Obituary of Milagros Rodriguez

Milagros Coss Rodriguez, beloved wife, mother and grandmother passed away peacefully and surrounded by her loving family on January 18, 2015, at the age of 74. A native of Puerto Rico, Milagros was born on October 24, 1940 to Maria Rodriguez and Heraclio Coss. One of seven children, she grew up in El Cerro of Gurabo, where she helped her family economically by selling deserts up and down its historical stairs. A gifted student, Milagros skipped two grades to graduate high school at the age of 16. Her academic aptitude was recognized early by the Red Cross, when it selected her to represent Puerto Rico in a conference in Washington D.C. By the age of 20, Milagros had obtained her Bachelor's Degree and Teaching Certification. Her first teaching job required her to take a bus and then walk several miles to reach the small country school where she was often thanked by parents with chickens and eggs. But it was a road she gladly walked for her passion for teaching was unmatched. Milagros saw education as the sure road out of poverty. She was always grateful to Luis Munoz Marin, Puerto Rico's first elected Governor, who established a scholarship program that allowed her to study at the University of Puerto Rico for free. Anyone who dared criticize Munoz-Marin in her presence would be sure to feel her wrath. Milagros relocated her family to Bridgeport, CT in 1978, looking to ensure her children a better future. She began teaching in the Self-Contained Program at Waltersville School, and then moved to the Bilingual Program at East Side Middle School. Milagros later taught Spanish in the Foreign Language Department at Bassick High School, and then at the Central Magnet School. In 1992, Milagros became Assistant Principal of Central High School, a position she held until her retirement in 2001. Her passion for teaching was matched only by her love and devotion to her family. First and foremost was her unending love for her high school sweetheart and husband of 54 years, Roberto; their children, Roberto H. and his wife Heather, Leonardo and his wife Maria, Milagros, and Jacabed and her husband Polo; and their grandchildren, Jose Ignacio, Luis Enrique, Cassandra Elizabeth, Loumarie, Jessicah, Roberto, Rachel, Cesar Rodrigo, Gabriela Milagros, Samantha Nicole, Abigail, Cerra, Elizabeth, Maria Alejandra, Ana Cristina, Lucas and Spencer; and her great grandchild Liam. Nothing brought her more joy than to have her family gathered at her house on Sundays for dinner when she was sure to cook a feast for all to enjoy. Nothing will ever fill the void her absence will leave in their hearts. Calling hours will be held at the Luz de Paz Funeral Home, 426 E. Washington Ave., Bridgeport, CT on January 23rd, 2015, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Friends are also invited to celebrate a mass in her honor on January 24th, 2015, at 12:00 pm. at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 1255 East Main Street in Bridgeport. In lieu of flowers, Milagros's family suggests that friends who wish to express their support do so by making a contribution in her memory to her favorite charity, St. Jude's Children Hospital or to the CJD Foundation in New York at www.cjdfoundation.org/donate, whose research efforts Milagros wanted to support.