Loved and Lost: Ivette Alers-Elizalde of Fairview was a standout elementary teacher

This story is part of Loved and Lost, a statewide media collaboration working to celebrate the life of every New Jersey resident who died of COVID-19. To learn more and submit a loved one's name to be profiled, visit lovedandlostnj.com.

Ivette Alers-Elizalde often stayed in her classroom past the last bell and her bulletin boards always were the envy of her peers at Robert Waters School in Union City. 

Alers-Elizalde was a standout from the start of her teaching career 20 years ago and continued to impress her colleagues and supervisors with her wit, the rapport she had with her fourth-grade students, and her willingness to help colleagues in need. 

“Within three years she was nominated and won teacher of the year,’’ said Susanne DeTrizio of Hasbrouck Heights, who was Alers-Elizalde’s mentor in her first year. “Usually, teachers who had been in the system for a while would receive that honor.” 

At home in Fairview, Alers-Elizalde was a devoted mother and wife to her 10-year-old son, Nicholas, and her husband, Juan Elizalde, whom she met in college while working at a bank in Union City.  Elizalde said he fell fast for her smile, personality and sense of humor. They were married 18 years ago. 

“The love sparked,’’ he said. “And as I got to know her, it got even better.” 

Alers-Elizalde was 47 years old when she died on April 11 at Hackensack University Medical Center. Her death has left her family, friends and colleagues heartbroken.

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“This is such a loss, not just for the family, but for the community, the teachers, it’s a heartache,’’ said DeTrizio, who retired in 2010 but remained in contact with Alers-Elizalde. “This was a tragedy, and the school is going to miss her.” 

Alers-Elizalde was raised in Union City by her mother, a Colombian immigrant, and her father, who was from Puerto Rico. She attended Catholic schools all her life, graduating from Holy Family School in Union City and St. Joseph’s of the Palisades High School in West New York. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from St. John’s University in Queens, where she majored in speech pathology and audiology.

Alers-Elizalde's father died years ago, but she remained close to her mother, who lived two blocks from Robert Waters School, and would visit her every day after school. But she would spend most of her time with Nicholas, whom she would help with homework during the school year. In the summer, the duo spent countless hours at the North Bergen pool or visiting friends.  

“She was everything to him,’’ Elizalde said. “They’d be pretty much out all the time, which was fantastic because they developed that bond.” 

Alers-Elizalde also liked to host family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas, her husband said, and during the summers the couple would fire up the grill and invite friends and family.  

As schools reopen, DeTrizio said she can’t help but remember Alers-Elizalde and how she was always willing to help her colleagues learn the latest technology. If Alers-Elizalde was alive today, she’d be helping other teachers prepare for remote learning.  

“She was a gift,’’ she said. “I will miss her forever.”