Eloy D Hernandez

Eloy Domingo Hernández was born on a family farm in La Provincia de La Habana, Cuba on December 20, 1927, and he passed peacefully at his home of 52 years in Bloomfield, NJ on September 6, 2023. Eloy was born into a family of 11 brothers and sisters who worked the farm in their youth. Eloy always dreamed of a life in America. He rode his pony back and forth from the farm to the city for English classes. Eloy ended up working for the Avon Corporation, which had a manufacturing facility in Cuba. One day while visiting a friend in the city, Eloy met the love of his life, a beautiful tenant who lived with her mother in his friend’s apartment building. He married her, Ofelia Cecilia González, on October 20, 1961. Shortly afterwards, Eloy needed to escape Cuba abruptly as a political asylum-seeker. He needed to leave his wife and his newborn son behind, but always had a plan to get them out of Cuba, Eloy ended up in Miami, FL, where he continued to work for Avon in its U.S. operations. He saved all of his earnings to bring his wife and son to the U.S.A. After almost two years of forced separation, the new family was reunited and resettled in Bloomfield, NJ, in 1964 when Eloy found a job with Schering-Plough Corporation. The trio proudly earned their U.S. Citizenship in 1969. Eloy ended up working for Schering-Plough for the rest of his working years until his retirement as a Maintenance Foreman in 1994. Eloy was predeceased by his beloved wife Ofelia in 2017. He is survived by 3 children: Luís Eduardo (Amy S. Smith), Maira Ofelia (Joseph J. Kinloch), and Eloy Jesús (Anthony M. Brien). He leaves behind 4 proud grandchildren: Jordan M. Hernández, Olivia G. Kinloch, Matthew J. Kinloch, and Tyler W. Hernández. From annual family vacations to dear old “Aunt Peg’s” camp on Cumberland Head on Lake Champlain, to community activities with his church family from the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green, through countless dinner parties and holiday celebrations with family and friends, to everyday living, Eloy was a gregarious, humorous, generous, and light-filled gentleman who left everybody he encountered with a smile. He will be sorely missed by so many, but his spirit of positivity will comfort all. The visitation is on Friday 09/08 4:00 PM-8 PM at Van Tassel Funeral Home, 337 Belleville Ave, Bloomfield, NJ. Funeral services will be held on Sat. 9/9 at 10:00 AM at the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green in Bloomfield followed by the burial at Glendale Cemetery, Bloomfield, NJ. After Church World Service (CWS) helped him so much to build a new life in America, Eloy later repaid the kindness with his lifelong service to the elderly in need. For this reason, in lieu of flowers the family asks that you consider a donation instead to CWS https://cwsglobal.org/ or the Bloomfield Church on the Green and its community Food Pantry http://bpcog.org./

Eloy D Hernandez

December 20, 1927 - September 6, 2023