Mrs. Emily J. Perez

Emily J. Perez was a remarkable woman. She was born and grew up in Chicago, IL. Her parents were immigrants from Lithuania and she was the youngest of three children. As a young girl she loved to go swimming and dive off “The Rocks” in lake Michigan, she and her friends would take the bus to the lake an stay all day. Born in the era of the depression and prohibition, cars were rarely seen, but if one came by they’d jump on the running boards and catch a ride for a block. Emily loved animals and would pick up stray dogs and cats, one cat she brought home went to the bathroom in her brother Felix’ shoe which made him furious! She lost her father at a very early age during the depression, and all the children pitched in to help her mother by helping out in the different businesses her mother had throughout the years. As a young girl in high school she wrote for the school newspaper and always got excellent grades, those were some of her proudest accomplishments. Her first job was with Illinois Bell as an operator, she was promoted from that position and enjoyed working for IL Bell very much. To do her part in the war effort, Emily joined the Navy and was a Navy Wave she did boot camp in the Bronx and was stationed in Enid, OK for a time before going to work in Washington, DC. She was given an Honorable Discharge in 1946 and returned to her position at IL Bell back in Chicago. She lived near Marquette Park and took up golfing, walking with her clubs several block to get to the course. With the GI Bill she studied at Northwestern, taking classes on literature and acting, she spent one summer at the University of Colorado in Boulder studying Home Economics. Emily loved to shop and she enjoyed being an aunt, she would take her nieces shopping downtown Chicago riding on the “L”. One of her great loves was music and dancing, she would get quite emotional when she’d hear a song she liked, she gave us a great appreciation for music. In the late 40’s when she was almost 30 she traveled with her sister Bernice for a vacation to Mexico, she enjoyed it so much that she went back again a few years later with a girlfriend. On her first trip to Mexico she met a young man who transferred her from the Airport to the Hotel, his name was Alfonso, she said he was rather quiet and later came to find out he did not speak much English. By her second trip he was a tour guide and was assigned a group of people that caravanned to the different sites along with her group. When Emily was back in Chicago she was walking along Michigan Ave. and spotted a young man that looked very familiar, it was Alfonso, and she stopped to talk to him, and asked him if he was the tour guide she had met in Mexico, indeed he was, and in his jacket pocket, he had a paper with her name written on it to try and locate her while he was in Chicago. That was the beginning of a new chapter and a new life for Emily. She moved to Mexico enrolled in Mexico City College and stayed with a family to learn the language, she dated Alfonso, and the two were married. Emily always wanted to be a mother, and had 3 children with Alfonso………she lived almost 15 years in Mexico, going back to live in Chicago for 3 years before moving to Orlando, FL in 1972, with Alfonso and her children, Alfonso, Teresa and Richard. She loved animals, and in her home as we were growing up we would always have cats and dogs. Throughout the years she kept going to school she took sewing classes for personal enrichment and sewed for quite a few years, she attended Rollins College where she studied Russian history. She would watch, PBS, Lawrence Whelk, cooking shows, travel shows, British comedies, crime and murder mysteries, and political shows. She was an excellent cook, and she liked to cook, hosting many a dinner for her family and friends of her children. She was blessed to have 2 grand children whom she loved very dearly and enjoyed spending time with them when they were younger, having them over at her house for the weekends. Emily in many ways was ahead of her time and a Renaissance woman…..and was indeed…….REMARKABLE.

Mrs. Emily J. Perez

September 25, 1919 - June 9, 2013