Rodolfo Reyes ~

Rodolfo Reyes-Gavilan ("Popi") was born at home on 26 February 1935 in Palma Soriano, Cuba. The youngest of six sons born to Beatriz Moya Lora and Jacobo Reyes-Gavilan Acosta, he described his childhood as idyllic. He loved playing marbles and other games with his nephew and best friend Jorge, and as he grew older he would develop a passion for billiards, chess, and dominoes. He also loved playing with his dog and riding his horse. He enjoyed listening to baseball games on the radio with his father, something he would ultimately enjoy doing many years later with his sons. His passion for baseball was something he maintained his entire life (despite the lifelong frustration of rooting for his New York Mets). Rodolfo graduated from the Maceo Public Schools and started working as an administrator at the City Hall in Palma Soriano.

On 16 December 1961 he married his sweetheart Nora Cepeda, a schoolteacher, whom he loved deeply for the rest of his life.

Under the post-revolutionary regime of Fidel Castro, Rodolfo lost his government job and supported his wife and first son Rodolfo Jr. (b. 1963) as a jack-of-all-trades. In November 1967, the family, which now included an infant son Jorge, took advantage of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and moved to America. The brave and difficult decision involved leaving behind all the family's worldly possessions, many cherished friends and relatives, and the comfort and security of their native language and home. After a short stay in Washington DC with the family of his older brother Gonzalo, Rodolfo and his young family ultimately settled in Queens, New York, living near many of Nora's relatives.

Their first decade in the United States was challenging. A third son, Richard, was born in 1969 and the five family members lived in a small one-bedroom apartment, which was all that they could afford despite Rodolfo working long hours at multiple jobs. Ultimately, he joined a number of his brothers-in-law who found steady employment working as laborers at a large psychiatric hospital in eastern Queens.

Rodolfo worked tirelessly and without complaint for many years to provide his family comfort, stability, and joy. In many ways, he lived the American dream, saving enough money to provide his family with regular vacations and to send his children to college. He and Nora retired in 2000 and moved to Hollywood, Florida to be closer to relatives who began the retirement exodus from New York to south Florida in the 1990s. He died on 5 August 2017.

Rodolfo Reyes-Gavilan is survived by his wife, three sons, and six grandchildren: Kevin, Kayla, Lucas, Louise, Arianna, and Margretta.

family requests donations to St. Jude's in lieu of flowers.