Patricia Cepeda

Patricia Cepeda, 57
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Patricia Cepeda, a Spanish language interpreter, long-time Portland resident, and widow of former Portland Mayor John O'Leary, died peacefully in her sleep on Monday morning, surrounded by family and friends at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 57. The cause was complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Cepeda was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, to a literary and artistic family. Her father was the Colombian author and journalist çlvaro Cepeda Samudio, a member of the 'Barranquilla Group' of writers and artists who experimented with new forms of creative expression in literature, photography, and film during the 1950s and 1960s.
Among the members of the Barranquilla Group was Patricia's godfather, Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garc'a M‡rquez, author of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' and 'Love in the Time of Cholera.' Patricia Cepeda worked as Garc'a M‡rquez's personal interpreter for nearly 30 years.
Cepeda graduated cum laude from Yale College in 1977 with a B.A. in Comparative Literature. At Yale, she met her first husband, Portland native John O'Leary. Cepeda and O'Leary married in Portland in 1977, and lived in the West End for 21 years. O'Leary served on the Portland City Council from 1975 to 1982 and was Mayor of Portland in 1980 and 1981. During their time in Maine, Cepeda worked as a freelance Spanish interpreter in the courts and other settings.
Cepeda and O'Leary took great joy in the natural beauty of the Maine coast. Their house on Little Diamond Island has been the site of many joyous gatherings of family and friends. Cepeda, who traveled widely, once described the 20-minute Casco Bay Lines ferry ride from Portland to Little Diamond as her 'favorite journey' in life.
In 1998, when O'Leary was named President Clinton's Ambassador to Chile, the couple moved to Santiago with their two daughters, Alejandra and Gabriela. During their three years in Chile, Cepeda forged friendships with many distinguished Chilean writers, artists, and political
Patricia Cepeda
figures. She also organized an exhibit of works by Maine artists, 'Maine Light,' at the Ambassador's residence.
After their tenure in Santiago, the couple relocated to Washington, D.C., where Cepeda continued her work as a freelance interpreter. With her husband, Cepeda established the John O'Leary and Patricia Cepeda Fellowship for Study in Latin America at Yale University. O'Leary died in 2005.
From 2007 to 2012, Cepeda served as Chief Interpreter and Coordinator of Interpretation Services at the Organization of American States. In 2011, Cepeda married lawyer Kenneth Frankel on the deck of her beloved house on Little Diamond Island.
Family and friends remember Cepeda as vivacious, compassionate, and welcoming, even during the final days of her illness. Her strong and wide community of friends all over the world is a testament to her far-reaching generosity of spirit.
Among Cepeda's greatest lifelong pleasures were literature, cinema, walking with her dog, Mapocho, and kayaking off the shore of Little Diamond.
Cepeda's survivors include her mother, Teresa Cepeda of Barranquilla, Colombia; her husband, Kenneth Frankel of Washington, D.C.; her two daughters, Alejandra Dafoe and Gabriela O'Leary and their partners, Jack Dafoe and Ben Gottlieb, all of Washington, D.C.; her sister- in-law, Peggy Powers and husband James of Falmouth, four brothers-in-law, James O'Leary and his wife Vicki of Windham, Richard O'Leary of Limington, Michael O'Leary of Greenland, N.H., and Kevin O'Leary and his wife Tiki Fuhro of Portland; along with many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her father and by her brother, Pablo Cepeda.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the John O'Leary and
Patricia Cepeda Fellowship for Study in Latin America
at Yale University.
Checks can be made out to:
Yale University and mailed to
Martha Woodcock,
Director of Development,
Yale College
P.O. Box 208241
New Haven, Connecticut 06520