Luisa B. Jimenez St. Petersburg, Florida Obituary

Luisa B. Jimenez

Luisa Bernarda Jimenez was born on Friday, August 20, 1920, in Meneses, a small town in what was then known as the Las Villas Province in north central Cuba. But that’s not what her birth certificate says. It claims she was born in 1921, not 1920. And the reason for that discrepancy is more relevant today than ever. The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920 was raging throughout Cuba the year Luisa was born, causing fearful locals to stay home and delay trips to larger municipalities, where birth certificates were recorded. Luisa’s birth wasn’t officially recorded until a year after she was born. That she has endured two global pandemics in her lifetime comes as no surprise to those who knew her. It's yet another extraordinary aspect of a woman who lived a truly extraordinary life. Having retired at the young age of 94, Luisa moved to St Petersburg, Fl. Luisa was at one time a talented costume designer and seamstress. She worked with well-known theater wardrobe designer Lucio Boliver to create lavish, iconic outfits worn by international stars such as Siegfried & Roy, and performers with Las Vegas productions such as the Folies-Bergère, Hallelujah Hollywood, Merv Griffin Productions, as well as for Bahamas Casino-Resorts, Cruise Ships and much more. In 2003 on her birthday, Siegfried & Roy surprised Luisa by dedicating their show that night to her and presenting her with a birthday cake backstage, it was just two months later that Roy Horn suffered an on-stage accident with his white tiger Mantecore. . Luisa was the fifth of six children born to Jose and Eusebia Sardon, immigrants from Spain whose families had come to Cuba in 1895 and 1899 to escape economic hardship and civil unrest brought on by years of social, political and religious division. Luisa’s early years in Cuba were positive ones. She grew up in a small sugar-mill town managed by her father. Her mother was the town’s self-taught nurse-doctor “Doctora” as the nearest M.D. was over one hour away by horse and buggy. The train came through only once a day. When she was 11, Luisa’s family moved to Caibarien, a larger and more sophisticated city in Las Villas Province. She developed a love of drawing and spent a lot of time looking through fashion magazines from Havana, New York and Spain. It wasn’t long before she began creating her own fashions and sewing fancy dresses for her older sisters to wear on special occasions. Luisa eventually moved to Havana, after marrying Ramon Casimiro Jimenez, a young medical and accounting student at the University of Havana. The couple had three children—two sons, Ray and Joe, and a daughter Miriam. When she wasn’t busy with her growing family, Luisa continued to pursue her passion for fashion and design. Everything came to an abrupt end in January of 1959, when Fidel Castro overthrew the government of Fulgencio Batista. Fearing the oppression of the new Communist regime, Ramon’s siblings immediately fled Cuba for Chicago, and, five years later, Ramon, Luisa and their children followed. In their mid-40s, with three small children, they had to start life over again in a brand-new place. Although being a Cuban political refugee in Chicago in the 1960s could be intimidating and overwhelming, Luisa adapted and embraced the challenge. For the first time in her life, she found a job outside of the home. At APECO Copy Machine Company, she worked 8-to-10 hours a day, five to six days a week at an assembly plant. In the few hours she had between work, commute, housework, church and family Luisa found time for her first love - sewing new outfits for her children on her Singer sewing machine. Of that time in her life, she says one of her proudest moments was in 1972, when In the 1980s, Luisa and Ramon moved to Las Vegas, where their children, now adults, had relocated. Unfortunately, during this time, our Ramon was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Luisa cared for him until his death in 1993. But it was also during this time that Luisa’s talent for fashion design and sewing blossomed. She met Lucio Boliver, a dynamic, young wardrobe designer. The two quickly became lifelong friends and with Luisa assisting Boliver in creating elaborate costumes for shows in Lake Tahoe, Reno, Las Vegas and on cruise ships. She loved it so much that at the age of 90, she was still working full-time. In fact, it was only in early 2015, after some health issues that Luisa officially retired. Four and a half years ago, Luisa moved to St. Petersburg to live with our family; her youngest son Joe Jimenez and daughter in-law Angelina. She enjoying her newest hometown, playing cards, dominoes and enjoying friends at the Suncoast PACE center 2 to 3 days per week (pre Covid). A lifelong supporter of St Jude’s Children Hospital and Wounded Warriors, she is survived by her sons - Joe Jimenez (Angelina), Ray Jimenez (Silvia), daughter Miriam Jimenez, Grandchildren – Alex Jimenez, Angelica Jimenez, Alessandra Jimenez and Cristian Saavedra – as well as too-many-to-count nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces. As a true Cuban, her favorite sport was baseball. Her favorite team is of course, the Tampa Bay Rays, and her favorite player is Ji-Man Choi. Luisa witnessed so much in her 100 years, from the advent of electricity, to the first cars, the first man on the moon to today’s Internet and cell phones. She lived through two world wars, the great depression, several hurricanes an earthquake and having to flee communism. Her story is one of courage, hope and determination as she moved through challenges and didn’t let life’s painful chapters define her happiness or her success. In lieu of flowers, please consider a small donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Please scroll to the bottom of this page for links to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and for the article on Luisa's 100th Birthday which appeared in the Northeast Journal.
August 20, 1920 - November 17, 202008/20/192011/17/2020
Share Obituary:

Share a memory

Add to your memory
Photos/Video
Candle
Mementos

Tribute wall

R
Ray Jimenez
December 10, 2020
We were blessed to have our Mother with us for over 100 years and she was truly the rock of our family. I have so many memories of her for different reasons. Her sense of humor, her work ethic, her ability to always make our house a happy home… here are but a few of man... Continue Reading
+ 1
Alex Jimenez
December 4, 2020
Alex Jimenez : Thank you friends and family for being here. We have come together today, to celebrate the life of an extraordinary women. A women that has touched the hearts of everyone she has ever met. A woman that worked hard for everything she’s had. A woman who put ... Continue Reading
Angelica Jimenez
December 3, 2020
Alessandra Jimenez: Good afternoon, for those of you that I have not had the pleasure to meet, I am Alessandra and this is my sister Angelica and Luisa Jimenez is and will always be our Abuela. First and foremost, I wanted to show my appreciation and gratitude to every o... Continue Reading
M
Miriam Franco
December 2, 2020
Miriam Franco Luisa was a wonderful, artistic, and industrious person, but most of all, she was a great aunt to me. When I was growing up we spent a lot of time together, she would sew things for me, and Miri, her, and I would spend hours talking, playing, and watching ... Continue Reading
J
Joseph C Jimenez
December 1, 2020
J
Joseph C Jimenez
December 1, 2020
J
Joseph C Jimenez
December 1, 2020
From my eulogy to our Mom at her Funeral Services... Our beloved mother lived - 100 years, 2 months, and 29 days of a life truly well lived… Strong, Extraordinary, Remarkable, Dedicated, Creative, Alive, Interested, Inquisitive, Charming, Loyal – all words that des... Continue Reading
J
Jack.kaplan
November 22, 2020
One of the most fascinating ladies. Wonderful smile laughing many stories. She will be dearly missed RIP Luisa
K
Karina Sosa Estany
November 20, 2020
Researching my genealogical tree I discovered this wonderful woman, my great-grandmother's sister, beautiful like no other. With her I learned about my ancestors and she gave me the joy of being part of their present. Thank you tía for the long talks about life and for t... Continue Reading
B
Brett Funeral Home
November 19, 2020
+ 3