Also known to family and friends as Margo, mommy, grandma or just Ma!
Sister to 6 siblings, mother to 10 children, foster mother to several kids, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother to many, she lived a very full life.
Margo was born September 15, 1931 in Narranjito, Puerto Rico, the same town where her parents, Maria Cuevas and Theodoro Molina (also known as Lolo), met and started a family. As the oldest of seven children, Iris, Gregoria, Ada, Manuel, Hilda and Sonia, were all hers to take care of and love. Lolo worked on a plantation and Margo often shared that her and her siblings lived in a shack with beds made from planks. That was until her father made enough money to build a house for his growing family.
When Margo was 18 years old, she got a job as a nanny, helping friends of the family, which relocated her to NY. It was there that she met her long lasting love of her life, Leoncio Caballero. They wed on Christmas Eve and shortly after he was enlisted into the Marine corp. and transferred to Miami, Florida. While in Miami, Margo gave birth to her two oldest children, Mary and Geraldo. Once the Marines discharged Leoncio, everyone moved back to NY, and resided in Brooklyn for a while. This is where the Caballero legacy begins.
Leon, Angel, Margie, Johnny, Hector and Nelson came along and made their family of four into a family of ten!
Besides being a mother and a wife, Margo worked for many years in a factory making blouses and also in a cellar shoveling coal into a furness to maintain heat in a city building.
After years of Brooklyn life, in 1971, Leoncio got a job with the transit union and relocated the family to Wyandanch in Long Island. Most of her life she took care of family, but here is where she began to open her home to fostering countless kids. Her heart was so big she even took care of children that were handicapped. One in particular, Joseito, was a lasting memory for Margo. She expressed such love and joy for him and never forgot what an impact he made on her. Anthony and Elaine were the last two children Margo welcomed into her family as her own.
Sadly Lolo passed away some time in the 1980’s, however, Margo was able to enjoy her mother until she reached the age of 103!
Although she called many places home throughout her life, she finally rested in Ocala, Florida, where she lived for over 30 years and is now at her final resting place along side her husband.
There are many impressions people could leave on your heart, in this case, Margo was a woman of many words of wisdom or “Margo-isms”.
Interesting facts about Margo:
She had a license but never drove, she loved heels, she loved to crochet and create beautiful works of art, she never dyed her hair!
Maria Margarita passed peacefully, surrounded by family that loved her dearly. She lived a long fulfilled life of 91 years, so we are going to celebrate that and celebrate her.
She is preceded in death by her father and mother, her beloved husband, five loving children and one awesome sister: Lolo, Maria, Leoncio, Mary, Geraldo, Johnny, Leon, Margie and Gregoria.
She is survived by her siblings and their families, Iris, Ada and Luis, Manuel and Rosa, Hilda and Minnito, Sonia and Jose; her children and their families, Angel and Auria, Hector and Reyna, Nelson and Peter, Elaine, Anthony and Yanique; her grandchildren she raised, Maria and her husband Eddie and Alex; along with other grand children, great grand children, nieces and nephews.
A visitation for Margarita will be held Thursday, June 29, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 5740 South Pine Ave, Ocala, FL 34480. A funeral service will occur Friday, June 30, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, 5 SE 17th St, Ocala, FL 34471. A committal service will occur Friday, June 30, 2023 from 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens, 5740 South Pine Ave, Ocala, FL 34480.
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