Patria Palacios

Patria Palacios Vélez entered into eternal rest on August 14, 2026, surrounded by those who loved her at her home in Fort Washington, Maryland. Born on July 28, 1935, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, the first of eleven siblings, her father named her Patria, perhaps knowing that she would grow up to be a beloved matriarch. In 1954, she married Miguel Ángel Piñeiro and raised three children, Sarah, Magda, and Maiqui. Through her example, they grew up to be deeply devoted to their family and to their faith in God.

At the age of 47, she moved to the United States, where she spent the rest of her life dividing her time between her sisters in Florida and her daughter Magda's family in Maryland. Maiqui and his family remained a constant presence in her life, visiting her as often as possible wherever she lived. In the United States, she helped raise another generation of her family with love, deep faith, strength, and her wonderful sense of humor. In her later years, her daughter Sarah was her steadfast companion and devoted caretaker, sharing her life for 25 years. In 2021, Patria and Sarah returned to Maryland, where she spent the last years of her life surrounded by the love of her closest family.

Patria is survived by her sisters Carmen Rodríguez, Laura Rodríguez, and Ada (Genaro) Rodríguez, brothers Francisco (Lucy) Palacios, Otto (Juanita) Palacios and Raúl Palacios, children Sarah Inés Piñeiro, Magdalena (Benigno) Ramos, and Miguel Ángel (Marisol) Piñeiro, grandchildren Mónica Caterina (Heriberto) Ramos, Alex Javier (Christina) Ramos, Naomi Andrea (Steven) Piñeiro Ayala, Nicole Alexandra Piñeiro Ayala, and great-grandchildren, Maya Nicole, Sophia Grace, and Jacob Alexander. Countless other loved ones mourn her passing, as they considered her a second mother, and give thanks that she is now at peace.