City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Darlene Cruz "Mama, Nana, My Girl"

Fuquay Varina, North Carolina

Age 72.
Died 09/27/2024.

Darlene Cruz "Mama, Nana, My Girl"
Darlene Cruz, (Wife, Mom, Nana, and Dear Friend) passed away at 72 yrs old, on September 27th, 2024, surrounded by her family. Darlene was born on December 29th, 1951, in Danbury, Connecticut and is survived by her husband, Andy, her two children, Julie and Brian, Daughter in Law Cristina, as well as her three grandsons', Josh (Jah), Jakob (Jakey) and Nico (Nics). Darlene is originally from Bethel Connecticut and lived in Southbury Connecticut for 27 years with her husband and children until moving to Holly Springs North Carolina in 2005. She watched her oldest grandson, Josh, before finding work in North Carolina and for the last 15 years she worked at Capitol City Speech Therapy as a Lead Office Administrator. She only just retired in Spring 2024 despite her family trying to talk her into retiring sooner.

Keeping busy and keeping her mind strong was important to Darlene. She enjoyed social interactions, being silly and carefree, as well as helping others by volunteering for missions within her church and community. She cherished nature and was always proud of her flowers and plants. She adored birdies and found solace in her back patio listening to them chirp. She would prefer baking, working in a garden, hanging out with “her girls”, going for a walk with the family dog (Sammy), or just taking a ride in the car to catch up and chat. She always wanted to be around people. She had such patience and even learned to play chess with her oldest grandson, so he had someone to play with. Darlene frequently made special plans for her “grandboys” and she rarely ever missed one of their events or activities, even if she did not feel like going. Before falling ill in May 2024, Darlene was going to the YMCA a few times a week to work out, worked a few days a week at her job, played Bunko with some of her neighborhood girlfriends, and even attended an early AM graduation for her grandson (Josh), despite not feeling well that morning. She was not going to miss this special milestone in his life. She was so immensely proud of all of her grandchildren and constantly showed them how much she adored them, never taking one day for granted.

Darlene's contagious joy, one-of-a-kind stories, and love for life inspired so many around her. Her fun-loving and witty personality was infectious, and she was full of inherent positivity and humor that would put a smile on the face of everyone that she was around. Initiating conversation and making people feel comfortable, heard, and even “special” were just a few of her many wonderful God-given gifts. Her ability to make even a stranger feel like an instant friend was always so awe inspiring to witness and had huge impacts on her children and grandchildren over the years. Darlene exuded humble conviction in her core values and beliefs and through that she also showed unwavering empathy, grace and understanding. Here beautiful heart made her so captivating, and everyone always wanted to talk to “Mama Dar”. Her unwavering faith guided her worldly wisdom that so many embraced whole-heartedly. This influence made amazing impacts on her family, friends, coworkers and many others that knew Darlene along the way. Her lighthearted nature, burlesque humor and kind soul made everyone around her smile, and she would be the first to laugh at herself and not take herself too seriously. She also had the best smile. A majestic and authentic smile that made everyone light up when they saw it.

Darlene absolutely adored her family if that was not already obvious. They were without question, the center of her world, and the feeling was mutual. She loved them so unconditionally and with such fierce compassion and loyalty. There was nothing she enjoyed more than making her family feel loved, important, and genuinely happy. She was the most fulfilled when her family was all together, and they felt that same about being with her. There is no doubt she will be missed every single day, but she will always be celebrated by those closest to her the light of life she was. We know what she would say to her family and friends, and we will honor that message. She would say, “throw a party”!! “Please, throw a BIG party”!! And the response will be, “That we WILL sweet Mama Angel, the biggest you have ever seen!” She will ALWAYS be celebrated, treasured, and remembered and honored. She would say now,

“I am prepared to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” Watch out Lord, here comes Sweet Mama.” HAHAHA!!

A Memorial service will be held Saturday, November 2nd at the Fuquay Varina United Methodist Church. Time to be determined.
Darlene loved children and always had a special way with kids. In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of her, to St. Jude Children's Hospital : https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?frequency_selected=0&dedication=2&sc_dcm=58700006946881490&sc_cid=kwp&sl=give-in-honor&&&&&ds_rl=1291300&ds_rl=1285465&msclkid=b2823dc9c04d162e21f65b362b432f07&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=M%20-%20Core%20Brand%20EX%20EL&utm_term=st%20judes%20donate&utm_content=PM_PR_Dig_Srch_PM_AO_US_Nat_MS_M-Ads_LF_-_-_-_SERP-Exct_Srch-B_-_-_-_Donate_-_EL_-_-_Srch&gclid=b2823dc9c04d162e21f65b362b432f07&gclsrc=3p.ds

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

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Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

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We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

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Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

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Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

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Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

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Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

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Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

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Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

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Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations