Irma Chico

Irma Chico was born on July 23, 1936 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to Manuel Chico De La Rosa and Julia Velasquez Badillo. She was born in the middle of the great depression. However, her father was able to provide well for her and her siblings due to his hard work to keep the family income going. She received her first communion at the downtown Aguadilla Catholic Church and would be an avid church goer for the rest of her life as well as a strong believer in prayer. Just three years after her birth, the Air Force commissioned an Air Force base in her town, marking the beginning of a relationship with the military that would last most of her life. One of the defining features of Irma's life was variety of places she called home. The other defining feature was her spiritually.

After high school, Irma moved to Nebraska to support her late husband, Ted Yuhasz, Jr., during his four year assignment to Offutt Airforce Base. This is where Irma forged her unique cooking style that married American favorites with traditional Puerto Rican cuisine. After Nebraska, Irma moved to Great Falls, Montana where she would live seven years in support of Ted's assignment to Malstrom Air Force Base. Her next military assignment was in Modesto, CA. There she supported Ted's appointment to Castle Air Force Base. By the time she arrived in California she had given birth to all six of her loving children: five girls and one boy. She adored her children to the end.

After Modesto, she returned to Puerto Rico for a few years, but the calling to be near an Air Force base came again when she moved to Dover, Delaware. When Irma first moved to Dover, it marked the first time she moved near a military installation to support her children. The time to move came again, and this time it was San Diego, CA to be near her youngest child, who was in the middle a ten year Navy career. When her youngest moved to Central, FL in 2001 she soon followed him and to her final resting place, Winter Park, Florida.

Besides her devotion to her children and cooking, Irma was devoted to sewing, reading, the ocean and spiritually; God and Jesus above all. She lived her life always looking to serve others who were in need. No matter how little she had, she would give what she had to someone who needed it more. She had hundreds of admirers at the time of her passing.

She passed away on the morning of March 29, 2020 in the company of her youngest son. She is survived by her six children: Nancy, Rebecca, Karen, Julie, Cynthia and David; her 9 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren. She was formally married to Danny Mulvihill and Ted Yuhasz Jr. both who predeceased her. She is also survived by her youngest brother, Manuel Chico Jr.

Due to the current environment surrounding the coronavirus, services are private.

Burial will take place in Pineywood Cemetery, Winter Park, FL.

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