Carmen Soto Takacs was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico on January 21, 1938, the daughter of Sgt. Juan Soto who worked for the army for 23 years, and Monserrate Vazquez, a housewife. Being the 3rd child in a family of 3 boys and 2 girls, she learned the value of compromise and her quiet and gentle spirit made her the person her brothers and sister counted on. Family was always her first priority. She followed her father’s footsteps and joined the army as a registered nurse and became a 1st lieutenant.

Her first assignment was in Ft Sam Houston, Texas where she caught the eye of a handsome Staff Sergeant Joseph Takacs.

There was something special about this Latin beauty that caused Joe to be willing to break the rule about the enlisted and officers not being allowed to fraternize. The first date they had was at a place called Pigstand in San Antonio. Despite the name of the restaurant Carmen wasn’t put off and there were several other dates. In fact within a couple of years Carmen was smitten and they had a small beautiful wedding in Puerto Rico.

They soon had children. Yolanda was first and then John came one year later. Jimmy followed 8 years after that because poor Carmen suffered from horrible morning sickness with all her pregnancies. But that didn’t stop her from loving her children and giving her all to raise them and support them in the best way she knew how. She had a deep desire for her kids to learn more about her Latin heritage so when Joe had the opportunity to work with the American Embassy in Lima, Peru, she was excited to go. That began a 9 year adventure in Peru and Chile. During those years Carmen also worked as the embassy nurse at the American embassy. Nursing was always close to her heart. The children learned Spanish and to respect and love their heritage which also included a good mix of Hungarian because of Joe.

After that they ended up in California where Carmen had the opportunity to get her Masters in Geriatric Nursing and continue her passion of helping patients. They loved her so much that she was offered a job at the VA hospital in San Jose and even offered the opportunity to pursue a PhD at Stanford. But family was always more important to her than a career so when she had the opportunity to help her son John with his clinic it was natural that she step in to help and then when Joe got transferred to Virginia she said goodbye to California and started a new adventure in Virginia.

As always, nursing was close to her heart and she continued nursing by working as a volunteer nurse with the Volunteer Home Healthcare Council on Aging. She developed close relationships with her patients. They loved her sweet gentleness. Joe and Carmen enjoyed many beautiful years in Virginia and had many dear friends there.

In 2011 when Joe retired they moved to Florida to enjoy weather that reminded Carmen of Puerto Rico. Virginia was a bit too cold for her. Carmen insisted on a having a big house to accommodate all the family that came to visit, including 9 grandchildren. She wanted everyone close so she could feed them all. Carmen loved to cook. And all the family loved how she made Puerto Rican food.

These last few months Joe noticed Carmen had memory problems and he took Carmen to a neurologist. But nothing was conclusive. At the same time at her annual check-up her family doctor praised her health and said she was as healthy as a 42 year old. It came as a shock that within a month later she became bedridden and could not longer recognize anyone. A second MRI revealed a brain tumor on her cerebellum and doctors believe that was the cause of her deterioration.

Carmen passed away peacefully on the morning of November 14th, 2020 after 11 days in hospice care. She leaves behind her husband Joe. They had been married 57 precious years. She also leaves behind her 3 children, Yolanda, John and Jimmy. And 9 grandchildren. We miss her more than words can say.