| José Alvarez, right, and his wife, Hortensia, left, ran La Loma market for more than 40 years in West Tampa. Their son, Jose, center, worked with them starting when he was 9. [Courtesy of Carmen Alvarez] |
| I find the people I write about each week in a few ways, including by searching the obituaries in the Tampa Bay Times and from area funeral homes. That second path was how I first learned about the life of José Alvarez. Alvarez and his wife came to the U.S. from Cuba in 1970 after waiting 10 years for a visa. They worked another seven years to buy a bodega, La Loma, in West Tampa. And they ran that market for more than 40 years, making it and Tampa home. La Loma was open seven days a week, and it only closed for Christmas, New Year's, the Fourth of July. Once the couple had grandchildren, it also closed on Sundays. So Alvarez worked a lot. And he loved it, his kids told me. But he also loved something else — food. His favorite saying was “el que mas coma mas vive." Daughter Carmen Alvarez told me that, roughly translated, that means "the one who eats the most lives." But it's really about enjoying food and enjoying life, something Alvarez did with relish. You can read about him and his market here. |
| Here are some obituaries from the past week that I found in the obits section of the Times, in the news and from local funeral homes. If you see any with great details, please share them.
• Jacob Frazier, 17, of Tampa "was known by his friends as being the life of the party and for being a 'go getter.'"
• Orchid Glasgow, 85, of Tampa "loved to dance to good music...Because she and her husband, Joe, loved cruises, we envision them on a cruise ship in Heaven enjoying a tropical rum drink in the casino or poolside."
• Richard Harrell, 44, of New Port Richey "was arguably the best friend to watch any game with."
• Wailes Ellis, 95, of Tampa "was a lifetime member — from cradle roll to today —at Hyde Park United Methodist Church where he met his wife of almost 69 years, Joan."
Thanks for reading, hug your people,
Kristen |
| Did someone forward this newsletter to you? You can sign up to get How They Lived in your own inbox next time. Subscribe for free here. |
| © 2023 • All Rights Reserved
Tampa Bay Times • 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
To ensure this email is delivered to your inbox, add custserv@elist.tampabay.com to your address book.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for the "How They Lived" newsletter from the Tampa Bay Times. If you’d prefer not to receive updates, you can unsubscribe from this email. |
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment