Mateo Bethencourt Cabrera

Mateo Bethencourt Cabrera, 91, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at Overlook Hospital surrounded by his family.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit at Gray Memorial Funeral Home; 12 Springfield Ave., Cranford in Cranford on Friday, June 5th from 2-4 and 7-9 pm. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Saturday at 10 am at St. Helen RC Church, Westfield. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington.
Mr. Cabrera was born on a farm in the Cuban heartland to Spanish immigrant parents in 1917. He married Nicolasa Flores de la Hoz, an international attorney, in 1954. They had four children before immigrating to the US in 1961, where they initially resided in Denver and moved to the Tri - State area in 1963.
Prior to the revolution, his Havana-based company operated an import/export paper products business. After immigrating to the US at age 44 with limited language skills, he and his wife pulled themselves up by their bootstraps to create Guanche Enterprises, encompassing a wholesale distributor business to bodegas in NYC and real estate businesses in Spain. His charisma, compassion for the weak and helpless, love of learning and willingness to forgive and forget was an inspiration.
He is predeceased by the love of his life for 54 years, his wife Nicki, and his daughter-in-law, Cathy Cabrera. Mr. Cabrera is survived by his four children, Victor Cabrera and his wife, Mary, of Cranford, Carmen Cabrera of Cranford, Carlos Cabrera and his wife, Maria, of New York, and Jorge Cabrera of Sayreville. He is also survived by five grandchildren: Jennifer, Nicole, Julia, Matthew and James.