Resident of Saratoga

Nidia Margarita Edfelt, much loved sibling, aunt, friend and educator, passed on Monday October 14, 2024. To her relatives and friends in Argentina she was Margarita; to friends and acquaintances abroad she was Nidia. Born October 27, 1941 to Alberto and Maria (Gonzalez) Boratti in Rosario, Argentina, she grew up in Posadas (capitol of Misiones province) where her father began an Ob-Gyn medical practice in the early 1940’s. Over time, this grew into a diversified medical clinic (Sanatorio Boratti) directed by her brother Roberto.

In her youth and beyond, Nidia was popular and remembered for her positive personal qualities. Her high school graduating class voted her “mejor compañera” (most personable) classmate. She was kind, empathetic, generous, unpretentious, and truly well-liked. Her ample rolodex records were testimony to enduring relationships established in the U.S. and from her considerable travel abroad. She birthed no children but as “tia Margarita” she cultivated and sustained love and admiration between and among fifteen nieces and nephews. She meticulously tracked their birthdays, progress in school, and social relationships.

When growing up, Nidia excelled in school. She and her fraternal twin sister Nora were academically the very top students in their high school graduating class. In 1962 they came to study in California while living with their favorite aunt (tia Pilar) and family in Pasadena, California. They enrolled at Pasadena City College where an admissions dean, upon reviewing their prior academic transcripts, remarked “All good here …“mucho diez.” Upon completing a two-year Associate of Arts degree at PCC, Nidia was recognized as Outstanding Foreign Student. That set the table for building a successful career dedicated to teaching and learning. and which gained the respect, admiration and affection from her future students and colleagues alike.

After PCC, Nidia entered Scripps College (private women’s college in Pomona, California) where she earned a Bachelors degree in 1966, with coursework focused considerably on the social sciences and humanities. Her favorite subjects were history, languages and literature.

Later she proceeded to UCLA for a Masters degree program in Latin American Studies, graduating in 1973. At the time she was also teaching high school Spanish at nearby Westlake School for Girls, and also had many adult private Spanish learners in the community.

She also delivered Spanish instruction for U.S. Peace Corps training groups in Escondido, California and Cal State University, LA, for volunteers destined for Latin America.

At UCLA she met future husband Ralph in 1971 in acampus elevator on arainy afternoon.

Upon exiting the building he offered her a timely (and dry) ride to her neighborhood, which she accepted. By her account it took fifteen soaking minutes in heavy rain (with no umbrella) just to reach the parking lot. Two years later, on October 14, 1973, they were married in Pasadena. This was followed by a year in Brazil where Ralph did research for his doctoral dissertation. Upon returning to LA and finishing up studies they moved to Northern California where Ralph joined the College of Business faculty (International Business) at San Jose State University. Nidia was soon hired as a language research/resource teacher serving elementary-school teachers in the Alum Rock School District in San Jose.

She subsequently was selected for a Ph.D program at Stanford University, earning her doctorate in 1988. In Fall 1989 she joined faculty at San Francisco State University (School of Education) and taught courses in second language acquisition, applied linguistics, and bilingual education. Upon promotion to Associate Professor in 1994, she also was awarded tenure. Then misfortune struck when she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and had to retire.

She successfully battled cancer for a few more years, rescued for a time by regimen of herceptin and taxol. But in 2021 she experienced an aggressive new cancer believed caused by her prior radiation, chemo and surgical interventions. This brought additional surgery, which in combination with other elder-health issues, contributed to decreasing personal vigor and mobility. Nonetheless, with the support of husband Ralph, she lived “comfortably” at home during her final three years, able to manage routine personal care and other core activities of daily living. Throughout her ordeal she appreciatively engaged actively with her on-line support networks of loving relatives, friends and health-care professionals.

Nidia was pre-deceased by her brother Danny and is survived by husband Ralph plus brothers Roberto and Beto (Alberto) both of Posadas, Argentina, two sisters in Spain (Nora in Oviedo and Hilda in Madrid) and fifteen nieces and nephews and families resident in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Dominican Republic, Florida and Alaska.

Nidia wished to be cremated and didn’t want a funeral. She wanted opportunity for persons who knew her to share their memories, and do so in a non-religious setting.

She always considered herself spiritual but not religious.

One path to getting her wish would have been a date-certain celebration-of-life event in California. A major hurdle for that was the widespread geographic distribution of siblings, family and friends. To counter that, a different approach has emerged, as follows: Anyone who knew her (whether a relative or not, is invited (voluntarily) to submit either a handwritten or electronic message of any length (in either English or Spanish) expressing remembrances of her (could also be an audio file). All will be assembled by Ralph and several nieces. Photographs will be added. All contributors will receive either a print or electronic copy of the end result.

If interested, please send a written or audio comment or remembrance at your earliest convenience tor.edfelt@comcast.net.

Donations in Nidia’s name can also be made to Bay Area Cancer Connections BACC (https://www.bayareacancer.org), a support group to which Nidia contributed significant volunteer support over the years.