Jorge Leoncio Soler

Jorge “George” Leoncio Soler died on August 6, 2021 at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Virginia surrounded by his family. He was 96 years old. A native of Barcelona, he was born in Camaguey, Cuba, the son of Teresa (nee Amezaga) and Josep Maria Soler i Terol. His father was an engineer employed by the firm Babcock and Wilcox in Barcelona. His grandfather, Leoncio Soler i March, was a senator from Catalonia from 1910 to 1921 and was brother of the famed Catalan architect of La Seu de Manresa, Alexander Soler i March. Soler was educated by the Jesuits in Barcelona and Pamplona and upon graduation in 1942 began his vocation as a Jesuit brother in the Real Monasterio de Santa Maria de Veruela, near Vera de Moncayo in Zaragoza. He received his Licentiate Degree in Philosophy from the Jesuits in 1951. He subsequently left the order and moved to Havana, Cuba, where he met and married his wife, Conchita (nee Miyares) in 1957. In 1960, he and Conchita fled the communist revolution in Cuba for New York City and later settled in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Soler received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Buffalo in 1971. A scholar of classical Greek and Roman language and philosophy, he was professor of philosophy at Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C. from 1968 to 1992, in addition to serving as Chairman of the Department. In 1977, Dr. Soler was honored by the Student Union of Gallaudet College as Teacher of the Year. Upon retirement, he served in various part-time capacities as a translator and consultant to the U.S. Department of Education on matters pertaining to the deaf, and later dedicated himself to the raising of his grandchildren. Dr. Soler is survived by his wife, Conchita, his sons Michael, George, and Joseph, and his grandchildren, Natalie, Hannah, and Jordi.