Paul Joseph DiMare

1941 - 2022

Paul Joseph DiMare
April 14, 1941 - December 30, 2022
Miami , Florida - Paul DiMare was one of our community's most dedicated philanthropists. He impacted numerous organizations and helped many thousands of people with his generosity of spirit, time and treasure.
Paul DiMare was president of seven family corporations and the founder and administrator of the Paul J. DiMare Foundation. He was named Agriculturist of the Year by the Dade County Farm Bureau in 2016; Officially titled the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Ag Expo Florida Farmer of the Year, the award recognized him for his innovative practices as a tomato grower and packer, as a community leader and as a responsible employer. He received the Martin Luther King, Jr. award from the Homestead and Florida City Human Relations Board; and named Outstanding Agricultural Employer by the Mexican-American Council. He was inducted into the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2005 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southeast Produce Council. Paul received untold numbers of local and national honors, including the American Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year in 2007 and the coveted national Ellis Island Award in 2014.
Paul served as a board or trustee member of many groups including: 1st National Bank of South Florida, American Red Cross of Greater Miami and The Keys; The University of Miami, The Buoniconti Fund; Frost Science Museum; Chapman Partnership for Homeless; Baptist Hospital South Florida Foundation; Camillus House and Jackson Health Foundation. In addition, Paul was on the board of South Shore Hospital, located in Southeastern Massachusetts, near the DiMare summer residence.
The DiMare's became members of the national American Red Cross Chairman's Circle, the organization' highest giving society and are recognized with their names in stone at Red Cross Square in Washington DC. They were also named Centennial Humanitarians as part of the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the local Red Cross Chapter. The DiMare's also were recipients of the prestigious United Way Tocqueville Society Outstanding Philanthropy Award.
Paul's support of the Arts, Science and Education helped our community forge ahead and provide new opportunities for a vast number of people. His generosity to the University of Miami included gifts to many departments: Athletics, The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the School of Education and Human Development, the Miller School of Medicine, and the Frost School of Music. The Swanee and Paul DiMare Stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts highlights the many outstanding performances held at the Knight Concert Hall and The Swanee and Paul DiMare Science Village and Butterfly Garden at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens has opened new worlds to local children and visitors from around the world.
Paul J. DiMare was a truly outstanding philanthropist and valuable member of our community whose guiding wisdom and helping hand will be sorely missed and whose passing will leave a void that cannot be filled.
Paul is survived by his loving wife, Swanee and his sons Tony (Debbie), Paul Jr. (Marielee), Scott, Gino (Denise), Jim Husk (Ana), 14 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
Funeral Services to be held at 12 PM Friday January 6, 2023, Church Of The Epiphany, 8235 SW 57th Ave, Miami, FL 33143. Services will be officiated by the Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski, Archbishop of Miami.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to the Miami Project to fulfill Paul's dream of the DiMare Institute to "Find a cure for the incurables", the neurodegenerative disorders that remain today without a cure. A place where outstanding scientists from everywhere, with varied backgrounds, working on the many incurables, (Alzheimer, Parkinson, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Spinal cord Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Macular Degeneration, Tourette, Huntington, CJD-prion disease), to name a few, could come together to share their knowledge and learn from each other to advance therapies and cures for these disorders.