NEIMA GRANDELA, age 88, died at her Marine View Plaza home in Hoboken, New Jersey on April 8, 2026, of natural causes, after a brief illness.
She was born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba on May 28, 1937, an only child to parents Juana Maria Martinez and Atilano Grandela.
She was educated at the University of Havana. After leaving school, she held a position in the burgeoning revolutionary government’s Ministry of Communications. She then emigrated in 1961 to Monterrey, Mexico, and subsequently moved to the United States, settling in Queens, New York in 1966.
In the mid-1970s, while working in the medical field in Manhattan, she found her future life partner Barbara Brennan. Together they raised Neima’s son, Abel Rolando DuBreuil, making a home in Hoboken where she would live for the next 50 years.
In 1986, she established Riverside Realty, building her successful company and expanding it from a small operation to a team of 25 agents, until her retirement in 2008.
Grandela was a fixture in Hoboken life and a force in local politics. She was an active member of the Hoboken Business Alliance, and she served as a longtime officer of the Board of Directors of the Liberty Board of Realtors. She was also a leader in advocating and planning for the transformative Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system.
Family and friends knew her as fiercely intelligent, witty, warm, and generous. She was a woman of uncommon strength and determination, who created a welcoming and family-oriented enterprise that was fair, ethical, and fully invested in the community.
She was a rabid fan of the Jets and Mets, frequently attending games, and a passionate supporter of the arts who subscribed to the theater, opera, and ballet, and who also greatly enjoyed live music. She was an indefatigable traveler and relished political debate perhaps even more than she loved good food.
She is survived by her beloved wife Barbara, whom she married in 2010. And she was pre-deceased by her adored son, Abel, in 2008.
Visitation Friday, April 10, 2026 from 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM at the Failla-McKnight Memorial Home, 533 Willow Avenue, Hoboken. Parking is available in the rear of the funeral home off Sixth Street. The Funeral Mass will be offered on Saturday, April 11, 2026, 10:30 AM at St. Francis R.C. Church, 308 Jefferson Street, Hoboken. Cremation is private.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Covenant House (www.covenanthouse.org).