On April 11, hundreds showed up at the Church of the Annunciation in Northwest Washington to pay tribute to the personal assistant to former First Lady Jackeline Kennedy. Ms. Paredes died on March 18th, at the age of 90.
Ms. Prodivencia Ferrera Paredes was born on June 9, 1924 in the Dominican Republic. She came to Washington in 1948 as a staffer with the Dominican Ambassador. In 1952 Ms. Paredes started a professional relationship with the Kennedy Family that would last decades, and a friendship that lasted a lifetime.
At her memorial service, many showed up to recount memories and fun times they had enjoyed with Ms. Paredes, but above all, they showed up to pay tribute to a great lady.
Kennedy family members paid tribute by attending her memorial and speaking about her. President Barack Obama and the President of the Dominican Republic sent letters of condolences that were read to family members and guests at her memorial. The Dominican Embassy in Washington, through the Ambassador, also paid tribute to Ms. Paredes. And so did the city. Washington DC issued two Resolutions honoring Ms. Paredes’ legacy. The DC City council issued a Resolution cited as “The Providencia F. Paredes Recognition Resolution of 2015,” honoring one of Washington’s finest citizens.
