Rafael Victor Ross

Rafael Victor Ross, born in Havana, Cuba, and a long-time resident of Cutler Bay, Florida passed away on Sunday, September 5, 2021. He was known by many names by the ones who adored him: Dad, Daddy, Pop, Papi, G-Daddy, Rafe, Ray, and of course, Rafle. That was what his wife, Anna Marie, called him. After several months of declining health, God called Rafle home. He died at home with his beloved Anna by his side, a place she had been for more than 67 years.

Rafle was born in Havana, Cuba on March 10, 1939, to father Rafael and mother Maria Gregoria (Yoya) (both deceased). He was their only son. His sister, Norma (deceased), came five years later. While a young person, he played every sport available, was the captain of his class at military school, and spent many days spear fishing and diving in the beautiful waters of Cuba. His love of the ocean never wavered, and he enjoyed swimming, boating, and fishing for years.

Rafle was the first in his family to earn a bachelor’s degree. More than that, he graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialty in Mechanical Sciences from the University of Havana before the age of 20. Later, he would instill in his children and grandchildren a deep love of education, learning, and the desire to solve problems. There wasn’t a piece of machinery he couldn’t disassemble and fix. He never allowed repairmen in his home and taught his children to be self-sufficient and tenacious.

On February 20, 1960, Rafle married Anna who in his words is (not was) the most beautiful woman in the world. Throughout his life, Anna and Rafle faced their share of trials and tribulations, but they did so side by side. For years, even until the end, he would sit close to her, hold her hand, and sing Cuban love songs to her. He was a scientist with the soul of a romantic.

Shortly after their wedding, in the early years of the Cuban Revolution, Rafle secured visas for himself, Anna, and Anna’s sister Magda who was just a child. While preparing to leave, Anna and Rafle learned that they were expecting their first child and Anna would not be able to travel until after the birth of their daughter, Hayley. Rafle sent Magda ahead on a Pan Am flight to Miami to meet her parents in Miami. In 1961, Anna and Rafle left Cuba, never to return, carrying Hayley and their allotted 40 lbs. of luggage. Unlike his peers who took family mementos or heirlooms, Rafle carried his diploma and his treasured engineering books in his suitcase thus cementing what would be one of his well-known aphorisms, “They can take away everything, but they cannot take away your education.”

Arriving in the Miami of 1961 was like entering another world. Rafle and Anna were shocked by the discrimination they witnessed. Immediately, Rafle enrolled in English classes at the nearby Berlitz Academy and memorized the textbook from cover to cover. At the end of 1961, another blessing came to the little family with the arrival of Jacqueline (Jackie), their second daughter. Shortly thereafter, Rafle obtained an engineering job in Maryland and the little family moved to Washington, DC. There Rafle and Anna participated in their first protests bringing their young daughters along to experience Democracy in action. Three years later, their third daughter, Jennifer (Jenny), was born and the family moved to their first house in Greenbelt. Five years later, their only son, Rafael (Coqui), was born. Two years later the family, now complete, moved to Kensington and the house on the hill. There Rafle and Anna taught their children to study and not accept any grade less than an A (easy work for Jackie, but slightly harder for Hayley, Jenny & Coqui – don’t worry, they turned out ok too). Rafle and Anna encouraged the kids to work hard, grow gardens, barbeque (even in winter), clean the pool, be good American citizens, go to church, sing, tell jokes, play sports, read the news, appreciate music and musicals, travel, learn about other cultures, do what you love for a living because you will be doing it a long time, and above all, put family first. Rafle, Anna, and the kids did not always agree politically, but he gave them all the space and respect to have differing opinions on every issue of the day. “That’s why we came to this country,” he would say, and he meant it.

