Jose Luis Delgado

A precious soul and the man I was privileged to call my father. José Luis Delgado, 74, of Ridgefield Park, NJ was called home to the Lord on May 1, 2019. After a four and half year battle with lung cancer, he passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was the son of late José Luis and Rosa Delgado from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Dad was born on December 30, 1944 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and moved to the Bronx in New York City with his parents at the age of seven. Always a man of honor and incredible character, he served in the U.S. Army stationed in the U.S. and overseas from December 9, 1963 to ‘65 and remained on reserve until December 8, 1969. To no surprise, he received a Good Conduct Medal and commendations for his expertise with military firearms. Known for his charming good looks, magnanimous smile and positive outlook on life even during the most difficult of times, he was never a glass half full or half empty kind of guy, he was the type of guy who was just happy to have a glass…a glass he called his family. He loved deeply and simply and will be missed, loved and admired forevermore by those he is survived by, his beautiful wife of 52 years, Ana, his four children, Joseph and wife Andrea Delgado, José Delgado Jr. and wife Yvette, Lisandra Delgado-Martinez and husband Paul, and Rosa Romualdo and husband Rich. Dad’s cup always ran over with the hugs, kisses and good humor of his 10 grandchildren, Anjelica, Brandon, “twin” Ethan, Cionna, Chanz, Tyler, Logan, Iliana, Isabel, and Amaya, and adorable great grandchild NJ. In spirit, love and respect, he was a father and grandfather to many more who simply called him “dad”...Kassie, Noah, Linda, Mayra, Nini, and too many others to name but you all know who you are - please know you were loved by dad so very much. Dad spent most of his career as a florist and designer of some of the most beautiful arrangements I had ever seen. He worked in Showcase Flower Shop in New York City and later at Wine & Roses in New Milford, NJ. In his later years, he worked as a driver for Total Limousine and met many wonderful individuals, famous athletes, and celebrity actors and chefs, who also felt drawn to his warmth the moment they met him. Although he leaves behind a great void…it should not remain empty…it should be filled and spill over with the love, smiles, generosity, kindness, warmth, wisdom and immense buckets of love that dad shared with us all. José Luis Delgado…Papa, it is with tremendous respect and more love than a lifetime should allow to have the honor of being your daughter, your booboo baby. My heart is broken but will surely be made whole again when I think of you. We love you dad more than you can fathom and you will be greatly missed. When we feel a slight breeze or the flutter of butterfly or feel the rays of the sun, we will know you are there, side by side with God, watching over us. WE ARE ALL YOUR #1 Visitation will be held on Friday, May 3 from 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Volk Leber Funeral Home, 789 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, May 4 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 114 Mount Vernon St., Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 and he will be laid to rest at Maryrest Cemetery, 770 Darlington Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430. A special thank you to the Amedisys Hospice Care of Hackensack team in Hackensack, NJ, Dr. Samyadev Datta from the Center for Pain Management in Hackensack, NJ, Dr. Dushyant Patel from Fairlawn, NJ, and Dr. Harper, Maria and the staff at Hackensack John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack, NJ for your compassion, kindness and support.