Julia (Montes) Cruz

Julia Montes Díaz de Cruz, of Port Chester, N.Y., died January 27 – one day before her 97th birthday – at the Westchester Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing, Mount Vernon, N.Y. 

Julia was born in Cabañas, Pinar del Río, Cuba, in 1927. She was the thirteenth of fourteen children born to the late Francisco Montes Cuervo and María Jacinta Díaz Garona. 

When she was 9, her family moved to the Lawton section of Havana, where she grew up.

 She was married October 6, 1951, to Benigno Cruz Brito, who died in 2009. They had one child.

 In 1957, Julia and her then-two-year-old daughter, Martha, moved to New York to join Benigno, who had emigrated seven months earlier. She earned the money for the trip when she told her story on the Cuban television program, Reina por un Día (Queen for a Day).

 After arriving in New York, Julia worked as a seamstress in New York’s Fashion District, until she retired in 1991.  She and her family lived in Manhattan and Queens before settling in Port Chester.

 She was predeceased by all her siblings.

 Julia is survived by her daughter, the Rev. Dr. Martha M. Cruz, and son-in-law Philip E. Jenks; six grandchildren and their spouses: William S. Cruzgriffith (Dana); Katherine R. Cruz-Griffith; Victoria L. Wilson (Phabion); Lauren B. Jenks (Matthew); Dr. Angela C. Jenks (Douglas); and Elita J.F. Jenks (Patrick); and six great grandchildren: Beny, Lily, Philip, Charlie, Nora, and Sammy. She is also survived by many generations of nieces and nephews.

 Visitation will be Tuesday, January 30, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Craft Memorial Home in Port Chester.

 The funeral service will be January 31 at 10 a.m., followed by interment at Greenwood Union Cemetery, Rye, N.Y.

 Contributions in Julia’s memory may be made to the Sisters of Divine Compassion, 52 North Broadway, White Plains, N.Y.; or to the Child Care Center of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 761 King Street, Rye Brook, N.Y. 10573.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Julia (Montes) Cruz, please visit our floral store.