Graciela C. Gurri

Born to Arturo Castellanos and Albertina Taquechel in Guantanamo, Cuba, on new year’s eve 1920, Graciela attended the university in Havana, eventually graduating with a degree in mathematics and chemistry. She became fluent in English, and taught mathematics in that language at a private school.

At the university, she met and fell in love with Francisco (Paco) Gurri, whom she married in 1944. The marriage thrived in prosperity and was strengthened in exile and personal tragedy, lasting more than 60 companionable years until Paco’s death in 2005. The couple had three children, on whom Graciela lavished her affection: Martin, Mari, and Gloria.

On October 1960, six months into a pregnancy, Graciela, together with her family, left Cuba forever to settle temporarily in Miami, Florida. In January 1961, she gave birth to her youngest child, Gloria, whom she always considered to be her great compensation for exile. In 1962, the family found a permanent home in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. The house on Jefferson Avenue, Falls Church, well known to everyone acquainted with Graciela, was her nest and her kingdom for nearly 50 years.

Graciela loved her family deeply. She was a model mother and a doting grandmother to her five grandchildren, all of whom returned an equal measure of affection. She hugely enjoyed the company of her brother and sister, Jorge and Gloria Castellanos, and formed strong bonds with many of her cousins. One of the joys in the final years of her life was to hold in her arms her great-grandson, Elliot.

She was passionate about opera, classical music, and the popular music of her youth: to the end of her life, she would sing Italian and French arias, and tunes that had been a hit in the long ago. For many years, she traveled with Paco around the world, filling up the walls of the family room with photos of far-off places. She also enjoyed sports, taking up tennis in middle age.

Graciela worked as an estimator for Honeywell Corporation for 17 years.

She will be remembered by all who knew her for her charm, graciousness, humor, and her irresistible smile. She is survived, and will be missed, by son Martin and daughter-in-law Amy Gurri; daughter Gloria and son-in-law Daren Dell; son-in-law Jim Reeves; grandchildren Adam, David, and Cati Gurri, and Julian and Marina Dell; and great-grandson Elliot Gurri.