Jorge Diaz Medina's Obituary
Jorge Diaz Medina was born April 23, 1930, to Esperanza Medina and Vicente Diaz in Humacao, Puerto Rico. He was one of 12 children.
Raised in El Puerto (which he never forgot), he spent his early days helping his father on the finca and working in the sugar cane fields. Soon he met and married Carmen Peña.
After having a daughter, Awilda, the family emigrated to New York City, following Jorge’s older sister Carmín. They lived in the Bronx. Jorge worked for many years in Manhattan as a foreman for Roburn Agencies Inc., an electronics and automotive equipment exporting company.
After he and Carmen retired in the early 1990s, they moved to Spring Hill, Florida. He had to readjust to a slower pace of life, and he and his sisters Carmín and Rosa entertained themselves by sitting in Jorge’s back porch and counting the few cars that passed by on County Line Road.
Jorge’s favorite restaurant was Golden Corral. He went so often that the servers would immediately bring him a plate of chicken wings as soon as he was seated.
When Jorge wasn’t driving his Crown Victoria around Spring Hill (most likely while wearing one of his fedoras), he spent much of his time tending to his lawn, so perfectly manicured that it resembled a sprawling green carpet. He also grew a sizable garden of lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, and gandules.
On his morning walks, he dropped off vegetables at his neighbors’ doorsteps. And for the neighbors he particularly liked, he brought in their newspapers and garbage cans from the street, too.
He built bird feeders by hand, but soon he was at war with the neighborhood squirrels who tried to steal bird seed. In a vain attempt to stop the squirrels, Jorge nailed metal plates to the tops of the feeders and greased them with oil so the squirrels would slide off.
Jorge was easy-going, kind, friendly and generous. He loved people. He was proud of his family and fiercely protective of them. He also had a quick wit and a sharp tongue; he maintained his ability to turn a phrase, both in English and Spanish, long after the dementia set in. He had nicknames for everyone and mercilessly teased them. His own daughter was not immune: when she became his caretaker, he took to calling her “el guardia.”
Jorge was preceded in death by his wife, Carmen. He is survived by his daughter Awilda, granddaughters Alana and Bianca, great-grandchildren Jacob and Ariana, and siblings Ramona and Ivan.
Though they will miss him terribly, his family knows that Jorge is reunited with his beloved Carmen, as well as his other siblings. They like to imagine that he is drinking coffee three times a day and, together with his brother Vicente, probably annoying everyone around them – especially Carmín (“La Teacher”).
A viewing will be held Feb. 28, 2023, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Grace Memorial Gardens in Hudson, Florida. A mass will be held March 1, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Spring Hill.
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