Maria Elisa Uribasterra Lajonchere's Obituary
Maria Elisa Uribasterra Lajonchere, 84, of Miami, Florida passed away January 23, 2021 in Ridgewood, NJ. Maria Elisa was born in Caibarien, Cuba on March 28, 1936 to Josefa “Cucu” Inchausti and Pablo Uribasterra Sr, a Spaniard from the Basque country who emigrated to Cuba to develop a thriving hardware business. In 1955, Maria Elisa graduated from the Ruston Academy, a bilingual academy in Havana, once considered the premiere American school in Latin America. She was known for her love of fashion, passion for her native Caibarien, her family, and her vivacious personality. In her yearbook, she was named “the questioner”, which spoke to her love of conversation and a good debate.
Maria Elisa loved to travel and spent a considerable amount of time visiting Spain after graduating from the Ruston Academy. During the Cuban Revolution, she said goodbye to her native Cuba and began her life in the United States. During this time, she worked as an executive assistant in New York City, where she met her husband, Frank “Paquito” Lajonchere, also deceased. Maria Elisa and Frank raised their two children in East Brunswick, NJ and Cambridge, MA before moving to Miami in 2001, to spend their retirement years close to family. During that time Maria Elisa volunteered with a Catholic non-profit organization, Cubanos con Fe en Accion, that organized and sent much needed medications to Cuba. She was very dedicated to her work and made lasting friendships.
Maria Elisa’s greatest achievement was raising her two daughters, Dr. Clara Maria Lajonchere, 51 of Los Angeles, CA and Elisa Lajonchere, 47, of Ridgewood, NJ, whom she cherished. She is survived by her daughters, brother, Pablo Uribasterra, Sr, of Lima, Peru, her son-in-law, Dr. Hendrik Kirchhoff, of Ridgewood, New Jersey and her three grandchildren, Bobbie Anaya, of San Diego, CA and Moritz and Caterina Kirchhoff-Lajonchere, who always made her life worth living. Maria Elisa loved her family. Talking with her cousins and extended family members and spending time with her “grand-dogs”, Lulu and Max, was always the highlight of any day. Maria Elisa was a force of nature whose optimistic and hopeful personality was infectious. She is sorely missed and will live on in our hearts.
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