After a lengthy, debilitating illness, Maribel Rosales Gill died peacefully at the Melech Hospice House in Temple Terrace, FL on May 31, 2024. Maribel lived an extraordinary life.
Maribel was born and raised in San Salvador, El Salvador. Though her family experienced severe poverty, Maribel was determined to finish her schooling, completing a business diploma by age 17. She began to work for a lawyer, earning income that went to support the family. Then, through a program that enabled young women to emigrate to the United States as child care workers, Maribel headed to New Jersey in 1965. She began caring for three children, sending earnings back to her parents, and studying to learn English. Her determination led to fluent English skills by 1971. That year, she took the oath for United States Citizenship, an honor she appreciated for the rest of her life. Soon after, Maribel began training as a surgical dental assistant and worked for an oral surgery practice for five years.
In 1973, Maribel Rosales and Robert Gill met through a mutual friend. They were married in April and lived the next 51 years sharing life until Maribel's passing on May 31st. After her marriage, Maribel decided to return to the work she had been trained for and was hired as a bi-lingual staff member at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She remained at Rutgers until retirement in 2003. From 2003 until her passing, Maribel and Robert mostly lived in Florida.As varied and interesting as her biography might seem, it was the dedication she had to her family that made her life extraordinary. Through her determined efforts and interventions, Maribel was able to reunite her parents and her brother and his wife and children by sponsoring them to enter the United States with the fulfilled promise to support them during their transitions to citizenship. Once that goal was achieved, in 1995 Maribel spearheaded the effort she and Robert had to adopt two children from Colombia, South America. Their two daughters, Yuri and Diana, completed the wishes Maribel and Robert had to raise children. And those two girls, now successful women, have brought pride, joy, and fulfillment to the Gill family.
Along with her husband, daughters, and daughter-in-law, Maribel is survived by three grandchildren, a brother (Ernesto) and his wife (Mercedes), Gill family members in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, nieces and a nephew, and four great nephews.
As per her wishes, no funeral service will be held. Instead, Maribel's life will be celebrated privately by the immediate family in the near future. The family is indebted to LifePath Hospice for the comforting care Maribel received at the end of her life. For those who might wish to honor and remember Maribel, donations to a hospice might be considered.
Robert Gill - June 12, 2024