Ricardina Lozano Omlie

Ricardina Lozano Omlie, 96, died Saturday, October 29, 2022.

As the daughter of Rosa Cacho Lozano and Ricardo Lozano, she grew up in Lima, Peru. While studying to be a registered nurse, she met Austin Peter Omlie, an officer in the United States Merchant Marine. The two fell in love and after corresponding for six years were married in 1948 upon coming to the United States.

As a young bride residing in New York, she taught herself to speak and read English. She practiced her profession for a short time at Brooklyn College Hospital as well as Southside Hospital on Long Island. She devotedly raised her three children and lived for many years in North Babylon, Long Island, New York. Widowed in 1975, she departed New York in 1988 and subsequently lived in Lancaster, CA and Austin, TX. For the last four years, she resided with her youngest daughter in Pelzer, South Carolina.

Rica had a profound love for this country and had become a proud United States citizen in 1973. She was an avid reader of American history and was exceptionally fond of anything associated with the United States Military Academy at West Point. Her dedication to “The Corps” was cherished by her son, son-in-law (Bruce), nephew (Bruce) and countless other graduates of the “Long Gray Line” that came to know her over the past five decades.

Rica is survived by her three children and their spouses, Sandy and Bruce Wells of Tyler, TX; Austin and Samantha Omlie of Madison, AL; and Rica Rose and Dale Conover of Pelzer, SC. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Robert, Bruce, and Christopher Wells, Aurora Omlie and Alyssa Martin. Additionally, she was loved by twelve great-grandchildren, Christopher Wells, Jr., Jonathan Wells, Kyle Wells, David Wells, Emily Wells, Madeline Rose Wells, Vivian Wells, Eleanor Wells, Frances Wells, Robert Wells, Patrick Wells, and Riley Baile.

A funeral service will be held at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Southeast Chapel, on Monday, October 31, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. Visitation will follow the service from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. The graveside service will be held on Friday, November 4, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. in Rosedale Cemetery in Linden, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, you may honor Ricardina’s life with a donation to either the MD Anderson Cancer Foundation by visiting https://secure3.convio.net/mdacc/site/TR/DIY/General?pg=entry&fr_id=1543 or to the St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital at https://stjude.org/donatetoday.

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