Vilma Cosme

It is with the heaviest of hearts that the Cosme and Chang Family announce the passing of their beloved, brave, selfless, and Myasthenia Gravis Warrior, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, sister and friend, Vilma Leandra Cosme Sandoval. Vilma, who was 66 and lived in Closter, New Jersey, passed away on February 1, 2023, after fighting a 1.5-year battle with Myasthenia Gravis. She took her last breath with her children by her side. Vilma was born on July 22, 1956 to Demetrio and Julia Sandoval in Lima, Peru, where she was one of 7 children. She had some of her greatest youthful memories of her attending her high school in Miraflores. In addition to her schooling, she dedicated a great amount of time as the right-hand person in her parents’ business. This is where she obtained her strong work ethics, which she learned at the tender age of 7 years old. At 7 years old, Vilma had a stronger work ethic than most adults, waking up at 4am to accompany her mom to pick up merchandise. She was so very proud of these moments where she was there for her parents and felt she fulfilled her duties as a daughter, before leaving them in Peru. This is where she obtained her true work ethic and strong family values. At 23 years old, she immigrated to the United States with her son, Jose Martin Cosme, and a group of other family members after her then husband, Jose Luis Cosme, had a 1-year start in the states. Their voyage was quite the journey as they made their way across the border via Mexico. Vilma would always tell everyone that 2-year-old Jose Martin annoyed everyone throughout the trip and that they almost got caught by the border police with her son’s continuous nags for orange juice. Vilma, Jose Martin and Jose Luis moved in with family members inPaterson, NJ where Vilma worked numerous manual laborious jobs - never complaining and at times working 2-3 shifts at a time, always upholding her strong work ethics. With Vilma and Jose Luis’ hard work, they purchased their first home in Paterson, New Jersey, where they humbly welcomed into their home, numerous family members who also immigrated to the United States. Vilma always believed in helping others without ever looking for anything in return. She would say “haz el bien sin mirar a quien”. She lived by those words, every single dayof her life. Later, the second love of Vilma’s life was born, her daughter, her princess, Marsha. Vilma instilled in her son, Jose Martin, to always protect and watch over his little sister. A few years after Marsha was born, the family moved to Bergenfield, NJ where they lived for numerous years. In this home, we welcomed more family members like her little sisters as well as sister-in-law and brother-in-law. Vilma was the type of woman that would wake up at 5am andcook her family meals and have them prepped for the day prior to leaving for work. Always committed to her family, her children first. She also instilled in her family the greatest values and responsibilities of family love and sacrifice, respect and equality amongst all. That meant that everyone cooked and cleaned the house - no questions. This is where she began to get her reputation as a food dictator and instilled the notion of always “striving for the best” when performing any action, especially cooking. In her forties, the family moved to Closter where Vilma was so proud to have moved knowing that her daughter would obtain a better education and have an opportunity for a brighter future. Again, always striving to give the best to her children, placing her family before her, regardless of how much more commute time and higher cost of living the move increased. In Closter, Vilma loved participating in Marsha’s activities and in particular the marching band competitions. She was so proud to see her daughter, playing in the band, often in other schools/venues. She loved attending Marsha’s musical performances, concerts and sporting events, especially soccer. You could always single out Vilma in the crowd because she was the smallest and loudest woman in the crowd cheering with her famous 2-finger whistle shouting “you got it Marshita”, “patea duro”. After Closter, the family moved around throughout several towns, and Vilma had the opportunity of being grandmother / mother to her grandchildren while also instilling the same family values - again always placing her grandchildren before her. Vilma’s children were her first loves, but her grandchildren became her life. When she was in good health, Vilma would go to many if not all of Jie and Jade’s sporting events near and far. And those same fiery and loud cheers could be heard from the stands any time she attended her grandchildren’s games. Vilma’s other passion was her career. She started in the education field over 26 years ago, a large portion of those years were with Special Education children. She would always have fantastic stories to tell us about her kids, how touched and fortunate she was to work with kids in need. She had a true passion for her job, and her students became her extended family. Vilma was happy to share her students’ progress and celebrate their accomplishments. Vilma was also very blessed tohave such great colleagues from work. Vilma retired as a Personal Aide for Autistic Kindergarten children at Dale Avenue School and frequently received praise from the teachers she worked with, not to mention her 5-year streak of perfect attendance of what she was very proud of. If not for her generalized Myasthenia Gravis Diagnosis, Vilma would have kept working in Paterson Public Schools. In her retirement, she spent her days fighting Myasthenia Gravis, going to Physical Therapy, spending time with her loving family, and sunbathing with her grand-dog, Teddy, who brought a tremendous amount of joy to her life and home. Vilma loved spending time in her backyard, observing nature and caring for her plants. She was truly a selfless mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, friend, sister, ex-wife, colleague. Vilma always taught her children and grandchildren to show their love in action and not just with words, and that is exactly what her family will try to uphold throughout their lives. Vilma was a loyal parishioner of her congregation, Church of God The Synagogue, where she attended Sunday after Sunday. Vilma leaves behind two grandchildren - Jie Xavier Chang and Jade Lin Chang, grand-dog – Teddy Chang, two children - Jose Martin Cosme and Marsha Chang, son-in-law – Felix Chang, one brother – Javier Sandoval, four sisters – Etelbina Rivera, Teresa Robles, Ofelia Salgado and Mary Sandoval, as well as beloved, Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, other Family, Friends and Colleagues. Vilma is predeceased by her parents, Demetrio and Julia Sandoval, as well as her older brother, Walter Sandoval. She was a source of strength and light to her family and friends and will be sorely missed.

Vilma Cosme

July 22, 1956 - February 1, 2023