- Date Of Birth: October 6, 1932
- Date Of Death: July 2, 2022
- State: New York
Belkis Beatriz Rodriguez, RPH, a great mother and source of inspiration for her family and countless others, passed peacefully at her home in Bronxville on July 2, 2022. She battled valiantly a prolonged and debilitating illness for 15 years until the end of her life. She was 89. She leaves behind, her beloved husband, Dr. Fernando Rodriguez.
Belkis was a warm, gregarious and gracious host to everyone that entered her life and home. She adored being a grandmother and loved doing art with her grandchildren. She and Fernando hosted great New Year’s parties for multiple generations. She was a magnetic socialite for the Cuban community. Belkis and Fernando travelled the world and built memories of a life together that was well-lived.
Professionally, In Cuba, Belkis was trained as a pharmacist & microbiologist at the University of Havana. In the United States she also worked as a microbiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital. She later earned her pharmacy degree in the US in 1992. She was extremely hard working and fully committed to supporting her home and children. She practiced as a pharmacist until her retirement in 2006.
Belkis brought her joyful smile, can-do attitude, and creativity to every thing she did, from helping her children move to another state, painting walls, re-upholstering furniture and decorating a home, to fixing plumbing, if the situation called for it. As a Cuban immigrant to America, she and Fernando arrived to New York in 1970. They, with 4 young children, faced many challenges, each of which they overcame being driven by love for each other, their children, and a passionate desire for a better life in America.
Belkis was born in 10-6-1932, in Uñas, a suburb of Holguin, Cuba. Her parents were Carlos Carralero and AraceliTamayoShe spent her early education at the Friends School and Institute of Holguin where she first met Fernando. They were together since then until the day of her death. They both attended their doctorate programs at the University of Havana. She in Pharmacy and he in Medicine. They married in Holguin in 1957 and lived in Havana and Holguin until they left Cuba to Spain in 1969.
Belkis Beatriz is survived by her husband of nearly 70 years; her daughter Beatriz, her husband Eric Olson and their daughters Loren and Lyra; her son Fernando C. Rodriguez and his daughters Paulina and Alexi; her son Carlos F. Rodriguez and his daughter Isabella; her daughter Teresa and her husband Gary Lawrence and their son Henry Lawrence. Her surviving sibling is Martha Carralero Tamayo in Cuba and her nieces and nephews in Cuba and Miami, as well as her dear cousins Tania Garcia, Alina Feria, Miriam Gonzales, Elizabeth De Arazosa, Beatriz Milan and Ileana. We also want to thank our dear friends Ana Brito and Francisca Rosa whose loving care of support sustained Belkis during her journey and all of us in the family.
