Ruth Lillian Espaillat, 88, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on September 28, 2022. She passed away peacefully in her sleep in the home of her daughter Wanda Espaillat after a brief battle with cancer. She was preceded in death by husband David Onelio Espaillat of the Dominican Republic.
Born in Puerto Rico and formerly of NYC, Ruth had been a New Kent resident for nearly 30 years. She regularly attended Liberty Baptist Church and had frequently done missionary work on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
Ruth is survived by her son Joseph David Espaillat and his wife Theo of Florida; her daughters Wanda Espaillat and Wilma English, and Wilma’s husband Tom, all of New Kent; her grandsons Jonathan Espaillat (and his mother Lucy Espaillat) of Williamsburg and David O. Espaillat of Spotsylvania, and his daughter Brianna and his fianceé Susan Ishman; and her sister Gladys and her husband Rev. José Santos, and their son Rev. Joseph Santos and his wife Maria, all of New Jersey.
A funeral service and celebration of her life will be held at Liberty Baptist Church in New Kent on October 8, 2022, at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be sent to the Liberty Baptist Benevolence Fund or The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
