In earlier years, Alma, who was born in New York City, traveled back to her parent's birthplace in San Juan, Puerto Rico to live on their coffee and sugar plantation. She was bi-lingual, graduating from the Practice School College of Education on a Friday evening, at 8 pm, on May 24, 1929, together with her brother Julius Jr. A tropical party was held at the University in honor of this event. Soon after graduation, she headed back to New York aboard the SS Coamo, a New York-to-Puerto Rico Company Steamer, and lived in the Yorkville section of the city.
She fell in love with a handsome man named Thomas Gonzalo. Together they had 5 children. Their names were Diane, Thomas Jr., Paul, Richard, and Jaime also known as "Larry." Later she a son named Phillip with a gentleman whose last name was "Becerra."
Tommy left to serve with the US Army during World War 2. Alma did her part for the war effort. She entertained the troops headed for the European front, as well as helping to host a reception for the crew of the Swedish Hospital ship "The Grispholm" when it arrived at the port in New York in 1944.
Of Alma's 6 children, 4 of them went into an orphanage in New York, because she could not afford to raise them during the war as a single mother. A couple of years after the war, she came to Santa Maria, California with 2 sons, Jimmy and Philip. She joined her mother and sisters who had already been living in Santa Maria, California for a couple of years. About 1950, she came south to Los Angeles and worked at the May Company department store downtown in the Printing Dept. where she designed advertising as a graphic designer and illustrator. She produced newspaper ads and posters and received merit certificates and other awards for her work. She later worked for Sunset News near Virgil Junior High School in the Vermont Avenue and Beverly Blvd. area. Because she worked so much, her mother and sisters regularly took care of Jimmy and Philip.
She had many friends in the art world. Ernest Endress, the painter, was one of them. She adored Monet, ballet, and classical music. She made costumes with her sister Eva. She was a marvelous dancer in both ballroom and classical dance having taken lessons from Karoun Tootikian, a dance instructor at Ruth St. Denis Studios in Hollywood.
She took the steamship to Catalina a couple of times a year to go dancing at the Casino to the music of the big bands. She more often could be found at the Hollywood Palladium listening to the orchestras there, which gave her great joy. She had a number of handsome gentlemen who courted her, but, her dream of finding the right long-term relationship never materialized. Alma was a quiet, very beautiful, kind, reserved, soft-spoken, gentle-mannered, and a hopelessly romantic lady.
In 1958, at the age of 44, she was visiting Queen of Angels Hospital visiting her mother Marcella who had taken ill. In the waiting room, Alma was suddenly stricken by a Brain Aneurism and died. Foolishly, a staff member told her mother Marcella of Alma's sudden passing and her grief-stricken mother passed a few days later. They were buried at the same time in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. Their single marker shows both of their names.
After she died, Jimmy went into the military but Philip (who was only about 10 years old) was adopted by a family named "Patriquin" from Norco, California. They had a horse ranch. That's the last any family member heard from him. They are still searching to connect with Philip to this day.
This beautiful, talented, and gentle woman will never be forgotten by the numerous people who loved her.
She fell in love with a handsome man named Thomas Gonzalo. Together they had 5 children. Their names were Diane, Thomas Jr., Paul, Richard, and Jaime also known as "Larry." Later she a son named Phillip with a gentleman whose last name was "Becerra."
Tommy left to serve with the US Army during World War 2. Alma did her part for the war effort. She entertained the troops headed for the European front, as well as helping to host a reception for the crew of the Swedish Hospital ship "The Grispholm" when it arrived at the port in New York in 1944.
Of Alma's 6 children, 4 of them went into an orphanage in New York, because she could not afford to raise them during the war as a single mother. A couple of years after the war, she came to Santa Maria, California with 2 sons, Jimmy and Philip. She joined her mother and sisters who had already been living in Santa Maria, California for a couple of years. About 1950, she came south to Los Angeles and worked at the May Company department store downtown in the Printing Dept. where she designed advertising as a graphic designer and illustrator. She produced newspaper ads and posters and received merit certificates and other awards for her work. She later worked for Sunset News near Virgil Junior High School in the Vermont Avenue and Beverly Blvd. area. Because she worked so much, her mother and sisters regularly took care of Jimmy and Philip.
She had many friends in the art world. Ernest Endress, the painter, was one of them. She adored Monet, ballet, and classical music. She made costumes with her sister Eva. She was a marvelous dancer in both ballroom and classical dance having taken lessons from Karoun Tootikian, a dance instructor at Ruth St. Denis Studios in Hollywood.
She took the steamship to Catalina a couple of times a year to go dancing at the Casino to the music of the big bands. She more often could be found at the Hollywood Palladium listening to the orchestras there, which gave her great joy. She had a number of handsome gentlemen who courted her, but, her dream of finding the right long-term relationship never materialized. Alma was a quiet, very beautiful, kind, reserved, soft-spoken, gentle-mannered, and a hopelessly romantic lady.
In 1958, at the age of 44, she was visiting Queen of Angels Hospital visiting her mother Marcella who had taken ill. In the waiting room, Alma was suddenly stricken by a Brain Aneurism and died. Foolishly, a staff member told her mother Marcella of Alma's sudden passing and her grief-stricken mother passed a few days later. They were buried at the same time in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. Their single marker shows both of their names.
After she died, Jimmy went into the military but Philip (who was only about 10 years old) was adopted by a family named "Patriquin" from Norco, California. They had a horse ranch. That's the last any family member heard from him. They are still searching to connect with Philip to this day.
This beautiful, talented, and gentle woman will never be forgotten by the numerous people who loved her.
