Ismael Gotay

Ismael Gotay passed away Wednesday April 6th 2016 at approximately 3p.m. in Deltona Florida. Ismael was 93 years old when he took his last breath; he lived a long full life. He was the proud father of 10 children- 3 sons and 7 daughters.

Ismael was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January 3rd 1923. He left Puerto Rico in 1949 and moved to New York City in search of better work opportunities to provide for his young growing family. Ismael was a hard worker and a dedicated husband and father. He was married to Ramona Gotay, the love of his life for 72 years.

As a youth, Ismael enjoyed the beach and loved to swim in the ocean. Basketball was another one of his favorite pastimes. As he got older and his children had become adults with families of their own, Ismael enjoyed eating candy and watching a good movie at the movie theater. His grandchildren can remember grandpa having a little brown bag of candy from the bodega and always knowing what Pick 3 numbers to play for the day. Ismael was a loving respectful grandparent and liked to make homemade juices and cook food from scratch for his grand children when he was able to. Ismael has been blessed thus far with19 grandchildren, 46 great grand children and 19 great, great grandchildren.

Ismael worked as a custodial maintenance service technician and retired from Maimonides Hospital after several years of loyal service. He and Ramona returned to Puerto Rico at the start of their retirement until their health required them to move to Florida in order to be closer to family.

Ismael had the unfortunate experience in his lifetime of burying two of his sons-Ivan and Ismael, and two grandsons- Nelson Jr. and Frankie Jr. Ismael’s legacy lives on and is survived by 1 son, 7 daughters and a multitude of grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. Ismael will be severely missed, as we are eternally grateful for his life and all the strides he made to provide a good life for his children through good and difficult times. We as a family celebrate Ismael’s life and all that he endured and persevered to provide the best life he could for his wife and children.