Manuel Ruiz Mingorance

Manuel Ruiz Mingorance, 90, retired North Shore High School foreign language teacher, passed away peacefully November 16 at his home in Glen Head, surrounded by his wife and children.
Born in Granada, Spain, Manuel had a lifelong love of learning and languages. Subsequent to completing an MA in Classic Greek in Spain, he went on to earn several post-graduate degrees in Ireland, Tokyo, Rome and New York. Manuel taught thousands of students around the world. In addition to North Shore Junior High and High School, he was a university professor in Tokyo, a private tutor in Rome, and taught Japanese and Spanish Literature in adult education on Long Island.
A quiet and observant man, Manuel was known for his subtle yet insightful sense of humor. He was a philosopher, a carpenter, and an avid walker who trekked the Grand Canyon, the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, and the ice fields of the Canadian Rockies. He loved nature, national parks, and visiting cultural heritage sites, such as the monasteries of Tibet, the ruins of Machu Picchu, the Hopi pueblos, and the Masai Mara in Kenya. He was a selfless man with deep devotion to family and those in need, including volunteering at a leper colony in his younger years and facilitating summer camp for underprivileged children more recently.
Manuel is pre-deceased by his sister, Sor Encarnacion of Madrid (Spain); and survived by his brother Emilio of Zaragoza (Spain), wife Ann (Glen Head), son Eric (Rockville Centre) and daughter Cristina (Sea Cliff), as well as his grandchildren Elena, Jordan and Julia. A Memorial Service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church in Roslyn on Saturday, December 22, 2018 at 11 a.m.