Anna Matos

Anna Luisa Matos was born on May 7th, 1946 to Parents Eduardo and Horacia Lopez. She was also the widow of Felipe Matos Rivera who left us on August 5th, 2019. Anna passed away on September 25th, 2020. She was 74. She is survived by her children Felipe, Ramon and Thais Matos as well as her Grandchildren Damian, Eyan, Catarina and Milagros. Anna was known for her loving exterior and outward showing of unyielding and sincere love to not just members of her family, but the friends and family of her children. Anna was born in Puerto Rico and came to New York at the age of 17. Anna came from a large family. She was 1 of 13 children. Her life with us was a life of struggle but with much success. She loved to watch old westerns and romance movies. She was as much a NY Mets fan as my Father. She loved to cook for everyone and always asked if you were hungry. Hungry souls were not allowed in our home. It was almost military but always comical on her insisting you eat if you came into her home. She placed a plate in front of you along with a drink and made sure you ate and enjoyed the meal which everyone who’s had her cooking did. She was also a bit mischievous. A family friend would always come over and look forward to my mother’s cooking. One evening she was taking some rice and beef leftovers and mixing it with the dog food to give to Daisy our dog. This friend came into the kitchen and took a finger full of the food and ate it. My mother was laughing so hard she could not tell him to stop eating the dog’s food as he took another finger full. She finally got it out and he said, “This is still good.” She was also painfully blunt and unapologetically honest. We remember watching an Arnold Schwarzenegger film and her just turning to us and saying, “He’s so ugly.” Yet she would not miss a single one of his films. A person would drop trash on the sidewalk when there is a trash can at arm’s length and she would yell to the person, “Hey! There is a garbage can right there!” She also had a love for professional wrestling like her mother. Her favorite wrestler was former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. Every time he’d appear on TV she would say, “That’s my man.” Before her husband passed away a year ago, she started to feel that she may have treated him a little mean. Prior to his death his mental state began to decline, and he was a handful for anyone to care for. But she did. She also told him directly that she’s sorry if she treated him badly. He would just take her hand and kiss the back of it. This alone told her she did the best she could to care for him. Rough at times, but always from a place of love. After he passed, her family constantly reminded her that she had the opportunity to tell him how she felt and that it was a gift to her before he left to be with his father in the heavens. Felipe Matos Rivera was known as the Mayor of Mosholu, a place in the Bronx of New York City. But Anna Luisa Matos was definitely Mosholu’s first lady and living guardian angel. Now she gets her glorified form and becomes one to watch of those she left behind. Her bluntness, humor, style and love for everyone will be sorely missed. We need to follow her example and keep her legacy alive through her children, grandchildren, family members and countless people for whom she was a surrogate mother to. We do not say goodbye to her. We say, see you later. Heaven now has their hands full with Felipe Matos Rivera and now the Matriarch of the Matos Family, Anna Luisa Matos.

Anna Matos

May 7, 1946 - September 25, 2020