Julia Hidalgo

* Paraprofessional
* PS 811 The Mickey Mantle School, Manhattan

Julia Hidalgo, a paraprofessional at PS 811 The Mickey Mantle School, is remembered by colleagues as someone who cared about her students and coworkers at the District 75 school in Manhattan.

“Julia gave it her all,” said Allister Johnson, chapter leader at the school, where Julia worked for 15 years. “She had a big heart and cared about the kids she worked with.”

Julia died on April 16. She was 53.

“I knew Julia before she was a paraprofessional because I taught her nephew when I first started teaching in high school,” Johnson said. “Her passing for me is more than just a coworker passing away.”

A colleague whose son died several years ago remembered Julia’s kindness during that dark period of her life. “We were friends. Our daughters grew up together,” said the woman, who did not want to be named. “After my son died, I was suicidal. She came by every morning to fix me something to eat and to give me emotional support. In school, she was the same way, selfless.”

Vivian Pino said her aunt “was dedicated to her job and was very proud to represent both her position and her job site.”

“She was always finding a child to give love and guidance to, simply because she could, never because she was asked to,” Pino said.

Julia would make it a point to learn what made someone happy, “so she could bring it directly to them,” said Pino. That meant learning to crochet, so she could make clothing in their favorite colors for her sisters and her grandnieces and grandnephews, or learning to cook someone’s favorite meal, “just to see them smile and know she had a part in it.” If she couldn’t cook it herself, she got it wherever she could find it, Pino said.

Julia is survived by her husband, John; her daughter, Nicole; and her granddaughter, Rosabella.

Condolences may be sent to Vmp1234@gmail.com.