Maria Amalia Perez

Dr. Maria Amalia Abreu Maceo de Perez, 94, of Miami (Westchester), formerly of Paterson
New Jersey passed away peacefully on July 1, 2024 surrounded by her loving family.
She was born in Chaparra, a small town in the Province of Oriente, Cuba, on May 10,
1930. She was married to the love of her life Miguel Emilio for 63 years until his passing on July
13, 2021.
She is survived by her daughters, Maria Gobo and husband, Altair; Audrey Zatarain and
husband, Ernesto, and grandchildren, Alexander and Michael Gobo; Daniel, Sabrina and
Juliana Zatarain. She is predeceased by her husband, Miguel E. Perez; father, Roberto Abreu;
mother, Amalia Maceo de Abreu and brothers, Roberto Jr. and Pedro Abreu.
After graduating high school in Holguin, Cuba, she continued her education, attending
the University of Havana, which was very unusual at the time, for women rarely left home to
study or start a career. There she graduated and achieved her P.H.D in Philosophy and Letters.
Soon after graduating she returned home and started teaching at Luciano Domech Academy in
Central Delicias, Cuba, as a Spanish/Literature teacher. During this time she met her husband
Miguel and they were married a year later. She continued to teach at Government School in
Puerto Padre, Cuba as a Spanish teacher and then at North Oriente University in Holguin, Cuba
as a Professor of Linguistics and Philology. She was also a graduate of the Orbón Conservatory
of Music (Piano) in Havana.
Her first daughter was born during the political upheavals of the country when Fidel
Castro came into power. This presented a problem for her. Being a teacher, his regime wanted
her to teach communist doctrines, something she refused to do. This is when the young couple
decided they must leave their homeland behind and start a new life in the U.S., just as so many
other Cuban families had done. She resigned from her position as an educator and moved to
Havana. At this time, the government was stopping educators from leaving the island. Luckily,
an opportunity presented itself. The government was exchanging prisoners from The Bay of
Pigs for medicine in Miami. So, in 1963, Maria, Miguel and their 4-year old daughter came to the
United States, fleeing persecution and tyranny in search of freedom on the bottom of an
American Red Cross cargo ship called "The American Surveyor". She was leaving behind her
family, the comforts of home, and a career as an educator she had worked so hard to achieve to
start over in a foreign and unfamiliar country.
In the beginning, times were difficult for Maria, however she persevered. Once in Miami,
Maria and Miguel discovered there was no work for them, so they headed to New Jersey,
sponsored by the Ridgewood Christian Reformed Church, in Ridgewood, N.J. The church
helped them find a place to live. They settled in Prospect Park, N.J. and later moved to
Paterson.
A few years later, after Maria had her second daughter, she decided she would return to
school to become certified to teach in the United States. She missed being an educator. She
took classes nights and weekends with the help of her husband Miguel. It took patience but she
earned her M.A. in Education K-12 (Elementary and Spanish) at Montclair State College in
1972. Later she was one of the first three hired teachers in Paterson, N.J. to teach in a new pilot
bilingual program at Public School 15 as a third grade teacher. Over the years the program
changed and she changed with it, working over 25 years for the children of Paterson. Maria also
earned a Master's Degree at William Paterson State College in Spanish Literature.
Maria received many awards and accolades as an educator: Mayor, Award for
Outstanding Civic Contribution (Paterson), Governor's Teacher Recognition Program -
Outstanding Teacher (State of New Jersey), Senate Citation from the State of New Jersey for
her commitment to the Hispanic Community, Teacher of the Year- Juyayanos Ausentes Award,
Who's Who in American Education.
In June of 1997, Maria retired from teaching. A few years later she relocated to Miami,
Florida with Miguel. She traveled the world, always learning new things wherever she visited.
Maria will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, abuela, as well as an exemplary role
model and a lifelong, dedicated educator.
Viewing will be held on Wednesday, July 10 at Van Orsdel Chapel in Coral Gables,
4600 SW 8th Street from 10:00am to 12:30pm. A mass and entombment will follow 1 pm at Our Lady
of Mercy Chapel and Catholic Cemetery, 11411 NW 25th Street, Miami Fl.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made in honor of "Maria Amalia Abreu Maceo de
Perez" to: www.alz.org Alzheimer's Association. This donation will help in the advancement of a
cure for this debilitating disease.