Napoleon S. Padilla

Napoleon Padilla Obituary

PADILLA, NAPOLEON S., 84, father of 2 and grandfather of 4, passed away on Saturday, June 12, 2004 at 8:30PM, after a courageous battle with cancer. Napoleon was born in Havana, Cuba on November 26, 1919. He graduated from Belen Jesuit School in Havana in 1937, where he excelled in all sciences. He later attended and graduated from the University of Havana, where he earned his graduate degree as an Agricultural Engineer. He married Marcela Hernandez on May 20, 1946 and had 2 children, Arturo and Ana Maria. While in Cuba, Napoleon developed a distinguished career and earned an impeccable reputation as an expert and foremost authority in the predominant Cuban tobacco industry. On June 16, 1960, Napoleon and his family experienced the agony felt by many Cubans as they left their home in Havana and established new hope as well as their new home in Raleigh, North Carolina. Napoleon worked for the Purina Company as a chemical engineer, until 1962, when he was called upon by the Inter-American Development Bank, to establish what would be the foundation of the current tobacco industry in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. His experience and expertise in the tobacco industry allowed him to successfully establish what is considered by many to be the finest tobacco in the world. In 1967, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations recruited Napoleon and asked him to develop and administer several agricultural programs in the Middle East. After three years, Napoleon was relocated to the FAO world headquarters in Rome, Italy, as the Officer of Agricultural Operations in Central America and later returned to the Dominican Republic as the FAO Representative in that country, where he remained until his retirement in 1982. Napoleon and his wife retired to Miami, FL, where he spent the last 22 years of his life with his daughter's family. Although retired, Napoleon never ceased to remain active. During this time, he wrote and published his autobiography entitled, "Memorias de un Cubano sin Importancia." In this book, he interweaved significant moments in his life with historical events to achieve a unique diary of the events surrounding his achievements. Napoleon always believed that for a man to have lived a complete life, he was to plant a tree, have children and write a book. Napoleon lived a complete life. To visit this Guest Book Online, go to www.herald.com/obituaries.

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Published by the Miami Herald on Jun. 15, 2004.

Memories and Condolences
for Napoleon Padilla

4 Entries

Richard and Gina Blanco

June 23, 2004

We feel we are better people for having known Napoleon. He always had very interestings topics to speak to you about and one always felt he had taught you something.

He was the head of a wonderful family whom we consider not just friends but also family.

Napoleon will be missed very much by us. We will always remember him in our thought and in our prayers.

Richard Blanco, Jr.

June 23, 2004

I have known Napoleon for over 15 years. He is the grandfather of my best friend. Looking back now that he is gone, I realize that in a way he was another grandfather to me. At least it felt that way when I was around him. Throughout the years, it was always an honor to listen to his wisdom, comments and teachings. Napo was a very learned individual, and he would always speak his mind on things. He always had a comment or explanation about something, especially when it came to music from the Big Band era, and Sinatra. He would grab you by the arm, squeeze hard and then ask “Did you know that….?”. He was always testing your knowledge, and on most occasions you would come out looking like a fool, but you always learned something, which to me, was more important than my ego. He has done things and visited places in his life that many of us will never have the opportunity to do so. He has accomplished many things and had a full life. What more can one ask for? I remember him telling me that not too long ago when he found out he did not have too much time left. It made me feel better for him, but I knew that his situation frustrated him. He wanted to continue accomplishing things. His mind and heart were very strong.

I always enjoyed hearing his arguments on Cuba, the way it has changed over the past 40+ years and his thoughts about its future. In a way, I see his involvement in the Dominican Republic as a way for him to achieve and set those things in motion that were not possible in communist Cuba. There is still plenty to be accomplished in the Dominican Republic, but I am positive he was proud (his family and myself included) that he accomplished so much there for the tobacco industry and for the people of the D.R.

I will miss Napo terribly. I will miss getting into his Cadillac (“This is the best car in the world”) and watching him whistle a jazzy tune while Alex, his grandson, and I were driven somewhere, typically lunch. I will miss hearing him tell the story about how he knocked on Andy Griffith’s house one day to introduce himself as a fan (Andy Griffith answered the door..the rest is history). I will miss his stories about classic Hollywood and its stars, and the music of his era, the 1940’s. His favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. Boy, did he love Sinatra. He would look at me straight in the eye (“oh boy, here comes another trivia test”) and ask me if I had ever heard Sinatra sing whatever song name came to his mind at that moment. Being a jazz lover, I have heard Sinatra all my life, something I don’t think Napo realized in a funny sort of way, but I would play along most of the time. He would stop whatever he was doing and would say “Come here”. He would then sit you down and make you listen to a song, or make you watch a VHS tape recorded in the early 80’s when Frankie still looked and sounded good. Napo would teach you everything there was to know about that song. You would leave having a new appreciation for that song until he asked you about a different song at his next opportunity.

I have no doubt in my mind that Napo is dancing to big band tunes with his beloved wife Marcela in that big tobacco field in the sky. I found it interesting that Napoleon left us the same week as President Ronald Reagan, another man I admired very much. Two great men, gone now from this Earth, that made a difference and left a lasting impression on many people. I don’t think this is coincidence. There are no coincidences. Everything coincides. Both had battles with an illness and long, meaningful lives. Both made changes that affected people of the world in one way or another. Both are in a better place now.

Napo, I will miss you very much. I hope that when, and if, I reach 80+ years, I can look back and say that I have lived a life as honorable and as full as yours. Please watch over your family and friends. Looking back, I think you still had a lot more to give this world and those around you. I consider you a legend, and I cant wait to see you again. I am dying to hear that Andy Griffith story one more time.

Besos y Abrazos,

Lee Ciereszko

June 22, 2004

I have known Napoleon since I was a freshman in high school. He always had words of wisdom and humble stories of his past in the agricultural industries, especially Dominican tobacco, which many of us appreciate greatly. I was able to visit with him a couple of months before his passing and he was in good spirits.

Stephen McGaughey

June 15, 2004

I met Napoleon in Santo Domingo about two to three years ago. I was the Representative of the Inter-American Development Bank there and he was working for the Government of the Dom. Rep. My wife and I also accompanied him on flight to Miami once and we felt a strong friendship with him.

On behalf of our family we wish to express our sadness at his passing. He was a man who was full of ideas, full of energy and a good friend to all. He was very characteristic of a generation of Cuban agronomists who made many contributions outside of their native country, had great human and moral values and who worked on the issues of agriculture, poverty and development. He will be missed.

Stephen E. McGaughey