Adela Ruiz de Royo

Adela María Ruiz de Royo (December 15, 1943 – June 19, 2019) was a Spanish-born Panamanian mathematics academic and educator. She served as the First Lady of Panama from 1978 until 1982 during the presidency of her husband, Aristides Royo.[1][2] She also served President of the Panamanian Academy of Language (La Academia Panameña de la Lengua).[1][3]

Adela Ruiz de Royo
First Lady of Panama
In office October 11, 1978 – July 31, 1982
President	Aristides Royo
Preceded by	Fanny Roger de Lakas
Succeeded by	Mercedes Martinez de la Espriella
Personal details
Born	Adela María Ruiz González (1943-12-15)December 15, 1943 Grado, Asturias, Spain
Died	June 19, 2019(2019-06-19) (aged 75) Panama
Spouse(s)	Aristides Royo (1960s–2019; her death)
Occupation	Mathematics teacher and academic

Biography

Ruiz was born Adela María Ruiz González in a home in the municipality of Grado, Asturias, Spain to parents, José María and Rosalina.[2] She was raised in the nearby city of Oviedo alongside her three sisters, Marta, Mabel, and María José.[2] Ruiz was nicknamed Deli.[2][4][5]

By 1960, Ruiz had moved to Salamanca to study medicine.[2] That same year, she met her future husband, a Panamanian national and fellow student at the University of Salamanca named Aristides Royo.[2] The couple married in the early 1960s and eventually had three children - Marta Elena, Irma Natalia, and Aristides José.[2] Ruiz, Royo and their oldest daughter, Marta, moved to Panama permanently on September 17, 1965.[2]

In addition to her own career, Ruiz held the role of the wife of a government minister and politician.[2] She became First Lady of Panama from 1978 to 1982. During her tenure as first lady, Ruiz created the Asociación Pro Obras de Beneficencia.[1]

Ruiz was diagnosed with colon and liver cancer in 2017.[2] She died from the disease on June 19, 2019, at the age of 75.[1][2][3] Adela Ruiz was survived by her husband, Aristides Royo, and their three children, Marta Elena, Natalia, and Arístides José.[6] Her funeral was held at the National Sanctuary in Bella Vista, Panama City on June 24, 2019.[1] Ruiz's ashes were returned to her native Spain, where they were partially buried at the Praviano cemetery in Riberas, Asturias.[6] A second funeral mass was held at the Carmelite Catholic Church of Oviedo on October 4, 2019.[6] Shortly before the funeral, her remaining ashes were sprinkled into the Cantabrian Sea by her husband and children.[6]

In December 2019, Ruiz's daughter, Natalia Royo de Hagerman, was appointed as Panama's ambassador to the United Kingdom.[5]

References

1. "Adela Ruiz de Royo, exprimera dama de Panamá falleció". En Segundos. 2019-06-20. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
2. Paredes Royo, Tomás (2019-06-26). "Adela Ruiz de Royo y la vida que le tocó vivir". La Estrella de Panama. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
3. Concepción, Martha Vanessa (2019-06-20). "Muere exprimera dama de Panamá. Hay reacciones". Mi Diario. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
4. "Panamá, de luto ante la muerte de la ex primera dama moscona Adela Ruiz". La Nueva España. 2019-06-21. Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
5. Navarro, Javier Alonso (2019-12-26). "Natalia Royo nueva Embajadora de Panamá en El Reino Unido". GradoNoticias.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2019-12-27.
6. "Las cenizas de la mujer de Arístides Royo ya reposan en Asturias". La Nueva España. 2019-10-05. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2019-12-27.