Sandra Y. Reyes, 77 of Ridgefield, died at Bridgeport Hospital on Saturday, April 25.
She was the mother of five boys and two girls and was grandmother of 12.
Mrs. Reyes was born in the Bronx, N.Y., on Aug. 21, 1937, to civil rights activist Wainwright Carrington and Florence Carrington from Trinidad and Tobago. She was the eldest child and had two brothers, Wayne and Michael.
At the age of 9, Mrs. Reyes and her brothers went to the island of Trinidad to live. She attended Holy Name Convent and was schooled by nuns. There she began her journey as a devout Christian. She decided at a young age that she either wanted to become a nun or get married and have many children — the latter of which happened.
At 15, Mrs. Reyes and her brothers returned to the States to live with her family in Mamaroneck, N.Y. She graduated from Bellows High School and then enrolled in nursing assistant school in New York City. Upon turning 21, she married Joseph C. Reyes and they began a family. They moved into a house in Katonah, N.Y. She later worked as a physician assistant for nearly 30 years aiding patients.
She volunteered time and money to many charitable causes, including Meals on Wheels, children’s hospitals and feeding the poor.
She was a parishioner of St. Mary Church and a devout follower of St. Padre Pio.
“Sandra spent every Tuesday at 2 a.m. — no matter rain, hail, sleet or snow — watching the Holy Eucharist at St. Mary’s,” her family said. “She loved the Lord so much that she would often tell her children how she couldn’t wait to go meet Jesus and Padre Pio.”
A wake will be held at Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street, from 5 to 8 on Thursday, April 30. The funeral will take place at St. Mary Church at 1:15 on Friday, May 1.