[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5103-5104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                PASSING OF FAMILY PATRIARCH ENRIQUE ROS

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 11, 2013

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, my dad was and will always be the wind 
beneath my wings. His passing leaves in us a loss that is eternal and 
deep. `Abu Kiki' as we lovingly called him was the center, the 
foundation of us all, and the one person who kept us grounded and 
confident in the path our lives had taken. If there is one comfort we 
feel during this time of unequaled sorrow is that we are confident that 
my dad is once again reunited with his beloved and cherished soul mate, 
Amanda Ros.
  Today I can look at my life and the lives of my brother Henry and my 
dad's adult grandchildren with joy and fulfillment. And I can do

[[Page 5104]]

that because Abu Kiki worked hard to instill in us ageless ideals of 
fairness and doing always what was right.
  My dad was a prolific writer and well-known historian. He was working 
on his 20th book, a biography of Antonio Maceo, when he died of 
respiratory complications at South Miami Hospital late Wednesday night. 
He authored 19 other books on Cuban history and local politics that are 
an important source of information for other historians, academics and 
scholars. All who shared my father's life knew that he was happiest 
when he was busy doing research and writing his books. His beloved 
library was a meeting ground for our family and he kept a detailed log 
of all the articles and pictures that told the story of my family's 
life and of his cherished books.
  For 65 years, Enrique and Amanda Ros, shared a wonderful life 
together and they did it by way of love and hard work. They raised two 
children who have families of their own, founded and expanded a 
successful family business for over 30 years (Ros-Forwarding), and 
labored both as one in noble endeavors to re-establish democracy to our 
beloved Cuba. They were in love and it showed through their actions.
  In the name of all of us in the Ros and Lehtinen families we would 
like to ask his friends and everyone else to not be despondent but 
rather to come together and celebrate his long and fulfilled life. That 
is what my dad would have wanted. I know my brother and I shall 
terribly miss him, but we know that this is not a goodbye but rather a 
time apart before we are reunited once again next to our creator.

                          ____________________