Jose Ramon Amaro

Jose Amaro, 86, born on February 11, 1939, in Havana, Cuba, passed away March 28, 2025 at his home in Encino, California. 

Jose's life had all the components of a blockbuster Hollywood move.  Drama, despair, love, fun, success and courage. The second to last of 14 children (11 girls and 3 boys), Jose's early life was anything but what today we would consider "normal".  

His father was a local politician while his mother was obviously busy raising 14 kids.  Jose attended the local schools and watched his sisters' date and get married.  He had a rather normal life until he was about 18 years old, holding two jobs, one at an insurance company and one at a famous antique store in Havana.  And then things really started to change.

First, coming from a non-religious family, Jose somehow was attracted to services at a Catholic church across the small park from his house.  He started to attend Mass there, became more and more involved with the parish and finally was baptized a Catholic, a faith he held on to dearly until the end of his life and one which affected his life in many ways.

Around 1958, when Fidel Castro started to challenge the established Batista regime, Jose's family became very politically split.  His brother, Miguel and some of his sisters, joined the Fidel Militia, while Jose started selling war bonds in the underground to fight Castro.  This was a very dangerous situation for the family especially for Jose who, if exposed could be jailed or even worse.  When the Castro regime took Havana, they not only burnt down the antique shop where Jose was employed but also took over and trashed many of his wealthy client's homes.  Jose's father was afraid he would be exposed for opposing the Castro regime, even by members of his own family, and told him to become a member of the party to survive. 

Unknown to even the closest family members, Jose, who had very little money, decided to leave Cuba. Somehow, through the clergy in the little church across the park from his house, he arranged 3rd class passage on a ship from Havana to Spain. A priest he knew organized the passage and arranged for Jose to stay at a monastery near Madrid until he got established in a new life outside of Cuba.  Jose's family later told him that his mother and father rented a small boat to sail out and search for him on the deck as the ship left Havana harbor. The voyage took about 20 days, because it had to stop somewhere in Africa to pick up African workers for the coal mines in Spain. During this time Jose was constantly seasick and lost 25 pounds.

On his arrival in Spain, Jose had absolutely no money and had to work odd jobs around the monastery and as a domestic cleaner in Madrid to survive.  He applied for a visa to the USA and two years later he arrived in New York City where some relatives, who had also escaped Cuba, helped him get a foothold in a boarding house and a job.

Here's where his religion again changed his life again.  While attending the English Institute at Columbia University and working in a cafeteria, Jose met Father Jose Mojica.  Father Mojica was from Mexico and had been a famous opera star and movie actor of the time but found his calling and became a Franciscan missionary.  Father Mojica was in New York recruiting young men to become missionaries in Peru.  Somehow, Jose heard the calling and joined a group of young men from New York to join the Monastery of San Francisco in Lima.  Jose spent several years at the monastery, and in more rural locations in Peru, teaching and preaching to the local indigenous Indians.  However, after several years, Jose felt he wasn't compatible with a religious calling and also had argumentative disagreements with the landowners who did not want the indigenous population to be educated. Jose left the Franciscan order and returned to New York.

Back in New York, around 1969 Jose found a job at LanChile airlines working in their reservation department.  He soon became friends with his co-workers and began to enjoy the social and cultural offerings of the city.  Jose especially loved opera, art and the social scene, and finally got his own small studio apartment in Queens, NY.

Here's where another big change in his life came.

In 1971 Bob met Jose walking on 5th Avenue New York.  Both were looking especially attractive.  Bob in his business suit and Jose with a fresh tan from a recent visit with relatives in Florida.  They chatted, discovered they had airline work in common (Bob was working with TWA, Jose with LanChile). Bob asked Jose to come over for dinner at his apartment. Jose knew after that he would need to be the cook in the family.  A lifelong friendship started.

Just months after meeting, Bob was transferred to Los Angeles and Jose decided to follow.  Bob continued to work for TWA. A mutual friend got Jose a job at Aero Mexican and then Mexican.  But going back to his aptitude for antiques and design, Jose left the airlines and began working in the design industry. With good looks, a Sauve personality and great taste, Jose became a very successful salesperson.  

Bob and Jose bought their first house on Sunset Plaza Drive in Los Angeles and with some close friends and an aggressive real estate agent, they flipped the house in two years and bought another new place on Blue Jay Way. After weekends painting and remodeling (while working during the week) the same agent helped flip that house for another on Flicker Way.  Following the same pattern, a year and 1/2 later, Bob found the beautiful house in Encino which is still home since 1977.

While the details are complicated (that's a story told over martini's), in 1988 Jim joined the family and the Tres Caballeros (in English, the "Three Gentlemen") came to be.  Jose, Bob and Jim went on to develop friends in LA; visit family and friends in New York, Wisconsin and Miami; travel the world; host great dinner parties in their Encino home and were loving support for each other.  Jose was always the cook and gardener (which he excelled at) while Bob and Jim had their respective functions keeping the household going.

About 2 1/2 years ago, Jose was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer.  He underwent 4 operations at Cedar Sinai in LA and then chemo and immunotherapy treatment until about two months prior to his passing.  During this time, his strong faith and pure courage kept him leading as normal a life as possible. He prayed the rosary every day, watched EWTN (Eternal World Television Network) where he would watch the mass, kept his cooking passion and took day trips to Santa Barbara and wine country with Bob and Jim.

In mid-February he had to stop chemo treatments because of the severe side effects and shortly thereafter was admitted to Cedar Sinai LA for multiple side effects of the spreading cancer.  When there was nothing more the doctors could do for him, Bob and Jim took him home with the help of a wonderful hospice organization and with loving caregivers to assist.

Jose passed away at 9:03 AM on March 28, in the house he loved, surrounded by the beautiful gardens he created and holding the hands of his two loving partners....the surviving Tres Caballeros.

What a storybook 86 years you lived!  What history you experienced first hand in Cuba; what bravery it took to leave everything behind to escape; how resourceful you were to overcome the challenges of an impoverished refugee and become successful as a designer; how you lived a great life with two loving companions for so many years; and how wonderful it was that your strong faith helped you both at the beginning and end of your journey in life.  You will always be with us in so many ways.  With love. Rest in peace "to our little guy", Jose.

NO FLOWERS PLEASE.  IN LIEU OF FLOWERS PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TO EWTN (ETERNAL WORLD TELEVISION NETWORK) JOSE'S FAVORITE CHARITY WHICH BROADCASTS THE CATHOLIC MASS AND OTHER RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING)