From the Le Mars Daily Sentinel: Dr. Jose Garrido

Dr. Jose Garrido of Miami, Fla., and a former Le Mars resident, died April 14, 2008 at the age of 93.

Dr. Jose Garrido was born in 1914, in Havanna, Cuba. He was a lawyer by profession in Cuba and served as the mayor of Havana, Cuba in 1950. He moved to the United States in 1964, fleeing the Castro regime, along with his wife Lydia and granddaughter Jennifer. They settled in Le Mars, Iowa in 1965 and remained there until 1987.
Dr. Garrido served on the Westmar College faculty as professor of Spanish.
This time in his life was one of joy and passion for his students. He continued to speak of the "COPACABANA" event which he started at Westmar, every chance he could.
While at Westmar he served as the girls tennis coach for several years. He also taught Spanish at Northwestern College for about 10 years starting in the mid 1970s.
He participated in the Westmar bowling league for many years, and played in the city tennis league until his early 70s.
He lived the balance of his life in Miami, surrounded by his family and friends.