Herman D Perera

Herman Diaz Perera, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away peacefully, to stand before his Lord and Savior, after a brief illness, in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday, March 22, 2014, having earlier received the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church, whose faithful son he was all of his life. He was born in Baracoa, Oriente Province, Cuba, on February 12, 1925, the second child of Enrique Diaz-Perera and Dulce Hobart de Diaz-Perera; he had a happy childhood there, which he always remembered fondly. He took a law degree from the University of Havana, in 1950, and the next year he married Rosa Fernandez, who bore him their only child, a son, Carlos Diaz Perera, in 1953. He made a career in Sagua la Grande, Las Villas Province, Cuba, as Secretary of the Court of First Instance, followed by a municipal judgeship in the nearby town of Manacas. He joined the Rotary Club, with which he remained affiliated for most of the rest of his life. Arriving in Florida as a refugee from Cuba on May 5, 1962, after a brief sojourn in Miami he settled first in Orlando, then in Kissimmee, Florida, where he set down deep roots. There he worked, first as a technical translator, and eventually as editor, for an important international Spanish-language agricultural journal, La Hacienda. He attended Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, joined the local Rotary Club chapter, and became a Knight of Columbus. He later launched yet another career as a journalist in Spanish-language radio. In his declining years, he moved, along with his wife (who pre-deceased him), to Jacksonville, to be near his son, daughter-in-law, Kathleen, and four grandchildren, Anne, Lisa, David, and Stephen. He will be deeply missed by those left behind. A rosary for the repose of his soul will be held in the funeral Greenlawn Funeral Home 4300 Beach Blvd. Jacksonville, Fl, at 6:30 PM on Thursday, March 27. The next day, a funeral mass will be celebrated at Christ the King Catholic Church, followed by burial services at graveside in Greenlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, mourners are asked to donate to Father Flanagan's Boys Town, www.boystown.org/, a charity to which Mr. Perera and his late wife were much devoted. Please leave condolences at www.greenlawnjacksonville.com.

Arrangements under the direction of Greenlawn Funeral Home, Jacksonville, FL.