Carmen L. Sanchez “Doña Yiya”, 94, a longtime resident of Framingham died on Saturday, December 7, 2024 after a period of declining health. Born in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, she was the daughter of the late Antonio Rosario and Lucia Santana, and the beloved wife of Miguel D. Sanchez.
Carmen arrived in Bethlehem, PA from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico in April 1954. She lived there until 1960 when she moved to the Bronx in New York. In 1966 she came to Framingham following other family members that had already made the move. She became a resident of Ashland in July 2021.
She was a hard worker and held many different jobs throughout the years. “Doña Yiya”, as she was known, had a big heart, especially when it came to helping others. She assisted people who needed help with translations at doctor offices and hospitals, with housing, legal issues, etc. She loved to cook and was always trying to feed people when they came to her home. They say great things come in small packages, well that small package (4’11” tall) was fierce and accomplished a lot in her 94+ years on this earth. She was a member of the Framingham Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church on Hollis Street for almost six decades. She also volunteered at the Framingham Salvation Army and A Place to Turn in Natick.
In 1988 she met and married Miguel D. Sanchéz and shared a great life the last 36 years. Miguel will continue being a very important person in our family. He was a loving, caring and responsible husband. They traveled to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Canada, Las Vegas and many of the US states and were always present at family and friends gatherings.
She was loved and respected by everyone she knew. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren adored her and told her “I love you” every time they saw or spoke to her. They called her “Abuela”, “Grama Hanna and Grama Hanny.” She ingrained in them the importance of God, family, love and respect.
Besides her husband Miguel, Carmen is survived by her daughter, Carmen G. Padilla & her husband Jorge of Ashland, her brother, Eduardo Rosario of Bethlehem, PA, her grandchildren, Melissa Calderon of Framingham, Kimberly Hickey of Hudson, Jonathan Padilla & his wife Jillian of Framingham, Michael E. Hickey of Framingham, and Jason Padilla of Ashland, her great-grandchildren, Kevin & Katiria Aguirre, Alexa & Elijah Duarte, Bryce Messam, and Colette and Caleb Padilla and many, many nieces and nephews.
Carmen was predeceased by her children, Olga I. Hickey & her husband James, and Victor M. Calderon, as well as her siblings, Hipolito Rosario, Zoraida Rosario, Bienvenido Rosario, Magdalena Cardona, Jose A. Rosario,and Carmen Laura Rosario.
Family and friends will honor and remember Carmen’s life by gathering for visiting hours in the McCarthy, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home, 11 Lincoln St. Framingham on Sunday, December 15th from 1-5. Graveside services will be held at Edgell Grove Cemetery, 53 Grove Street, Framingham on Monday morning at 10:00 am.
To share a memory with Carmen’s family, kindly visit www.mccarthyfh.com
Norton, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home