Ofelia Emma Galindo

Ofelia was a longtime Central Florida resident and Orange County Public Defender, known for being a tireless advocate for the rights of people with mental illnesses. She took great pride in her work as an attorney and was relentless when it came to fighting for her clients.

Ofelia spent the first part of her life in Havana, Cuba, where she was born (on a date we have promised her we wouldn’t publish–God forbid anyone knows her age). She graduated from the University of Havana with a degree in Public Administration, and married Jose Luis Martinez in 19— (again, we promised we wouldn’t give away her age in her obituary).

As a mother to two young daughters, Beatriz and Adriana, Ofelia continued her education at The University of Havana, where she was pursuing a law degree. One day, on the way to class, Ofelia found herself caught in the middle of a shooting between student protestors and university police forces. On that day, Ofelia told herself that if she made it out alive, she would end her pursuit to acquire her law degree, as the danger had become too much of a risk for her young family.

Political unrest in Cuba continued to unfold and Ofelia’s husband, Jose Luis, was arrested six days after Fidel Castro came to power. (You can probably do the math now. Sorry, Grandma.) While tending to her family’s affairs and taking care of their two young children, Ofelia visited Jose Luis in prison every day, where she argued with the guards, demanding he be released, as he did not actually have any charges against him. It was during this time that Ofelia was notified that the new communist government had seized the family avocado farm, and warned that they were coming for the family’s home next. As she put it, when retelling the story, she responded “They can take my house, but I won’t let them have anything in it, not even the light bulbs.” Sure enough, when Castro’s government showed up to seize the second family property, they found a dark and empty home. Ofelia had succeeded in having every item in the home removed before they got there; she was not kidding about the light bulbs.

Over the course of many months, Ofelia managed to stay one step ahead of the government, moving her family’s belongings multiple times, in the middle of the night, so they could never be found. Ofelia prayed for a miracle and finally got one after seven months, when Jose Luis was mistakenly released from prison. Ofelia believed this to be a gift from God, but to those of us who knew her and were familiar with her unrelenting tenacity, it’s entirely plausible that she finally wore the prison guards down, after making her case to them, day after day.

Upon his release, Ofelia made arrangements for her husband to go into hiding until she could eventually sneak him into the Peruvian Embassy. Shortly after, the entire family fled the dangers of their once beloved Cuba, and resettled in Miami, where Jose Luis pumped diesel at a truck stop and Ofelia took a job at Walgreens for 80 cents per hour. The challenges of starting over in the United States with a young family continued. One day, after leaving a class they had been attending to improve their English speaking skills, Ofelia and Jose Luis discovered that the car they had just worked tirelessly to save up for, had been stolen on the very first day they got it. Together, they handled each crisis, and they persevered, as they worked to build a new life for their family in their new country.

As the years went on, the family moved to various places in the US, and Jose Luis started his own accounting business, while Ofelia worked a variety of jobs and continued to raise their two children, in addition to welcoming a third daughter, Diana Mari.

After settling in Orlando, Ofelia began a successful career in real estate, with her previous life in Cuba and dreams of becoming a lawyer long behind her. She had remained focused on being resilient and moving her family’s lives forward, but her longtime love, Jose Luis, remained more hopeful about reclaiming what they had lost. Though he never did get to achieve his dream of going back to live in Cuba someday, Ofelia does credit him with being the one to convince her that her dream of becoming a lawyer was still possible.

With adamant encouragement from her husband and the support of her family, Ofelia graduated Magna Cum Laude from Florida Technological University (now known as University of Central Florida) before being accepted to law school at Florida State. Her two oldest children were in college at this time, but her youngest, Diana Mari, was still in junior high, so Ofelia took Diana Mari with her to the library every day, as she simultaneously managed her duties as a mother and her studies as a law student.

On March 17th, 1978, with her mother, her husband, and their three daughters in attendance, Ofelia received her Juris Doctor degree, finally completing law school, 20 years after the day she’d initially quit for the safety of her family. She achieved what she considered to be one of her greatest accomplishments, passing the Bar exam on her first try.

As she launched her new law career, Ofelia, who was very interested in labor law, initially accepted a position as Staff Attorney at the Public Employees Relations Commission in Tallahassee. She loved the job, but once again, she chose to make a decision that was best for her entire family, and opted to find work in Orlando where Jose Luis’s accounting business was located. Ofelia was offered a job by the newly elected Public Defender, for the Ninth Circuit of Florida, Joseph Durocher. Although she hadn’t initially dreamed of being a Public Defender, Ofelia fell in love with the job and the courtroom. She perfected her craft as a trial lawyer and had an undeniable passion for her work.

During her tenure, Ofelia developed an interest in mental illness and began handling all Involuntary Commitment Hearings. In the Public Defender’s office, she became an expert in mental health issues and was eventually named the Division Chief of the newly created Intake/Mental Health Division. Ofelia cared so deeply about the work that she did, and wasn’t fooling anybody when she “retired” from the Public Defender’s office after twenty-three and a half years. Despite her huge retirement party celebrating her amazing accomplishments in 2003, she continued to practice law for 10 more years.

In addition to being an accomplished attorney as well as a devoted wife and mother, Ofelia served on the Board of Directors for Meals on Wheels and was a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She took great pride in being a grandmother, baking, painting, crocheting, knitting, traveling, and spending time with family. She had a passion for opera, theater, movies, and the New York Times crossword puzzle. She loved fashion and had fierce style until the very end, wearing leather, over the knee, boots to the hospital before she passed.

Ofelia was preceded in death by her husband, Jose Luis Martinez, daughter, Diana Mari Martinez, sister, Gisela Perez, and brother, Rene Galindo. Ofelia is survived by her daughters, Beatriz Martinez (Bob) and Adriana Martinez, brother, Rey Galindo (Sharon), grandsons, Brian Brown (Sue) and Alex Brown, granddaughters, Lauren Brown (Kiki) and Savannah Moore, and great granddaughters, Emma Andres-Brown and Lucy Andres-Brown.

Ofelia was an absolute force of nature. She’ll always be remembered as an incredible woman, who lived an extraordinary life. Although it’s hard to believe she’s no longer with us, it was even harder to believe how old she actually was. (She’d want me to say that.) She really did look amazing, even at — years old.

We love you Ofelia, and we’ll miss you terribly.

The family will receive friends from 6:30-8:30 pm, Thursday, March 3, 2022 at Baldwin-Fairchild East Altamonte Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 am, Friday, March 4, 2022 at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, 861 Maitland Avenue, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701 with interment to follow at Glen Haven Memorial Park, Winter Park, Florida.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her name to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) https://www.nami.org/Home

Arrangement entrusted to Baldwin-Fairchild East Altamonte Chapel, 994 E. Altamonte Drive, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701. www.baldwinfairchildeastaltamonte.com