Grace Marie Landeta

Hospital to Philip and Nilda Landeta. She grew up on Piedmont Street just outside of Ybor City, with

her parents, older brother Isador and her younger sister Yolanda. Ybor City was a booming shopping

and recreational area at the time. It was not unusual on a Saturday for Nilda and her three children to

walk to Ybor for whatever the family needed that week including clothes and shoes for the children.

Along with shopping in Ybor, Grace and her siblings would frequently walk to Cuscaden pool to spend

the day on a Saturday. The three of them would pack their lunches and were given a dime for a soda.

Those were great days! Philip and Nilda enjoyed going to the Spanish movies in Ybor on Saturday

evenings so they would drop off Grace and her siblings at their favorite movie house and the same

movie was seen numerous times. It was a wonderful period of Grace’s childhood. Grace graduated

from Jefferson High School in 1960. She never forgot the friendships she made there and attended ,.

many reunions for years after graduation. She also attended luncheons with her fellow former

graduates and belonged to a book club for many years as well.

Grace was married at 19 and had two children, Virgil and Rhonda. She owned a Diet Center,

co-founded Buccaneer Catering, lived in the same house for 60 years and always had a Bible within

arm’s-reach.. Abuela Gracie made an amazing cheesecake and her signature facial expressions and

holiday sweaters always made us all laugh. She loved her friends and family, especially her seven

grandchildren: Eran, Jake, Hannah, Kirsten, Maggie,Madison and Caleb and her newly arrived

great-grandchildren: Hayes, Everett and Jonah. She was a great cook with Spanish cuisine being her

speciality. She also loved chili cheese dogs, a good glass of wine and chocolate anything.

Grace Marie Landeta passed away on Friday, February 23 rd , just before dawn.