Soon after arriving in the United States, Rafle wanted to be give back to his new homeland. He enlisted in the military and passed every test and background investigation. When the military learned of the existence of Hayley (she wasn’t exactly a secret) he did not get to join. It was one of his regrets – not getting into the military, that is. Hayley wasn’t a regret. The kids learned in recent years that despite not being able to join the military Rafle did give back to the United States with his considerable engineering prowess when he worked on the space program for NASA in Cape Canaveral in the 1960s. Later, while in Kensington, Rafle would work for a variety of entities. But his partnership in an architectural engineering firm led to years of Rafle driving the family all over Washington, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida pointing out buildings in which he had done all the engineering designs. The best was when he took the kids to buildings under construction so that they could appreciate the beauty of a building taking shape. In 1979, he took a job in Florida so that he could finally bring his family to Miami for the weather, Anna’s health, and the existence of many other exiled Cubans. Eventually, he worked with WeatherTrol for many years.

To describe Rafle as just an engineer does so little to explain who he really was. He was the most successful coach in the history of girls’ soccer at Holy Redeemer School in Kensington winning city and county championship after championship. He was a NAUI Pro Certified Diver. He is also the same man who learned to fly planes at the age of 55 and then flew around the Caribbean searching for Cubans who had taken to the rough seas in inner tubes and makeshift rafts just to get to freedom. Yes, he was one of the “Brothers to the Rescue.” He was also a proud American who volunteered to be a poll worker for every election in much of the last 30 years until he couldn’t anymore. He was the founding President of the Beacon Hill Homeowners Association in Lakes by the Bay, and a tireless volunteer that helped incorporate the Town of Cutler Bay.

Rafle was a Knight of Columbus. He volunteered at the Catholic church (wherever he lived). He was a eucharistic minister. He sang in choirs, rarely missed a Sunday Mass and priests were a regular sight at his home for countless meals at his invitation. He attended mass at the fledgling church at the local high school (“St. Killian”) before it found its home as St. John Neumann. Rafle made sure that all his children were educated in Catholic schools.

As his record collection reflects, Rafle loved musicals. For years, he volunteered at the new South Dade Cultural Center so that he could stand in the back of the theater and watch every musical and chorus that performed there. Rafle, himself, performed in the fundraiser for St. John Newman gamely singing “There Ain’t Nothing Like a Dame” with the men’s chorus dressed as sailors. Make no mistake. He loved to perform. He was so proud of auditioning and getting into Oklahoma for the local community theater. But what made him even happier was that he was in the show along with his daughter Jenny, his grandchild Indy, and his nephew Andy.

Rafle was so proud of his whole family, and he adored them. He liked to say that he gave birth to them so naturally he shared Mother’s Day celebrations with Anna. They produced:

• Daughter Hayley (Douglas).

o Grandchildren: Amanda (Amy) & Alexandra.

• Daughter Jacqueline (Fernando).

o Grandchildren:

 Jessica (Andrew)

• Great-grandchildren: Milly & Esme

 Ashley-Anne (Jason).

• Daughter Jennifer (Yaletza)

o Grandchildren:

 Ryan (Alexandria)

• Great-grandchild Caleigh-Ann

 Mathew (Jessica)

• Great-grandchildren Brandie, Isabella (Blu), and Aiden Rafael

 Indigo

 Cameron

• Son Coqui (Brenda)

o Granddaughter Megan

Rafle is also survived by his sister-in-law Magda, who he thought of as a daughter and friend. Magda recently sustained her own loss of her beloved husband and Rafle’s dear friend, Clark. Rafle’s nephews Clark (Cinnamon) & three grandnephews, and Andrew & two grandnieces deeply mourn his passing.

We have all lost the true patriarch of this proud Cuban American family.

Family and friends are invited to the viewing on Friday, September 17, 2021, from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Caballero Kendall Funeral home, 11655 SW 117th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33186; the funeral mass on Saturday, September 18, 2021, at 11:45 am at St. Louis Catholic Church, 7270 SW 120th Street, Pinecrest, Florida 33156 followed by a burial at 1:00 pm at Woodlawn Park Cemetery South, 11655 SW 117th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33186. Please wear masks.