Gustavo Barona's Obituary
Gustavo Barona was born in Cali, Colombia on March 30, 1938 to Blanca Melba Ospina and Francisco Barona. He was partially raised in Palmira, Colombia by his uncle Marino and his aunt Eyder Ospina. While in his twenties, he served in the Colombian Air Force and met Fabiola Restrepo at a social club while he was stationed in La Dorada, Caldas; they married in 1959. Gustavo studied economics at the Instituto de Economia Social y Cooperativismo, where he graduated in 1967 and later graduated with his Bachelor’s degree from the Colegio Mayor de Bartolome in Colombia. On May 27, 1968, he boarded his wife and children into a Colombian Air Force cargo plane that landed in Miami, Florida; he lived the rest of his life between Miami, Bogota, Cali and Palmira.
After moving to Miami, he took on various jobs while he went to school, including dishwashing, clerking at 7-11, working as a security guard, and working at a paper cutting factory. He graduated from Miami Dade Junior College with an Associate in Arts in 1972 and from Florida International University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in 1973. He founded Barona International, an import-export business that exported goods from the U.S. to Colombia; he exported a myriad of products, everything from Bic pens, refrigerators and medical equipment to Caterpillar parts, After many gains and losses, he disbanded the company and re-settled in Miami, where worked briefly as a taxi driver and then long-term as a security guard. His marriage with Fabiola Restrepo dissolved and he married Gloria Echeverri and lived with her until the end of his life.
Gustavo Barona was widely known for his love of food, political bantering, colorful cursing, esoteric spiritual interests and his twisted sense of humor. He had a knack for baptizing friends and family with nicknames. His daughters were re-named La Bruja, Mechas, Concepcion, and La Rosa Mariposa, and his son Gustavo Alberto (1962-2001) came to be known as Bamboleo and Chandoso. His own childhood knickname was Muñeco (doll) because of his pretty face and blue eyes; while in the air force he was known as Petirrojo (red robin) because of the way his light-skinned face became red when he was agitated. He loved the ocean, listened to old boleros, read new age books, and flew airplanes as a hobby. Gustavo Barona died peacefully on September 4, 2010 surrounded by his family. He is survived by his brothers Emilio, Armando and Carlos and his sister Lucia; his daughter Michelle and his wife Gloria; and by family members from his first marriage: Fabiola Restrepo, tatiana de la tierra, Natasha Simons, Claudia Barona, and his grandchildren Alec Shoelson, Nicolas Barona, Gustavo Barona, Isabella Simons, and Matt Simons. He is remembered and loved by many family members in Colombia as well as friends in Miami.
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