Jorge A. Pinera, M.D.

Dr. Jorge Andres Pinera, 82, passed away peacefully on January 18, 2014. He was born in Havana, Cuba to Eloisa Machin and Antonio Pinera, and was the youngest of four siblings. He was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers; Antonio "Nico" Pinera MD and his wife Ayita, and Capt. Agustin Pinera. His two sisters; Blanca Lastra her husband Florentio, and Josephina Pena and her husband Julio also preceded him in death. He is survived by his Sister-in-Law Caruca Pinera.

Jorge excelled in school, becoming a teacher first and then graduating from The University of Havana, School of Medicine in 1960. When the Cuban government was overthrown by Fidel Castro, he felt that he needed to flee his beloved homeland to escape this oppressive dictatorship. Fate was on his side that he became a teacher first, as his passport stated that his occupation was a teacher, instead of a medical doctor, and thus he was allowed to leave Cuba. Jorge would travel to Mexico and then eventually come to Tampa, where he was a Resident at St. Joseph's Hospital.

While working in the emergency room at St. Joseph’s, a beautiful young lady required some stitches and that lady sparked his attention, and then for 52 years, Betty "Jean" was at his side. They would marry and move to San Antonio and eventually land in Houston, where Jorge did a Psychiatry Residency at Baylor University. He practiced a number of years as a Psychiatrist, but eventually would go back to his passion of practicing family medicine. Jorge practiced up until the very end into December of last year, when he was still going to his family clinic and seeing patients.

Jorge was a very compassionate man and Doctor. During the hard economic times in the 1980's, he took out an ad in the Advocate stating that if anyone was sick and did not have the money to be treated, he would see them at no charge. He quickly became an unintentional celebrity for his compassion and was interview by the Houston Chronicle, the UPI and NBC Today. Having come from Cuba with only $5 and a suitcase, Jorge remembered how hard it was for him at the beginning. Thus, he felt the need to give back to a country which so graciously allowed him in, and allowed him to succeed and prosper at life.

Jorge loved to stamp collect, play dominos, go to the racetrack in Louisiana and travel the world. He was a HAM operator and also loved to talk to people all over the world. He belonged to the American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, Harris County Medical Society, National Association for Rehabilitation and the Cuban Medical Association in Exile.

Jorge would say that he is most proud of his two children and four grandchildren. His daughter, Dr. Deanna Pinera Barton became a dentist, is married to Gary Barton Jr. and they have two children, Andrew (20) and Adrianna (16). His son, Dr. Jorge Pinera Jr., is also a dentist and is married to Carol and they have two boys, Anthony (11) and Dominic (7).

Jorge and his wife, Jean, were married for 52 years. While Jorge and Jean’s children were growing up, the family traveled all over the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, Egypt, Israel and Mexico. He had hoped to return to Cuba one day to show his family where he grew up, sadly that never happened.

Jorge will be greatly missed by his family and friends. The family would like to thank Cornerstone Hospital for the wonderful care given to Dr. Pinera. They would also like to thank Yolanda Gonzales, Dr. Pinera's faithful assistant of 37 years, Waldo Pena, nephew of Dr. Pinera, and Dr. Eddy Ponce De Leon, for their love and support during his illness and stay at the hospital. The family will be forever grateful.