WEST NEW YORK — Mayor Felix Roque’s mother, Caridad Hilda Roque-Dieguez, 83, passed away Tuesday morning after a long illness.
Roque, 59, who was re-elected in May, had said she was his best friend. They celebrated in the hospital after he won re-election.
She was a nurse in Cuba.
She passed away around 5 a.m., holding Roque’s hand.
Roque told NJ.com that she was unaware of the fact that he was just indicted for allegedly taking bribes related to his medical practice.
“One thing I’m happy about is she did not know anything about this,” he said.
A family friend, Beatrice Oliveti, wrote, in a letter to the Reporter, ” My family has known and loved the Roque family since Cuba. Dr. Roque Sr. was my maternal grandmother’s physician in Cuba. My Aunt Olga, my mother Celina’s sister, thought of Mrs. Roque as a sister. They have always been very close friends since Cuba. I remember hearing stories as a child of how Mrs. Hilda Roque worked side by side with Dr. Roque Sr. in his medical office. She was an intelligent, kind, generous, warm-hearted woman who was good to everyone. She will always be remembered and sorely missed.”