Lourdes Cualio Lo
September 18, 1941 - April 26, 2025
Lourdes Cualio Lo, a vibrant soul with a heart full of love and generosity, peacefully departed on April 26, 2025 at the age of 83. Born on September 18, 1941, in the picturesque town of Añasco, Puerto Rico, Lourdes was the cherished daughter of the late Fermin Cualio and Justa Bonet. Her journey in life was one of resilience, love and unwavering faith.
A devoted mother, Lourdes leaves behind her daughter Betty Francisco and son-in-law Paul Francisco of Dorchester, MA, and her son Hector Lo and daughter-in-law Katy Lo of Palm Coast, FL. She is the proud grandmother of Sofia, Gisele, Amelia and Suzy who lovingly referred to her as “Abuela Lourdes.”
Lourdes, the middle child in a family of five siblings is survived by her sister Herminia Mocete, her brothers Julio Ivan Cualio, and Fermin Cualio Jr., as well as many loving nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Lourdes grew up in a modest yet nurturing home. She excelled academically and graduated high school with a full scholarship to the University of Puerto Rico. However, life had other plans, and after battling chronic anxiety and depression, she courageously moved to New York City with her older brother Neftali (deceased), and sister Herminia in the late 60s to seek treatment, where she began to thrive. It was in New York that she met and married Joey, a restaurant owner, and started her family.
After having her two children, Betty and Hector, she stopped working to raise them as a single parent. During this time, Lourdes pursued her passions in the creative arts. She wrote poetry as a young child and kept journals of poems. Her poems were printed in a book of Puerto Rican poet anthologies and other books published by the town of Añasco and her church.
Lourdes’ passion for the arts was evident in everything she did; she was an incredibly special and creative soul. Lourdes was skilled in making crafts from virtually anything she could find. She designed an orchestra of frog figurines made entirely of sea shells. The orchestra was so impressive that it was selected for exhibition in the Museum of the City of New York and won several awards.
Lourdes was also an avid contestant. She would seek out contests in newspapers, radio, and sweepstakes, and as we say was always "lucky." Later in life she traveled back and forth to Puerto Rico. She loved to explore new places with her sister and friends, enjoyed supporting the arts, especially theatre and poetry and could play the penny slots for hours. She loved seeing her granddaughters when she could make the trip. Though she spent the last seven years in nursing homes, she kept her humor and charisma and kept asking for her rice and beans.
Despite growing up in poverty and with a modest life, Lourdes was incredibly generous, always sharing what little she could with her neighbors, family, strangers and local charities. She adored her island of Puerto Rico and fiercely instilled the values of love for her country, family, loyalty, education and hard work – she was an inspiration to us all.
Lourdes’ children, Betty and Hector, were the joy of her life. Below is a poem she wrote about them:
Mis Hijos
Son como dos capullos que perfuman mi jardín. Son como la espuma blanca que adorna al mar en su vaivén. Son dos estrellas de mi cielo que a la vez me sirven de luceros para alumbrar lo negro de mi vida; ellos dan aliento a mi tristeza. Son una fuerza con cara de niño y de niña que me hacen mover, correr, llorar, cantar, y reír. Son la inspiración para mis versos, son la pieza de tesorería de mi hogar.
Me enloquecen, me inquietan, y me hacen proferir palabras que no acostumbro en mi lenguaje. Pero al caer la noche cuando ya abatidos están, y el cansancio los domina, sus rostros me pongo a observar, parecen ángeles caídos, que nunca levantarán sus rostros. A veces sonríen, y yo me pongo a pensar, ¿con qué soñarán que en sus sueños se denota felicidad? Entonces me consuelo con ellos y me olvido de todo el desconsuelo que me causan en las horas de lucha, de angustia, y de desvelo, y le doy gracias a Dios por haberme dado en ellos un nuevo aliciente para mi vida.
Una fuerza que me mueve a luchar por lo imposible, un deseo de superación inconcebible, y el orgullo de ser madre y padre a la vez por ellos.
_______
Visiting hours will be held at the P.E. Murray - F.J. Higgins, George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 2000 Centre St. West Roxbury, MA on Saturday, May 3rd from 3-5pm. An additional viewing will be held at Funeraria Jalvin, 32 Calle Manuel Hernandez, Añasco, PR 00610 on May 9th and the funeral and burial will be held in Cementerio Municipal de Anasco, Puerto Rico, on May 10th.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Lourdes’s memory can be made to the Alzheimer's Association here.