Florida Senate - 2013 (NP) SR 1906
By Senator Diaz de la Portilla
40-04953A-13 20131906__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution remembering the life of Enrique Emilio
3 Ros Perez, recognizing his extraordinary legacy, and
4 expressing the deepest sympathy of the members of the
5 Florida Senate to his beloved family and friends on
6 his passing.
7
8 WHEREAS, Enrique Emilio Ros Perez was born to Josefina
9 Perez and Abelardo Ros in Cienfuegos, Las Villas, Cuba, on June
10 28, 1924, and
11 WHEREAS, Enrique proudly attended public school, was
12 admitted in 1939 to the Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza, and, in
13 1941, began his studies in Santa Clara at the Escuela Normal de
14 Maestros de Las Villas, where he graduated as a teacher, and
15 WHEREAS, in 1944, Enrique transferred to the School of
16 Commercial Sciences at Universidad de la Habana, where he
17 graduated with a degree in public accounting, and
18 WHEREAS, while completing his studies at Universidad de la
19 Habana, Enrique worked for a prestigious pharmaceutical company,
20 becoming a delegate and director for the pharmaceutical union,
21 where he discussed collective contracts with the Ministry of
22 Labor, and
23 WHEREAS, on February 23, 1948, Enrique married Amanda Adato
24 Menache, a young woman of Jewish-Turkish descent, and they
25 remained married for 63 years until her passing on January 28,
26 2011, and
27 WHEREAS, Enrique and Amanda had two children, Enrique
28 “Henry” Ros, now vice director of the Port of Miami, and Ileana
29 Ros-Lehtinen, the first Hispanic woman to serve in the Florida
30 Senate and the Florida House of Representatives and currently a
31 member of the United States House of Representatives, and
32 WHEREAS, Enrique became a distinguished member of the
33 Federacion Sindical Nacional de Viajantes de Medicina, which
34 allowed him to participate in various national congresses, and
35 WHEREAS, Enrique established a public accounting firm in
36 Cuba, Ros-Solis y Adato, where he represented renowned European
37 pharmaceutical companies, began to publish articles on important
38 issues in the local press, and became part of the political and
39 social Christian organization, El Movimiento Democrata
40 Cristiano, and
41 WHEREAS, with the rise of the Castro regime, El Movimiento
42 Democrata Cristiano ended its public activity, with many of its
43 members forming a clandestine organization, in which Enrique
44 served as the national coordinator, and
45 WHEREAS, in this role, Enrique established relations with
46 members and directors of other pro-democracy groups, which
47 motivated other directors to assign him as national coordinator
48 of El Frente Revolucionario Democratico (FRD), which was formed
49 in 1959, and Enrique assumed the responsibility of coordinating
50 various anti-Castro organizations in Cuba, and
51 WHEREAS, even after Enrique and his family were forced into
52 exile, he worked with El Frente Revolucionario Democratico,
53 where he participated in infiltration operations against the
54 totalitarian regime with Clemente (Mente) Inclan, Alfonsito
55 Gomez Mena, Laureano Batista, Jorge Sotus, Pedro Luis Diaz Lans,
56 and others, who inspired him to write for newspapers in
57 Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and Peru, and
58 WHEREAS, in 1963, Enrique went on to collaborate with
59 Diario Las Americas in Miami, where he continued his passionate
60 and eloquent support of democracy and freedom for the Cuban
61 people through the remainder of his life, and
62 WHEREAS, in the early years of their exile, Enrique and
63 Amanda founded one of the most successful freight-forwarding
64 enterprises, Ros Forwarding, which they operated for more than
65 30 years until their retirement, and
66 WHEREAS, after immigrating to the United States, Enrique
67 attended Miami Dade Community College and, on January 24, 1969,
68 received his bachelor of business administration degree from the
69 University of Miami, and
70 WHEREAS, Enrique published 19 books, which remain an
71 important source of reference for historians, academics, and
72 other scholars, and received numerous awards and recognitions,
73 including accreditation as a researcher in the National Archives
74 of the United States, the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, and
75 the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas, and
76 WHEREAS, at the time of his death, on April 10, 2013,
77 Enrique was writing his 20th book, which detailed the military
78 bravery of Cuban hero Antonio Maceo, and
79 WHEREAS, Enrique was a member of various local and national
80 organizations and participated frequently in radio and
81 television programs, and his tireless work and dedication made
82 him one of the most documented and prolific historians of our
83 time, and
84 WHEREAS, Enrique was loved and is affectionately remembered
85 by his children; his daughter-in-law, Ana Ros; his son-in-law,
86 Dexter Lehtinen; his four grandchildren, Jennifer Ros, Katherine
87 Ros, Rodrigo Lehtinen, and Patricia Lehtinen, and two step
88 grandchildren, Katherine and Douglas Lehtinen; his three great
89 grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren; his extended
90 family; and a host of friends, NOW, THEREFORE,
91
92 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
93
94 That we remember the life of Enrique Emilio Ros Perez,
95 recognize his extraordinary legacy, and express our deepest
96 sympathy to his beloved family and friends on his passing.