Hipolita Santiago

WEST SPRINGFIELD - Hipolita “Polly” Santiago, 69, of West Springfield, Massachusetts, was welcomed home to Heaven on October 4, 2016. A native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Polly came to the mainland United States in 1957 where she first lived in Dover, New Jersey and then settled in Jersey City, New Jersey until her relocation to Massachusetts in 2003. Although she held many jobs as a single mother to support her young family, she was best remembered as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) and a personal care attendant (PCA). She was particularly called to a vocation serving the elderly and infirmed, working at Christ Hospital and St. Joseph’s Home for the Blind in Jersey City, NJ, and was a patient observer at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Massachusetts. Her reputation for offering a high quality of care for patients afforded her opportunities to serve as a PCA in Western Massachusetts. Among her friends and acquaintances, Polly was known for her generosity, wisdom, and sense of humor. She enjoyed spending time with her family, fishing, watching home repair shows, antique collecting, and thrift shopping. She is preceded in death by her husband, Ramón Santiago; son, David Tirado; brothers Francisco and Emiliano Flores; and her parents, Maria Garay and Justiniano Flores of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Although she earned great praise for her ability to comfort the sick, it was her identity as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt that was her pride and joy. She is survived by her son, Jessie and his wife, Marisol; her nieces Rose Marie and Sarah Flores; her daughter Dr. Jennifer Daigle-Matos and her wife, Casey; her daughter Anna Matos-Mournighan and her husband, James, and her parakeet, Budgie. A devoted grandmother, she is now the guardian angel to her granddaughters Tiffany Santiago, Melissa Carey (nee Santiago), her husband Daniel, and Anna Daigle-Matos, and her great-granddaughter Maliya Carey. Polly earned her wings surrounded by her family, and under the great care of the ICU nursing staff at Holyoke Hospital in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The family will hold a viewing on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at New England Funeral & Cremation Center, LLC, 25 Mill Street, Springfield, MA from 10am – 12pm with a service to follow at 12pm. Private cremation will be held on Monday, October 10, 2016. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Cora’s Corner at www.youcaring.com/cora-cornell-590112 For further details visit www.nefcc.net We invite you to send a message of condolence to the Santiago family at www.nefcc.net

Hipolita Santiago

October 9, 1946 - October 4, 2016