The greatest man we have ever known, Dr. Rodolfo Antonio Caballero has become one of the newest angels in Heaven. Some of you lovingly called him Doc, Rodolfito, Tio Feo, Papa Redneck, Papi, Rodolfo, Papa Bear and all those teachers and kids at Sts. Peter and Paul affectionately called him Abuelo, to us he was our Dad.
Papa grew up on a farm in Camaguey, Cuba. He was a humble man and a hard worker all of his life. He loved sports, especially the Georgia Bulldogs , Go Dawgs! And always barked like a dog whenever they won. Although Cuban by birth he considered himself a Georgia man and lived in Athens, Georgia for over 30 years.
A Religious man with a strong belief in that God never gives you more than you can handle and he “handled” his disease with the greatest dignity.
His grandchildren, “Moonshine”, “Piti”, “Little Trinque”, and “Popito” were his passion and he made sure they knew how much he loved them. He never missed a single game, dance, show and even relished in taking them to and from school. As for me and my sister, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for us. But the love of his life was our mom, his love for her was endless.
Our parents met in Havana, Cuba. Our mom likes to tell the story of how she was steps away from becoming a nun and then she met our dad. Dashing, debonaire, handsome and kind he not only caught her before she fell as she was honoring a statue of Mother Mary, he caught her heart as well. The we’re married for 55 years.
He was a social man and never gave up an opportunity to make a friend. Be careful you weren’t standing too close to him in the checkout lane in the grocery store, by the time your groceries were packed you’d have made a life long friend. Ah and those of you from the kid's schools know what I’m talking about. I think if there was an award for most social grandparent, Papa would definitely get it. He always made everyone feel special and loved and important. Even during treatment for his illness, he was happy and kind and funny, everyone from the valet to staff knew his name.
He was good and kind and loved to give hugs, tell jokes and laugh and oh my those jokes always ended with “Papa is so funny!”
Papa will be missed.
Friends and family will miss his corny jokes and his company.
My mother will miss having her best friend by her side.
My sister and I will miss our father, the source of our convictions. We will
miss our inspiration, our hero, our rock.
Papa’ s love, patience, understanding, wisdom and quirky sense of humour will live on inside us forever. Papa gave us gifts that are more precious than anything in this world.
Papa will always live on in all our hearts.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Rodolfo's memory may be made to Camillus House, 1603 NW 7th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33136 US, https://www.camillus.org/ways-give/donate-today/; and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, 1475 NW 12th Ave, Miami, Florida 33136 US, https://umiamihealth.org/sylvester-comprehensive-cancer-center/about-sylvester/make-a-gift.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dignitymemorial.com for the Caballero family.
