MARIO DIAZ-CRUZ III

DIAZ-CRUZ III, MARIO, Mario Carlos Diaz-Cruz III, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and attorney died September 21 following a brief illness. He is survived by his wife of forty four years, Margaret Rowan Diaz-Cruz, his daughter, Elizabeth Diaz-Cruz Sarosi and her husband, David and his grandsons George Bela and Paul Carlos Sarosi, all of New York. He was predeceased by his mother, Matilde Pages Sanchez; stepfather, Jorge W. Sanchez; father, Mario Diaz-Cruz, Jr.; and stepmother Carmen Fuertes Diaz-Cruz. Born in Havana, Cuba on July 20, 1946, he and his family immigrated to the United States in. 1961. He graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in 1963, University of Miami in 1967, and Harvard Law School in 1970. Over his lifetime Mario travelled the globe. He was an enthusiastic tennis player and always found pure joy in the company of his friends and family; he was known as the life of the party. Mario began his lengthy and varied legal career at White and Case as an associate in 1970 specializing in antitrust litigation. He then joined Gadsby and Hannah as a partner. In 1988 he moved to Townley and Updike where he served as partner and management committee member through 1995. Since 1995, he has been an active partner at Dorsey and Whitney, serving as chairman of both the Latin America and the Latin America Financing and Privatization practice groups. He represented corporate and individual clients operating throughout the Iberian Penisula and Latin America, supporting their business objectives in the United States. His experience spanned a full range of services relating to mergers and acquisitions, capital market transactions, franchising and distribution, trade and investments, corporate and commercial transactions and international trade. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association and the International Bar Association. Mario was a member of the Spain-US Chamber of Commerce and was elected president in 2000. He served as chairman of the board from 2003 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2009. He was honored with the "Cruz del Merito Civil" bestowed by King Juan Carlos II of Spain. Mario served on the board of Girls Quest, formally The Girls Vacation Fund. Until his death he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. Mass of Christian burial will be held Tuesday, September 29 at 2:30, Church of St. Thomas More 65 E. 89th St., NYC preceded by 1:30 visitation in the Church chapel. In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to Catholic Charities, 1011 First Ave. 11th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10022 (www.catholiccharitiesny.org) or The Association to Benefit Children 419 East 86th St. New York, N.Y. 10028.