Obituary of Evangelina Garrido

Evangelina Busto-Pina Garrido, 80, of Abington, PA, died April 21, 2022. 

Evy was the beloved wife for 42 years of Jose A. “Pepin” Garrido, who predeceased her in 2012. Devoted mother of Mauricio J. Garrido (Louisa) of Jenkintown, PA, Jose A. Garrido, Jr. (Andrea) of South Orange, NJ and her adored granddaughters Alexa, Julia, Lucy and Annalise Garrido. She is also survived by her beloved sisters Rosa Busto-Pina Aguado (Fernando) and Rev. Mercedes Busto (William Jennings) and sister and brother-in-law Angela and Manuel Rodriguez. She was aunt to Tony, Fernando and Sofia Crespo, Carolina Hernandez and Karen Brewer, Sandra Rodriguez and Liz Rodriguez.  She was predeceased by her parents Fernando Luis Busto and Mercedes Pina de Busto and her aunt Rosa Pina de Torres. 

Born in Havana, Cuba, Evangelina attended the Academy of Mount Saint Vincent in Tuxedo Park, NY. In 1960, she came to Miami, Florida with her sisters and was cared for by her aunt and uncle Rosa and Arturo Torres. She received an undergraduate degree from Florida International University and a Masters from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.  

Evy loved the beach, learning, music, laughing and her husband Jose A. “Pepin” Garrido, whom she married in 1970.  She was a proud and committed mother to her sons Mauricio and Jose. Education was “the lightest luggage” one could carry in her experience, and she bravely moved her young family north to study at Columbia University and eventually settled in verdant Maplewood, New Jersey, where she lived from 1985-2012.  She worked at MetLife for over twenty years, and finished her career as a teacher - as a Spanish teacher at both Livingston and Columbia High Schools, and as an adjunct professor of Spanish literature and composition at Kean University. She also taught at Essex County College in Newark, The New School and Seton Hall University. She also served as the President of the League of Women Voters in Maplewood. 

The family wishes to acknowledge the love and care shown to Evy by the staff at Brookside Health in Roslyn, PA.  Their unwavering kindness helped ease her final years. 

Her spirit was always adventurous, often resulting in impromptu faraway weekend car trips with resolve announcing “¡Nunca se escribió nada de los cobardes!” (Nothing was ever written about cowards!).Her laugh, beauty and enthusiasm will remain in our hearts. 

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes to plant a tree in memory of Evy and Pepin Garrido in the Maplewood Memorial Park Conservancy.  If you would like to contribute, please donate on their website (click the link below) and be sure to add a note that it is in memory of Evy.  Thank you! 

http://maplewoodmemorialparkconservancy.org/about/