The Beautiful Life of “La Mamá”
Gloria Porras Rego, our angel, passed on at age 64, surrounded by her family at Jersey Shore University Hospital on January 31, 2021. Gloria was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, where she graduated valedictorian of her high school, Colegio Winston Churchill. She then attended Jorge Tadeo Lozano University and graduated with honors. She brought her Colombian culture with her to the United States when she came here to complete her masters degree at Rutgers University at the age of 22. Her plan was to return to Colombia after getting her degree, but God had other plans. She met the love of her life, Raul, and married him six months later. Together, they lived in Irvington, Elizabeth, Springfield, Toms River, and finally, their dream home by the beach in Spring Lake. Their dreams were fulfilled. Education was so important to Gloria, that her career was a mathematics college professor at Kean University. She guided and formed special bonds with her students. During her time at Kean, she also served as a computer lab coordinator, testing administrator, and an active member of Women into Science and Technology. During her years in Springfield raising her children with Raul, she was extremely dedicated to the schools’ PTA’s, often serving in a leadership role, like president. She was always devoted to her faith; especially during her many years as a parishioner at St. James Parish in Springfield. She was highly respected as a leader, an intellectual, and a woman who could always be counted on for her ingenuity, character, and kind heart.
But most of all, Gloria was a wife, a mother, and an Abuelita. Her family was what filled her every thought and her great big heart. She is survived by the love of her life, Raul, her husband of 40 years. She is also survived by her daughter, Jennifer, Jennifer’s husband, Kenny, and their children, Amy, Dylan, and Lucy, her son, Jonathan, his wife, Liz, and their children, Eva, Gabriel,and Lia, her daughter, Kimberly, and her large circle of extended family and friends.
“We love you forever,
We like you for always,
As long as we’re living,
Our Mami You’ll Be.”