María de Cárdenas, prominent Miami public servant known for her generosity, dies at 72
María de Cárdenas, a prominent public servant who worked for the City of Miami for 28 years, died Sunday at her Coral Gables home of pancreatic cancer. She was 72.
Her husband, publicist and political campaign coordinator Jorge de Cárdenas, said his wife had been receiving treatment for two years to fight cancer, which metastasized at its later stages.
“Her biggest concern was that if something happened to her, I would take care of the children and the grandchildren. She did not think much about herself but about those close to her,” said De Cárdenas. The couple was married for 35 years.
Known for her generosity and efficiency María de Cárdenas held various posts until her retirement in 2014 as assistant director of operations for the Parks and Recreation Department.
“I have never met anyone who likes to help as much as she did,” said her husband. “Anyone who came to her to ask for a favor she tried to serve.”
Born in Havana in 1948, María de Cárdenas came to the United States in the 1960s as a teenager and finished her higher education in Miami.
She began her public career working for the campaign of Rosario Kennedy, the first Cuban-American woman to hold a seat on the City of Miami Commission. With the election of Kennedy, De Cárdenas was offered a job in the commissioner’s office. She then stayed with the city’s department of development.
Later, she worked in the maintenance department for Miami parks. Many of her colleagues paid their final respects during a memorial service on Wednesday at the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables.
During her years of public service, De Cárdenas also worked alongside her husband as a volunteer for the campaigns for the mayor of Coral Gables seat sought by James Cason and Raúl Valdés Fauli.
As a teenager after emigrating from Cuba, De Cárdenas’ brother recalled her being in charge of cooking for her younger siblings.
“We called her ‘Chispi’ since she was little because she was blonde and smart, like the character in the comic strip, Chispita,” said Louis Casuso, an attorney. “She was a fighter, an amazing mother.”
“She was very generous at all levels,” said her husband, adding that he will miss the way “she took care of me, always thinking about my well-being.”
María de Cárdenas is survived by her daughter Mariely, seven grandchildren and her siblings Louis, María Teresa and Tony.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 5:31 PM.
