STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Long before the pews were filled, Nilsa Cruz was already at work.
She moved quietly through Faith United Methodist Church in Port Richmond, preparing the altar and making sure everything was ready before the first worshipper arrived. She did not rush, and she did not ask for recognition.
For Cruz, service was not something to be noticed — it was simply something that needed to be done.
That quiet devotion defined Cruz’s life, friends and church members said, and it is how many will remember her.
Her death has left a deep void in a church and community that relied on her presence and generous spirit.
“She was my right hand,” said an emotional Lorna Wilson, the food pantry coordinator at Faith United Methodist Church. “My go-to. She was everything.”
Nilsa Cruz, 66, is remembered for many roles including her tireless volunteer work with the Faith United Methodist Church food pantry in Port Richmond.(Courtesy of Lorna Wilson)
Cruz joined the church around 2022 after Wilson invited her to attend a service. It did not take long for her to become part of the fabric of the congregation. She soon became a member, professing her faith and committing herself to a life of service.
Week after week, Cruz prepared Holy Communion with care, understanding the sacredness of the ritual. She greeted worshippers at the door with warmth, often remembering names and faces.
After services, she stayed behind, collecting hymnals and tidying the sanctuary, making sure the space was ready for the next gathering.
“She believed the small things mattered,” Wilson said. “And she did them with love.”
Much of Cruz’s time was also spent at the church’s food pantry, where her impact reached far beyond the house of worship.
Drawing on years of experience from her work with the West Brighton Pantry for Project Hospitality, Cruz helped organize shelves, stock supplies and prepare for the steady flow of residents seeking assistance.
Volunteers and organizers of the food pantry, including Nilsa Cruz (third from right), took time to pose for a photo with Assemblyman Charles Fall and visitors from Washington D.C. who helped on Aug. 8, 2025.(Advance/SILive.com |Pamela Silvestri)
Her bilingual skills were especially valuable. Cruz helped Spanish-speaking guests navigate the pantry, offering reassurance and dignity. Volunteers often said her calm presence made people feel safe and respected, Wilson explained.
In May, Cruz’s tireless efforts were recognized when she received the Staten Island Council of Churches Community Service Award. Those close to her said she accepted the honor humbly, as she did everything else.
Cruz’s service extended beyond the church. She also worked as a polling clerk with the Board of Elections; a role she took seriously as part of her responsibility to the community she loved.
Cruz was known for her dependability and punctuality, Wilson said. Her goddaughter, Marissa Thompson, 29, whom she had raised following the loss of Thompson’s mother, had been living with Cruz at the time of the crash and was also injured.
“If I said, ‘Meet me at 10,’ they’d meet me at 9:30,” Wilson said. “That was her. Always ready. Always there.”
On Thursday evening, however, she and two other women were crossing Castleton Avenue near Barker Street at around 5:50 p.m., when they were struck by a westbound 2019 gray Ford F-250.
Cruz initially complained of stomach pain and was rushed to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, where she later died from internal injuries. Thompson suffered five broken ribs and a punctured lung, Wilson noted.
Cruz had lost her husband of 24 years, Gumercindo Mercado Cruz, just weeks earlier in late November; he was 81.
For those who knew her, the loss is compounded by the silence she leaves behind — an empty space where she once stood, always ready to help and always ready to serve.
Yet, Wilson says Cruz’s legacy is not found in tragedy, but in the countless acts of kindness she offered without hesitation.
“Nilsa lived her faith through action,” Wilson said. “She served quietly, faithfully and wholeheartedly. It was a blessing for all who worked alongside her and her memory will forever remain in our hearts.”