BLANCA B DUDLEY's Obituary
Blanca Brana Dudley passed away in Coral Gables, Florida, on October 11, 2023, at the age of 94. She was born in Asturias, Spain, but at an early age her parents immigrated to Havana, Cuba, where she grew up. In her early twenties Blanca began her long and cherished career with Essosa, the Headquarters of Exxon Corporation for Central and South America in Cuba. Her time with Essosa was interrupted in 1960 by the turmoil of the overthrow of the Cuban government. Fleeing the revolution, she was able to secure work with the World Health Organization in Washington, DC. Not long after, however, she was able to rejoin Esso Inter-America in Coral Gables and remained until her retirement in 1986. All told, she worked with now, ExxonMobil, for over 36 years where she made innumerable lifelong friends whom she loved dearly.
Blanca’s life was full of activity, joy, kindness and goodwill for everyone. She was a woman of many talents. Many will remember her for the gourmet cook that she was, finding reason to cook up extraordinary dishes to entertain family and friends. She loved music, literature, sports, tennis being her passion, all the while using her proficient language skills in Spanish, English and French that kept her busy translating books, articles, etc. in each of the languages. She loved traveling and traveled the world with her beloved husband, Philip, until his passing in 2002.
For many years she served on the Board of the Order of the Dominicans, publishing their Newsletter and organizing their annual meetings in Coral Gables. But the greatest joy and devotion of her life was service to our Lord. She was a devout Catholic, giving the greater part of her time to serve in all areas of the church and her parish, Saint Raymond Church in Miami, Florida.
She is survived by her beloved nephew, Aurelio Brana, her sister-in-law, Emelia Brana, and her cherished cousins in Asturias, Spain, Mari Blanco Sanchez, Jose Antonio Blanco Sanchez, Maria del Pilar Blanco Sanchez, Carlos Blanco Sanchez.
Blanca left a written farewell to be delivered to us all . . .
“I will love you beyond death.”
A Mass in remembrance of Blanca will be celebrated at Saint Raymond Church, 3475 SW 8th Street, Miami, Florida 33145 (305-446-2427) at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.
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