Norma A. Mejia Recarte, a former consul general for Honduras in New York City and an advocate for senior citizens in Bergen County, New Jersey, died Friday. She was 78.
“She was an advocate for a lot of Latino families,” said her son, Allan Recarte, a teacher in Hackensack.
Born in Santa Barbara, Honduras, Ms. Recarte was trained as a certified public accountant. She came to the United States in 1954 and served as acting consul general before Honduran officials “broke down” and gave her the job — a position normally reserved for men, her son said.
She served as general consul through the early 1970s.
The Recarte house was a busy place. Ms. Recarte’s husband, Guillermo, who died 20 years ago, was assistant to the Honduran ambassador at the United Nations.
Whether it was helping with passports or responding to people who feared they were about to be deported, “there was always something,” Allan Recarte said.
Ms. Recarte was instrumental in organizing U.S. relief efforts when Hurricane Fifi struck northern Honduras in September 1974.
She served Honduras in St. Louis and Florida before moving to New York City. “She was here under diplomatic status but became naturalized,” Allan Recarte said.
Ms. Recarte was a 30-year member of Bible Baptist Church in Hasbrouck Heights.
After retiring as consul general, she was active in Latino and senior citizen affairs in Bergen County, helping to get a senior citizens center built in Hackensack, her son said.
In addition to Allan, she is survived by another son, Norman, of Maywood; a sister, Lilo Mejia of Honduras and three grandchildren.
By JUSTO BAUTISTA
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