Elsa Mercedes Veras

She passed in the embrace of her husband and children, the loves of her life, in a house she helped fill with warmth, love, and laughter.

In addition to her husband, children, and grandchildren, Elsa is survived by her mother Ladisla Maria Collado, aged 95; her sisters Ana, Lourdes, and Carmen; her brothers Rafael, Juan, and Ramon; and her many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews.  She is preceded in death by her father, Ramon Antonio Collado.

Elsa was born on April 17th, 1960 in Santiago, Dominican Republic, the second-youngest of seven children.  When she was 9, her family moved to upstate New York, Rockland County, Haverstraw.  There she attended North Rockland High School in Thiells, New York. Upon graduation she married Osvaldo “Ozzie” Veras, her high school sweetheart in 1979, and they moved to Manhattan where she attended Parson’s School of Design.

Elsa’s accomplishments were vast and far reaching. Though her roles as Mother, Wife, Daughter, and Aunt meant most to her, she balanced a successful career and made it seem effortless.  She worked as a district manager for Judy’s in the mid-1980s until co-founding Veras Financial Services, an insurance sales and financial planning firm in Houston, Texas with her husband Osvaldo in 1987, beginning a 33-year career as its Vice-President.  Her relationships with her clients meant the world to her, and she treated her clients with the same care she would her own father, mother, brother or sister. 

For Elsa and Ozzie, who worked together her entire career, every hardship and every victory were shared. They lived as one voice and one body.  Theirs was a perfect partnership, in business and in love.

Elsa’s energy and passion for life were boundless.  She was a talented oil painter, and she filled her home with paintings of her family, still lifes, and landscapes.  She loved travel, food, flowers, and dance. She was the life of the party. Elsa was constantly in motion, always doing, helping, and making. Those who have experienced her presence know what a loss it is for those that survive her.

In the last 5 years of her life Elsa battled ataxia to maintain control of her movement and continue to do the things she loved. She persevered and endured this hardship gracefully, a testament to her personal strength and her love of God. Driven by the verse Isaiah 41:13  “For I hold you by your right hand – I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you,’” Elsa never let fear or uncertainty define her path.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The National Ataxia Foundation,  https://ataxia.org/donate/ in Elsa's name.

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