Jose Lim Sievert

Jose Lim Sievert was born on September 11, 1931 to Alvaro and Consorcia Lim Sievert in Quezon City, Philippines. He was the oldest of 12 siblings, who he helped take care of while his father fought and was a POW in WW2. He attended Catholic school at Ateneo de Manila and attended medical school at the University of Santo Tomas. He then moved to the US to finish his surgical residency at LSU. That is where he met a young nursing student, Sandra Gayle Garrison. They got married on June 24, 1964. They went on to have 8 children- Christine, Christopher, Matthew, Sarah, Amanda, Susannah, Lucas, and Molly. Dr. Sievert became a US citizen and joined the USAF and served our country as a surgeon for 11.5 years. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. With the Air Force, they traveled to many places including Virginia, Arizona, Miami, Florida and even Madrid, Spain. After retiring from the Air Force, they settled down in Miami and Jose worked as a physician at several practices throughout South Florida. He spent his free time with his children and his 25 grandchildren. He lost his wife on the day of their 54th wedding anniversary.

Although Jose led a successful military and medical career, he was first and foremost a family man. He adored his wife and made sure she was always happy and safe. He often would go out late at night to fill up her gas tank so she didn’t have to stop in the morning on her way to work. He made sure she always had her favorite soda on hand. He loved family Sundays. He would take everyone to church and then out to lunch, usually to Samurai or Red Lobster. Then he would take everyone to the movies. Some Sundays he would take everyone straight from church in their dress clothes and go on spontaneous excursions like airboating in the Everglades or to the zoo. He loved family vacations to Disney World, Hutchinson Island, or Gatlinburg. Jose had a passion for traveling. His passports are full of stamps from places like Australia, Rome, Japan, Hong Kong, Austria, Pakistan, and many others. He had such an appreciation for the beauty of nature. His office was full of pieces of art from around the world. Dr. Sievert was also an avid collector of stamps, coins, and books. He was also a huge fan of the Olympics, which is a passion he definitely passed down to his children. He stayed current on world events, the stock market and he loved watching award shows and beauty pageants. He made sure to keep himself active daily through swimming laps in the pool or walking on the treadmill or riding his stationary bike. His catholic faith was a huge part of his life. He attended mass every Sunday and also the first Friday of every month. He loved taking pictures.

Jose Sievert was the epitome of a gentleman. He was honest, loyal, loving and caring. He was selfless and generous. He was intelligent and well spoken. He always had food ready for anyone who walked in the door. Nobody ever left his house without a blanket or jacket and a rosary. He made sure to walk everyone out to their cars when they left and always had a handkerchief in his pocket if anyone needed one. He took pride in his appearance and always smelled like aftershave and VO5. He was so disciplined and yet so playful. He made everyone around him feel special and loved. He found joy in caring for others- his family, his wife, his children, his grandchildren, and even his pets. He was a really good man, and he will be greatly missed.