Pharmacist couple who was living the beach life dream in Surfside died in the collapse
For Raymond and Mercedes Urgelles, moving to Surfside from West Kendall was the beginning of a dream life on the beach: expansive ocean views from their living room, waking up to the sunrise every day, taking a dip in the sea before heading to work for the last few years before retirement.
Cuban-born Urgelles and his Puerto Rican wife were both pharmacists. They had sent their two children, Daniel and Jennifer, off to college and by 2015 were young empty nesters with a whole new life ahead of them.
They put their large house in the suburbs up for sale and set out to find an oceanfront two-bedroom condo that would be perfect for their next chapter.
“I sold their house and found them the unit at Champlain Towers South; that’s an area where they really had yearned to live in; they wanted that beach lifestyle after their kids went to college,” said Jennifer Gomez, Realtor at The Selling Miami Group. “The tragedy hurt me deeply because they had so many plans.”
Mercedes Fuentes Urgelles, 61, and Raymond Urgelles, 61, lived in unit 211 of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which partially collapsed on June 24, 2021, killing 98 people. The couple’s bodies were recovered on July 11, and identified two days later, according to Miami-Dade Police.
Devoted to their children
The devoted parents had lived for their kids, sending their children to the best schools and teaching them the value of hard work and kindness.
Danny was in the same 2007 graduating class at Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami as Juan Mora Jr., who died in the collapse alongside his parents, Juan and Ana Mora, whom he was visiting from Chicago.
Jenny graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, the Catholic all-girls high school in Miami, Class of 2009.
Danny graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in economics, earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and now works in private equity in New York, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Jenny received an associate’s degree in design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, then returned to Miami to graduate from Florida International University with a business degree. She is a senior marketing and communications specialist at Baptist Health South Florida, according to LinkedIn.
“They raised two wonderful children and were really good examples to our community. I miss seeing them at the 10 o’clock Mass every Sunday,” said Rev. Juan J. Sosa from St. Joseph Catholic Church in Miami Beach.
The Urgelles began attending Mass at the church after moving to Surfside six years ago, Sosa said. “They were very united and always friendly.”
Worked for years in Miami’s medical community
Mercedes was working as director of pharmacy services at Coral Gables Hospital, where she’d worked for five years. She started her career as a staff pharmacist at South Miami Hospital in 1984, and held a degree in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Puerto Rico College of Pharmacy, from which she graduated in 1983.
After moving to Surfside, she quickly found a salon to get her nails and her lush mane of blond hair done. Emily Wands, owner of LAHH Salon in Surfside, said Mercedes, known as Mercy to friends, would go in almost every week to get a blowout, and every few months for a cut and color for the past five years.
Mercedes was one of her longtime clients, Wands said.
“We’ve been crying about her for days,” Wands said days after the collapse. “Then you just start asking yourself, ‘What can I do to help?’ ”
Raymond, known to friends and colleagues as Ray, was a pharmacist by training and built a career working as a sales representative for large drug manufacturers.
Most recently, he worked as an executive hematology oncology specialist who spent over 10 years at Bristol Myers Squibb. Previously, he worked as an executive sales representative at Sanofi-Aventis, according to his LinkedIn profile.
After graduating from St. John’s University in New York with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, he earned an MBA in business from the University of Phoenix.
To colleagues, Ray was a kind and knowledgeable professional who generously shared his expertise.
“He was extremely smart in regards to cancer medications and treatments; he was always teaching me something new,” said Karen Richards Stephenson, an oncologist nurse practitioner at Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami Beach who knew Urgelles for more than 25 years.
Stephenson, who coordinates the center’s annual oncology symposium, said she wants the next gathering, scheduled for Oct. 2, to be dedicated to Urgelles.
“There will be at least 100 attendees and 40 pharmaceutical representatives that have worked with him, so we want to honor Ray and thank him for everything he did for us,” she said.
A fundraiser to benefit Daniel and Jenny was created by Daniela Paez, a family friend, on GoFundMe. The campaign has collected over $78,000 as of Sept. 14.
Miami Herald staff writers Samantha J. Gross and Carlos Frias contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 12:15 PM.
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