Carmen Arminda “Mindy” Burdi, age 95 of Newton passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at Overlook Medical Center Summit, NJ following a brief illness. Born in 1926 and raised in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Carmen moved to Miami, FL in the mid-1950s and then to NYC in 1960 where she lived in Lower Manhattan until 1971. She then moved to the area known as Five Points in Stillwater, NJ until 1979 when she and her family relocated to Newton, NJ. She has been a Newton resident since 1979.
Daughter of the late Faustino Diaz Pacheco and Soledad Hernandez Ruiz, young Carmen was voted Miss Democracy in her hometown, and worked briefly as a model in her youth. She was a teller with Banco Popular and following her move to Manhattan, she worked as a social worker.
Mrs. Burdi earned her Associates Degree in Puerto Rico. She studied and received her Certified Nurses Aid (CNA) certification in the 1980s. She began her nurses aid career at the Barn Hill Care Center in Newton and later at the Sussex County Homestead where she was employed for seventeen years before her retirement in 1998. Following her retirement, Carmen spent much of her time at Camp Iliff in Newton where she was well known as “Grandma Mindy” and beloved by all.
A faithful Catholic and parishioner of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Roman Catholic Church in Swartswood, Carmen was a loving, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great grandmother, sister and friend to many. A philanthropist at heart, Mindy was always supporting her favorite charities. She loved a good shopping trip, decorating, a great sense of humor, her friends and a good meal but above all, she loved and cherished spending time with her son, two daughters and their families.
Carmen was predeceased by her beloved husband Rocco Ralph Burdi in 2006, her sisters Zulima Aguayo and Brunilda Almaida Diaz as well as her brothers, Ernesto “Tito” and Elio Diaz. She is survived in life by her son Raul Pastrana and her daughters Vanessa and her husband George R. Compton, Theresa and her husband Andrew Iliff all of Newton. Also surviving are her grandchildren Jessica, Raul, Justin, Thatcher, Ashley and Mason as well as her six great grandchildren and a great-great granddaughter.
Visitation will be held Sunday Oct. 9, 2022, from 1-3 and 5-7 p.m. in the Iliff-Ruggiero Funeral Home #156 Main St. (Rt. 206) Newton, NJ 07860. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Monday October 10, 2022 at 10 a.m. in the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church #203 Newton Swartswood Road Swartswood, NJ 07877. Interment will immediately follow in the Stillwater Cemetery #926 Maple Ave Stillwater, NJ 07860. Online condolences through www.iliff-ruggierofuneralhome.com