Jose Antonio Sanchez 1949-2022, 73, passed away at home surrounded by his family on November 29th, 2022. He was born in Pinar del Rio Cuba on November 10th, 1949, to the late Jose Antonio Sanchez and Manuela Rodriguez.
After spending his formative years in Cuba he, along with his family, moved to Miami, Florida in December 1959 at the age of 10. There he spent 2 years as a student living in the suburb Hialeah, where he became fluent in English. Thereafter, he moved to Costa Rica and spent 6 years there before settling in nearby Nicaragua. While living in Nicaragua he met and married Maria Nohemy Abaunza, having graduated from university with a degree in industrial engineering. He later returned to school and earned a second degree in civil engineering. He also briefly trained as a small aircraft pilot.
In 1979, Jose immigrated permanently to Miami, Florida to escape the Sandinista regime that had come to power in Nicaragua. Possessing a gifted and mechanically inclined mind, Jose worked his way up as an engineer before earning a professional engineering license, his P.E., in 1989; after which he promptly opened his own business. As a professional engineer he worked on many prominent homes and buildings in the Miami and Miami Beach area. He taught himself to use the complex computer program, AutoCAD, and was among the first to embrace computer generated drawings at time when nearly everyone was working with pencil sketches.
An affable man, Jose will be remembered for his spirited laughter, his perpetual joke telling, his friendly demeanor, and his towering intellect. Often, he would solve complex mathematical problems in his mind faster than it would take to input the numbers on a calculator. This was so common that he would frequently be asked to do so in order to save time over using a calculator. A lifelong reader, he could be relied upon to recommend books, many times classic literature, and was known to quote from them frequently in casual conversation. As a testament to his love for reading, his home would always be found filled with books, automobile magazines, popular mechanics, and aviation magazines, among others.
He also had a lifelong passion for motors and mechanical things, often spending hours at a time repairing or tuning old motors and engines. He loved everything motor powered from generators to trucks, to lawn movers and even airplanes, although he had a special fondness for automobiles, in particular. He gifted each of his 3 children a brand new car once they became old enough to drive.
He never lost his passion for life and loved eating home cooked meals, barbeques, dining out at restaurants, weekend getaways with his wife, long drives, and always enjoyed being around people in general. He loved watching classic television shows and movies, especially westerns. A friend to animals, he had many family dogs and cats at various times in his life. He visited many countries in Europe, and always spoke fondly of his experiences while traveling. He learned to play the piano as an adult, often practicing by himself for hours until he mastered a particular melody. While battling sickness he showed great courage and never stopped fighting to remain with his family. He was driven by his love of family. He never lost faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and spent his final days in silent prayer and contemplation.
He will be remembered by his wife of 48 years, Maria Nohemy Sanchez, his 3 children, his older sister, his 4 grandchildren, and various cousins and nephews, along with many friends and business associates.
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