Doris Ugarriza

Doris was born on May 16, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio to James Noel and Matilda Kuchnik. She moved to Miami Beach, Florida as a young nurse and lived in the community she loved for more than 60 years.

She married Ricardo Ugarriza, an exile from Cuba and had a daughter Nicolle.

Throughout her early career she worked at many South Florida hospitals including Mount Sinai where she was head nurse, Jackson Memorial Hospital and St. Francis Hospital.

Throughout her life she valued education and the profession of nursing. She was a nurse practitioner and obtained the highest degree in the profession, a PhD in Nursing from Case Western Reserve University.

She spent many years as a professor teaching at the University of Miami School of Nursing and eventually became the school’s Vice Dean. She taught and mentored many generations of nurses before she retired in 2016.

Throughout her career, she promoted volunteerism, service, and professional development within the nursing community, earning honors such as the 2013 Nursing Excellence Award in Volunteerism and Service. She was also a Fulbright Scholar and taught in Cyprus under this prestigious international program.

Doris was an avid traveler, baker, tap dancer, water aerobics enthusiast, bird watcher, Miami Heat fan and lover of animals, books and poetry. She was a friend to many and grandmother figure to the children in her neighborhood.

She is survived by her daughter Nicolle Ugarriza and sisters Margaret Desjardins and Mary Noel and her grand dogs Daisy and Lux.

Doris was a devoted mother and a cherished sister whose kindness, strength, and compassion touched everyone who knew her. She will be dearly missed.

If you wish to honor Doris’ life please donate to the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. Pelican Harbor Seabird Station was founded in 1980 for the purpose of caring for injured brown pelicans and has grown into an internationally recognized center for seabird rehabilitation. https://www.pelicanharbor.org/donate