Samantha Diaz, Florida Health Care Worker, Dies at 29

Her mother said in an interview that she was now caring for her grandchildren but had to quit her job as a housekeeper to do so. That has left the family with only the income of Anadelia’s husband, Richard Diaz, a delivery driver.

“Our world came crashing down,” Ms. Diaz said. “Now we’re left to raise three children.”

Samantha Diaz, known as Sammy, was the granddaughter of migrant workers from Mexico and among the first in her large extended family who did not grow up picking crops in the fields. Her grandmother, Cleofas Martinez, known as Coca, was a leading organizer among migrant workers in Indiantown in Martin County, according to The Palm Beach Post.

Ms. Diaz was born on July 19, 1990, in Palm Beach Gardens. She grew up in West Palm Beach and graduated from South Tech Academy, where she studied cosmetology. She later took college courses in health and science and got a job as a medical assistant in a cardiology practice.

“She loved helping people when they were ill,” her mother said. “It was her passion.”

Ms. Diaz’s other passions were dancing and music, especially salsa, merengue and Tejano. And she loved her family’s tradition of celebrating life’s milestones — birthdays, anniversaries, holidays — with elaborate cakes.