Born on April 21, 1928 in Santiago de Cuba, Oriente province, Cuba, Susú was the beloved daughter of Juan Muñiz Perez and Caridad Calas de Muñiz she grew up in the town of Bayamo surrounded by a close knit family and her little sister Maria Esperanza “Chiqui”. Her childhood was filled with her father’s piano music, school , ballet lessons and adventures with her sister and many Calas cousins on the family farm San Ramon along the Bayamo River.
In December 1948 at Estrada Palma she married the love of her life Jorge Enrique Soto. They first lived in Bayamo where their children Jorge, Maria Eugenia, Esperanza and Juan were born. The family moved to Havana where Mali and Chuchi were born.
In 1961 the family made the difficult decision to send the five oldest children to Lake Harbor, Florida to live with Susú’s parents to protect them from the tyranny of Castro’s communist regime with the hope that the rest of the family would soon be able to leave Cuba. In 1962 the entire family was reunited and the quest of attaining the American Dream began in earnest always knowing that leaving Cuba behind to live in freedom, safety, and the pursuit of a better future for the family was worth every sacrifice that had to be made to build a new life in Clewiston.
Jorge and Susú were ever so proud of becoming US citizens in 1974. They never returned to their homeland nor gave up the hope that Cuba would one day be a free and democratic country and if that didn’t happen in their lifetime their hope was that their children would one day witness a Cuba Libre!
Susú retired from the Hendry County school system and over the years she fondly remembered her co-workers and many of the students she helped at different times through her tenure. Susú will be remembered for her amazing culinary skills, the crochet blankets that she spent many hours working on as gifts but most importantly all the beautiful baby clothes she lovingly stitched and embroidered by hand for her grandchildren, great grand children and for the many that she considered as family. One of her greatest pleasures was dancing with her husband whether at home, family gatherings, or weddings once the beautiful rhythms of Cuban music started playing they began the dance steps that reflected their heritage and the remembrance of bygone days.
Susú and Jorge’s home was filled with family gatherings, favorite foods, Cuban coffee, music, Christmas Eve/Noche Buena celebrations, baseball, football, dominoes, prayer and stories of Cuba. She passed down not only Cuban traditions, but also the values of faith, perseverance, gratitude, family, and the importance of honoring the USA by assimilating into the American way of life.
Susú was preceded in death by her beloved husband Jorge, her parents Juan y Cacha, her grandsons Carson and Johnathon and her nephew Pedro Juan Gonzalez. She is survived by her children Jorge (Adriana), Maria Eugenia Perez (Julio) Esperanza Kane, Juan Soto, Mali Gardner and Maria “Chuchi” Sweeney (Rich) along with 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren, her dearest sister Chiqui and her children, Gerardo Gonzalez (Lisette) Maria Castillo (Rick) and Silvia Swaford (TJ), along with a host of nieces and nephews, cousins that she adored and other loved ones that she included as family.
A mass celebrating her life with be held at St Margaret’s Catholic Church on Wednesday, September 9th at 1pm with burial at Ridgelawn cemetery immediately following the church service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be sent to St Margaret’s Catholic Church, 318 East Osceola Avenue, Clewiston, Florida 33440.
-------
Linda M. Johnson, age 72, of Moore Haven, Florida passed away on September 3, 2026.
Visitation will be September 11, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. at Moore Haven Church of God, located at 129 Palm Avenue Moore Haven, Florida where the funeral service will start at 11:00 a.m.
Linda will be laid to rest in Ridgelawn Cemetery in Clewiston, Florida.
No comments:
Post a Comment