Mirtha Ponce passed away peacefully on September 25, 2026. She was born on October 31, 1934, in San Manuel, Cuba, to a family of nine siblings. She and her husband Holmes raised their two children, Holmes Manuel and Rosa María, in Puerto Padre. After their son emigrated to Belgium, the rest of the family left Cuba in the Mariel Boatlift of 1980. They settled in Queens, New York, and lived there many happy years, until Holmes senior died in 2003. Mirtha then moved to Harrison, New Jersey, where she lived with Rosa María.
Family and friends will miss Mirtha for her warm, loving heart and quick Cuban wit. She loved going out, enjoying life, and laughing. For Rosa María, Mirtha was the best mother a daughter could ask for. Her nietas americanas will remember her as their “Abuelita” who cared for them when they were small.
Mirtha is survived by her brother Manuel Martínez (Long Island, New York), her daughter Rosa María Ponce (Harrison, NJ), her son Holmes Manuel Ponce and his wife Zoe (Spain), her granddaughter Cheyla, and her two great-grandchildren, Axel and Enzo Imani (Belgium), as well as many nieces and nephews in Cuba and the United States.