sons Jesus Jr. (Marivel), Mario (Anne), and Francisco (Veronica); grandchildren Michael, Katia, Daniel, Hannah, Carys, and Cielle; her brothers and sisters Expedito, Justina, Evangelista, Nicolasa, Maximina, Maria, Marta, Luz, and Carmen. Preceded in death by her parents Jose and Buenaventura, and her brother Francisco.

Visitation December 2, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, 1327 North Noble Street, Chicago, Illinois 60642. Funeral Mass December 2, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, 1327 North Noble Street, Chicago, Illinois 60642.