August, 2020
With the heaviest of hearts, we inform our Hermandad that one of our Founding Fathers, Edwin Rivera, has passed away.
Hermano Edwin Rivera unexpectedly passed on August 1, 2020. He was a leader through example and a consistently driven and upbeat person who always put the needs of others first. What makes this news harder to bear is that Hermano Edwin participated in our virtual national convention the week earlier, actively recounting the formation of La Unidad Latina, listening attentively to our State of La Fraternidad address and enthusiastically expressing the love for the fraternity he helped create.
During convention, Hermano Edwin was asked what was one of his proudest moments for the fraternity he helped found and his response was a reflection of the gentle and kind man many grew to love. Hermano Edwin responded, “The proudest moment I have is knowing that I am an Hermano to over 3,000 men who believe in the power of our community.”
Hermano Edwin is survived by a loving wife of 34 years, Leonor, two sons Sean & Jordan, his father Edwin S. and sisters Eileen, Sandra, Mildred, Caroline and Suzanne.
Edwin was a caring father, amazing husband, wonderful brother, dedicated son and inspiring friend. He found time to lead innovation and engineering efforts with Delphi Technologies, worked with his wife in Worldwide Marriage Encounter (wwme.org) and mentored local FIRST robotics teams and organizations.
In addition to the foundation he laid for La Fraternidad, Hermano Edwin was involved as a board member with Ibero-American Action League helping to elevate underserved communities in the Rochester area. He and his wife also wrote a monthly marriage blog for the Catholic Courier called To Have and To Hold at https://catholiccourier.com/viewpoints/blogs/to-have-and-to-hold.
With social distancing still enforced, his celebration of life service will be held at St. John of Rochester Church on August 7th at 10:00 AM ET and the service will be live streamed at https://www.stjohnfairport.org/sjr-online. We encourage our entire Hermandad to log in and express our condolences to his wife and family.
Hermano Edwin: You will be missed, and we honor you as we often do…
“I looked to the sky, and what did I see, I saw the 13-Knights looking down at me! They took my hand and said understand, you are a brother like no other, you’re a LAMBDA MAN!”
La Unidad Para Siempre, Hermano Edwin! We will forever honor your memory and those of Hermanos past and future who are inducted into the chapter that honors La Eternidad – Pi Sigma! PARA SIEMPRE!!!
If you would like to share any memories, pictures, or stories about Hermano Edwin, please forward those gestures to EdRiveraMemories@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to St. John of Rochester Church or to any of the other non-profits Hermano Ed was involved with listed below. Please mark the donation as Ed Rivera Memorial.
Worldwide Marriage Encounter: wwme.org
St. John of Rochester Church: www.stjohnfairport.org
FIRST Robotics: www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc