Angela Maria Zapata

Angela Maria Zapata Agudo was born in Medellin, Columbia on December 4, 1927. Her parents were Tobias Zapata and Maria Agudo. She had 9 siblings of which she was the seventh child. In 1940 she began her studies in primary and later secondary school at the Columbia-Venezuelan Institute, a school which still exists. In 1953, she finished her secondary studies. She was selected by the director to be given a distinguished student award because of her high academic achievements. Because of her determination and desire to teach, she was appointed as a full time teacher of all grades at "El Noral", the primary school at the Columbia-Venezuelan institute. Later she was transferred to the Seventh-day Adventist elementary school in the city of Cali. In 1959, with the desire to study nursing, Angela went to the city of Nuevo Leon, Mexico to study at Montemorelos University. In 1961, she graduated as a nurse and traveled to Ecuador where she worked for an Adventist clinic until 1968 when she received a call from the Interamerican Division to work as a nurse in Bella Vista Hospital, where she remained for 23 years. Angela brought her niece Sarita to Puerto Rico in 1976 to live with her. They have been together since, along with Sarita's son Danielito as she called him, until the moment of her death. In 1995, after retiring from Bella Vista Hospital in Mayaquez, PR, Angela joined Maranatha missions to work as a volunteer missionary, traveling to many countries for 8 or 9 years. She always had a willing and noble disposition to serve humanity, and an untiring dedication for missionary work. She could always be heard to say "Let no day pass without me coming in contact with someone to talk to them about Jesus". She felt a deep love for people and would always give a helping hand to those in need. She donated her own family land to build a church in her home town. Her personal time was spent in reading God's word and books of the Spirit of Prophecy and working in her garden. She was passionate about water sports like swimming and scuba diving. Being in nature was enjoyable to her, long walks, hiking and running to keep herself in good shape was part of her daily life. Music was among her upbringing. She learned to play the piano and later on taught piano to beginners as a hobby. Angela was an avid Chinese checker player as well as other board games. She was good at everything she put her mind to including cooking healthy vegetarian meals. On August 31, 2015 at 10:05 in Gainesville, FL, sister Angela Zapata breathed her last breath and now awaits the Lord's return, when she will hear the trumpet sound, and rise from her grave to meet her Saviour.

Angela Maria Zapata

September 4, 2015