In earlier years, Alma, who was born in New York City, traveled back to her parent's birthplace in San Juan, Puerto Rico to live on their coffee and sugar plantation. She was bi-lingual, graduating from the Practice School College of Education on a Friday evening, at 8 pm, on May 24, 1929, together with her brother Julius Jr. A tropical party was held at the University in honor of this event. Soon after graduation, she headed back to New York aboard the SS Coamo, a New York-to-Puerto Rico Company Steamer, and lived in the Yorkville section of the city.
She fell in love with a handsome man named Thomas Gonzalo. Together they had 5 children. Their names were Diane, Thomas Jr., Paul, Richard, and Jaime also known as "Larry." Later she a son named Phillip with a gentleman whose last name was "Becerra."
Tommy left to serve with the US Army during World War 2. Alma did her part for the war effort. She entertained the troops headed for the European front, as well as helping to host a reception for the crew of the Swedish Hospital ship "The Grispholm" when it arrived at the port in New York in 1944.
Of Alma's 6 children, 4 of them went into an orphanage in New York, because she could not afford to raise them during the war as a single mother. A couple of years after the war, she came to Santa Maria, California with 2 sons, Jimmy and Philip. She joined her mother and sisters who had already been living in Santa Maria, California for a couple of years. About 1950, she came south to Los Angeles and worked at the May Company department store downtown in the Printing Dept. where she designed advertising as a graphic designer and illustrator. She produced newspaper ads and posters and received merit certificates and other awards for her work. She later worked for Sunset News near Virgil Junior High School in the Vermont Avenue and Beverly Blvd. area. Because she worked so much, her mother and sisters regularly took care of Jimmy and Philip.
She had many friends in the art world. Ernest Endress, the painter, was one of them. She adored Monet, ballet, and classical music. She made costumes with her sister Eva. She was a marvelous dancer in both ballroom and classical dance having taken lessons from Karoun Tootikian, a dance instructor at Ruth St. Denis Studios in Hollywood.
She took the steamship to Catalina a couple of times a year to go dancing at the Casino to the music of the big bands. She more often could be found at the Hollywood Palladium listening to the orchestras there, which gave her great joy. She had a number of handsome gentlemen who courted her, but, her dream of finding the right long-term relationship never materialized. Alma was a quiet, very beautiful, kind, reserved, soft-spoken, gentle-mannered, and a hopelessly romantic lady.
In 1958, at the age of 44, she was visiting Queen of Angels Hospital visiting her mother Marcella who had taken ill. In the waiting room, Alma was suddenly stricken by a Brain Aneurism and died. Foolishly, a staff member told her mother Marcella of Alma's sudden passing and her grief-stricken mother passed a few days later. They were buried at the same time in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. Their single marker shows both of their names.
After she died, Jimmy went into the military but Philip (who was only about 10 years old) was adopted by a family named "Patriquin" from Norco, California. They had a horse ranch. That's the last any family member heard from him. They are still searching to connect with Philip to this day.
This beautiful, talented, and gentle woman will never be forgotten by the numerous people who loved her.
She fell in love with a handsome man named Thomas Gonzalo. Together they had 5 children. Their names were Diane, Thomas Jr., Paul, Richard, and Jaime also known as "Larry." Later she a son named Phillip with a gentleman whose last name was "Becerra."
Tommy left to serve with the US Army during World War 2. Alma did her part for the war effort. She entertained the troops headed for the European front, as well as helping to host a reception for the crew of the Swedish Hospital ship "The Grispholm" when it arrived at the port in New York in 1944.
Of Alma's 6 children, 4 of them went into an orphanage in New York, because she could not afford to raise them during the war as a single mother. A couple of years after the war, she came to Santa Maria, California with 2 sons, Jimmy and Philip. She joined her mother and sisters who had already been living in Santa Maria, California for a couple of years. About 1950, she came south to Los Angeles and worked at the May Company department store downtown in the Printing Dept. where she designed advertising as a graphic designer and illustrator. She produced newspaper ads and posters and received merit certificates and other awards for her work. She later worked for Sunset News near Virgil Junior High School in the Vermont Avenue and Beverly Blvd. area. Because she worked so much, her mother and sisters regularly took care of Jimmy and Philip.
She had many friends in the art world. Ernest Endress, the painter, was one of them. She adored Monet, ballet, and classical music. She made costumes with her sister Eva. She was a marvelous dancer in both ballroom and classical dance having taken lessons from Karoun Tootikian, a dance instructor at Ruth St. Denis Studios in Hollywood.
She took the steamship to Catalina a couple of times a year to go dancing at the Casino to the music of the big bands. She more often could be found at the Hollywood Palladium listening to the orchestras there, which gave her great joy. She had a number of handsome gentlemen who courted her, but, her dream of finding the right long-term relationship never materialized. Alma was a quiet, very beautiful, kind, reserved, soft-spoken, gentle-mannered, and a hopelessly romantic lady.
In 1958, at the age of 44, she was visiting Queen of Angels Hospital visiting her mother Marcella who had taken ill. In the waiting room, Alma was suddenly stricken by a Brain Aneurism and died. Foolishly, a staff member told her mother Marcella of Alma's sudden passing and her grief-stricken mother passed a few days later. They were buried at the same time in Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles. Their single marker shows both of their names.
After she died, Jimmy went into the military but Philip (who was only about 10 years old) was adopted by a family named "Patriquin" from Norco, California. They had a horse ranch. That's the last any family member heard from him. They are still searching to connect with Philip to this day.
This beautiful, talented, and gentle woman will never be forgotten by the numerous people who loved her.
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