Jose Ramon Cuervo

October 5, 1933 - March 23, 2022

Key Biscayne, Florida - Jose Ramon Cuervo passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, with his wife of 64 years, Cristina Deschapelles Cuervo, and his children by his side. In addition to his wife, Jose is survived by his sister, Hilda Cuervo Pantin, and his 3 children, Jose R. Cuervo, Carlos R. Cuervo and Christina M. Cuervo. In addition he is survived by his 4 beautiful granddaughters, Alexandra Arellano Cuervo, Dr. Isabela Arellano Cuervo, Catalina Arellano Cuervo and Cristina Daniela Cuervo, and countless family and friends that loved and will miss him dearly. He is preceded in death by his parents Jose Ramon Cuervo and Hilda Oliva de Cuervo. Jose was born in Havana, Cuba on October 5, 1933. While still living in Cuba, his parents enrolled him in high school at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, eventually returning to Cuba and graduating from el Colegio de La Salle in Vedado, Cuba. He later attended the University of Havana School of Law where he received his Doctor of Civil Laws degree in 1956 and practiced law in Cuba with the firm of Morán Valdez-Rodriguez y Forcade. In 1960, Jose and his wife and two eldest sons, immigrated to the United States where he took a position at Walton Lantaff to support his family, while attending the University of Miami School of Law at night, where he graduated in 1966 with a Juris Doctor and LLM. Jose was one of the first Cuban exile lawyers to be admitted to the Florida Bar in 1968. Upon graduating, he took a position as in-house counsel with Dow Chemical, where he would spend his entire professional career rising to be the General Counsel for both Dow Chemical’s Latin American and European Divisions, the latter moving him to live in Zurich, Switzerland. He eventually returned and has called Key Biscayne home for over 47 years. In addition to all his accomplishments, Jose was an avid rower at the Havana Biltmore Yacht & Country Club and enjoyed traveling and the company of his longtime friends and family, as well as his children and grandchildren. Jose was affectionately called “Cuervito” and will be remembered as the trailblazer he was, and his memory will continue to pave the way for others. A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, March 26th at 1:30 PM at St Agnes Church in Key Biscayne, Florida 33149.