Ricardo Mejias Diaz

Ricardo Socorro Mejías Díaz, was born on 17 December 1958 to Delia Matilde Diaz and Daniel “el cabezón” Mejías in Ponce, Puerto Rico.  Ricky, as he was known among this family, was the seventh of eight children born to the couple.

Around age 4 his whole family moved to New York and after a brief stint in the Bronx, they set roots in Brooklyn’s Coney Island. He attended PS 288, Mark Twain JH, and William E Grady HS. 

A very quiet boy, Ricky was notorious for his drawing and painting—a Mejías Díaz children trade—and love for martial arts movies which were an emblem of the 1970’s in NYC thanks to Bruce Lee.  Still, as an adult, you could find him watching Lee’s films and many other heroes of the genre no matter how many times he had seen them.  Although he also loved Marvel and DC heroes, it was Bruce who was his ultimate favorite.

He had the opportunity to train in many vocational programs.  Electronics and auto mechanics being his favorites.  The one that gave him the most joy was to become an Auto Service Technician.  Within that field he specialized in repairing school buses.  He was proud of earning every single tool during this training.  However, disillusionment came when these tools were stolen from the shop where he had been assigned to work.  Notwithstanding his love for this trained skill was such that he would have fine-tuned and changed the oil in everyone’s car.  All he needed was his own low-profile floor jacks and wheel ramps!  Afterwards, he would only tinker with bicycles he found put on the curb for the trash to take.  He became somewhat of a “quincallero” thinking he surely could fix these like-bikes and other electronics items he stumbled on his walks.

Regarding his walks, they were exaggeratingly long!  He walked everywhere and in double-digit miles.  Except for rain, for obvious reasons, he would walk in all kinds of weather!  Often, he had to be cautioned by his sisters on heat-wave advisories not to do such long walks.

He loved fishing and combined the two in walking long distances to find the best place to fish.  As of late his favorite place was the Ocean Breeze Fishing Pier off the Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk on South Beach in Staten Island.  Even when he was not fishing, he would wake up and leave in the summer shortly after dawn to start his walk to the pier.  He would then walk back from the pier to his girlfriend Lisette’s house to have her join him or just to stroll away together the boardwalk.

In late May Ricardo EMT’s rushed him from Dongan Hills station to Northwell’s Staten Island University Hospital after feeling a shortness of breath that had him collapsed.  The doctors found he had three clogged arteries and a seriously weak heart:  Basically he was showing signs of congestive heart failure.  It was touted as a “miracle” that he did not show any other signs during any of his hospital admissions or at his sister’s house.  His doctors suggested open heart surgery to help him.  Unfortunately, the lack of bedside manner combined with the stubbornness and temperament—characteristics of the Mejías Díaz children—had him release himself from care at least three times.  Upon being pressed with the seriousness of his condition, he checked himself back into hospital in late July.  He was then put under medication and strict instructions for surgery readiness, which included smoking cessation to get his body ready.  He complied with the medications taking them along with him to not miss a dosage and also—however begrudgingly—had quit smoking.

On Sunday, 27 of August 2023 Ricky’s heart showed signs of his illness.  A call to 911 was made, and he was able to tell the EMT’s he had trouble breathing, but he lost consciousness shortly after telling them he started feeling chest pains.  He passed away minutes later.

He is survived by his sisters Yoly, Elsie, Lucy, Delia, Lourdes, María; and half-siblings José Luis, Gladys, Lydia, and Alicia; cousins Marina, Raquel, Daniel, Patricia, Sharon, Shirley, Junior, Eduardo, Patricia, Luis, Eduardo, Mario, Christopher, et al; and combination of over 100 nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, great-grandnephews, and great-grandnieces—maybe more!

He was very devoted to the Virgin Mary, and we commend him to Her so he may he rest in the Peace and the Glory of Christ, our Lord and Savior.  ¡Amén!