Obituary of Leonor T Rivera-Calimlim
Dr. Leonor T. Rivera-Calimlim, age 92, passed away on Monday, December 2, 2019 at her home in Bridgewater, NJ. She was born in Manila, she was raised in the Philippines by parents Rosendo and Consuelo Rivera.
Leonor earned her Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Santo Thomas. She taught there before being awarded the US State Department, Agency for International Development, Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology at the Indiana University Medical Center between 1963-1965. In 1969, Leonor and her family immigrated to the US where she was a Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. She was then invited to join the Medical Faculty at The University of Rochester Medical School where she taught for 22 years, and was loved by her students and respected by her peers. Often the only woman in her department, Leonor worked hard to advance her career in a male dominated field. She was bestowed the Professor Emeritus honor when she retired. With all her career acomplishments, she was most passionate about being a mother and a wife and she successfully balanced her career & family life. She was a great cook, an expert seamstress and a beautiful piano player.
After retiring in 1994, she became a certified financial planner and used this knowledge to help her friends and family. Leonor was a mentor to friends and family members, a loyal caring friend and the family’s driving force.
She is predeceased by her husband Jose Calimlim, MD.
She is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Calimlim-Decker, R.N and Robert Decker (deceased), Grace Calimlim, M.D. and Michael MacDonald, son Robert Calimlim M.D and Caroline A. Calimlim and two grandchildren: Robert Michael and Christine Carolyn. She is also survived by her sister Natividad Smith and her husband Gary.
A visitation will be held on Friday, December 6th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung, NJ. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, December 7th at Blessed Sacrement Church in Martinsville, NJ at 10:00 a.m., followed by cremation at Somerset Hills Memorial Park.
