Obituary
Sixta Ponce- Hoffstein was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. She came to the United States as a young lady speaking no English. She was shocked facing racism for the first time. Sixta developed a philosophy in life “Go ahead tell me that I’m not good enough! Tell me I can’t do it, because I will show you over and over again that I can.” Sixta was married at an early age, and had three children April, Frances, and Maria. She became a single mother after divorce and felt challenged, nothing going right, but her inner strength helped her pick up the pieces. She showed true strength by keeping everything together when everyone expected her to fall apart. Sixta worked in Johnson’s poverty program as an educational counselor, employment developer and placement counselor. She won many awards for outstanding service in the program. The clients were grateful for her compassion and empathy. She met her future husband, Paul Hoffstein an educator, school administrator and adjunct college professor. Together they developed an after school program that offered tutorial programs, special test preparation syllabus, remedial help in all educational areas, recreational activities, and food supplement. Mayor Edward Koch awarded the program various awards and funding over his time in office. Sixta was active as a member of the school board developing programs for the gifted, test preparation for admission to schools with rigorous admission standards. The program showed an increase of 500% admissions over the years. Sixta was a member of the planning board that developed downtown Brooklyn and a delegate to the 1992 Democratic Convention. In the years before her retirement she developed a family business that provided food to charter schools, daycare centers, homeless shelters, drug prevention centers etc., that continues to this day. As Anne Frank said, “The weak fall but the strong will remain and never go under.”
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