Our beloved matriarch , Juana (Daisy) Fernandez passed away in her home on September 2, 2023.  She is survived by her brother Juan Roberto Perez, her daughters Rosa Maria Gomez (Gonzalo) and Margarita Lopez, her grandchildren Michael Lopez (Odalys), Barbara Brown (Anthony), Christopher Lopez (Samantha), Daisy Lopez, and three great-granddaughters Siena, Emma and Madison, numerous nieces, nephews, lifelong friends and family.  She was preceded in death by her mother Aracelis Perez Santana, her uncle Roberto Santana, grandmother Maria Santana, best friend Olga Medina and son-in-law, Emilio Torres. 

Mrs. Fernandez was a retired realtor and entrepreneur who loved architecture, design and remodeling properties.  She was the embodiment of the American Dream, arriving in Fort Lauderdale on July 4, 1963 escaping communist Cuba with her two infant daughters and her mother.  Daisy was the consummate sales person and creator - she dreamed big and worked tirelessly to see those dreams made reality.  In 1969, she created a clothing line named Yvette Originals, which she grew into a successful business manufacturing women’s apparel sold across the eastern US, despite not knowing how to sew.  When she studied graphic design, her original design of a guitar-shaped pool was selected for a new hotel in Acapulco, Mexico.  She attended the University of Miami, taking business and real estate courses,  formally studying the English language, and successfully passing the Florida state real estate exam on her first try.  She worked for Rosa Adorno Real Estate for many years while growing her residential clientele, purchasing investment properties and remodeling homes.  In the late 70s, she purchased 10 acres of land in the Doral area, which she grew into a 30-acre wholesale ornamental tree business.  Daisy’s Landscaping was responsible for establishing the landscape design of many Miami-Dade and Broward neighborhoods built in the 1980s and early 1990s.  Her subsequent sale of the Doral land set a new record for the sale of agricultural property in Dade county.  Daisy used her business acumen to oversee design and construction of a residential apartment building in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  She spent many years making DR her second home,  enjoying the food and culture that reminded her of her native Oriente, Cuba . Daisy also loved to travel with family and visited Europe twice, the second time taking her three oldest grandchildren on a month’s long tour of Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy & Monaco to show them the world. 

Daisy was a devoted Catholic, a Daughter of Mary, having grown up with the Sisters of Charity in Santiago de Cuba.  She considered them her beloved teachers and often visited them at the Shrine of our Lady of Charity in Miami.  Her strong faith helped her overcome many health challenges over her lifetime, the separation from her homeland Cuba, her immediate family and the friends left behind.   Daisy will be cremated and a Catholic mass scheduled at a date to be announced in Florida and Texas.

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that the Holy Rosary, prayers, acts of kindness and charity,  be performed in her name at this time. 

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/juana-fernandez/obituary/

Copy