Jorge Alvarez

Jorge Alvarez Obituary

April 19, 1960 – January 21, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, FL

Jorge Alvarez, age 61, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida passed away peacefully on Friday, January 21, 2022 after a three year battle with a rare form of incurable cancer.

Jorge is survived by his wife of 30 years Melissa; his sons, Jorge (Olga), Jordan, Jason, and Justin; his brother Joe; his sister Jacqueline; his nephews Joey, Enrique, and Gabriel; and nieces Jacqueline, Carina, and Lauren; and numerous extended family members.

Jorge was preceded in death by his father, Enrique Alvarez and his mother, Zenaida Alvarez, both of which were waiting to greet him with open arms, great big hugs, and kisses as they welcomed him Home.

Born in Havana, Cuba in 1960, Jorge moved with his family to Columbia as an infant, then they lived in Venezuela, New Jersey, and Connecticut before settling in Miami. Jorge enjoyed traveling and seeing the world. He also lived in North Carolina for ten years and he'd planned to retire at his farm in the Tennessee mountains (the farm is in the background of his picture and the property was love at first sight for him). Jorge lost his father at an early age, which affected him deeply throughout his life, so he made a point to pass along his father's teachings to his own children. Sports were a huge part of Jorge's life. He loved football and baseball best, and the Dolphins and the New York Yankees were his favorite teams, but all other sports were fun for him to watch too.  His outgoing and gregarious personality made him the life of any party he attended, and he enjoyed having a good time. He loved music, dancing, and singing and often changed song lyrics to what he thought they should be. He enjoyed classic muscle cars, sports cars, just about any type of car would interest him (the faster, the better), and he loved attending car shows and auctions.

Jorge had a wide variety of work interests in life. As a young man he was a successful model and traveled to many places doing print and television advertisements. As an entrepreneur, he owned many successful companies through the years including Classified Clothing, Havana Nights Cigar Company, Vom Grenzpolizei K9, and Top Hat Friesians.  Jorge was a successful horse and dog breeder. He had a knack for simply looking at a Friesian, Barock Pinto, or German Shepherd Dog and knowing if it would be a champion. But his baby, the company that meant the most to him, was Inline Drywall which he operated for seventeen years. Jorge loved construction and through Inline Drywall he helped build many large projects such as the Hard Rock Casino, the Hard Rock Stadium, the Miami Beach Convention Center, the Port of Miami, the Miami International Airport and too many other jobs to mention. Jorge considered the men who worked for him as family and always asked them how they were doing, about their families, and if there was anything they needed because it was important to him that they were doing okay in life. Jorge helped many people through the years either monetarily, or assisting them in starting their own businesses, or through guidance based on his own experiences because that was who he was, an honest, caring man who wanted everyone to succeed. Family was the most important thing in Jorge's life, whether the people he considered family were blood related or not.

Death tried to take Jorge several times throughout his life. He fell from a third story building; was in a car wreck where he died twice at the scene (and where he saw Heaven) but the paramedics brought him back; and after his cancer diagnosis, with the treatments of his outstanding doctors, he beat it twice before it came back extremely aggressive this last time. Throughout his diagnosis he chose to keep his condition secret outside of his immediate family. He never complained, even when he was in severe pain, but chose to always wear a smile and bravely fight against the disease with a proud determination and a strength of character that was simply awe inspiring. He never gave up; his body simply gave out.

One of Jorge's many last requests to his wife Melissa was "never forget me" and she never will. Family dinners with the boys was a nightly occurrence in their home; time spent together to simply enjoy being with one another, to make plans, and have heated discussions about politics, creative conversations about business, and for him to offer life guidance to the boys as they grew into the honorable men he guided into adulthood. After Jorge's diagnosis and then the pandemic, his children gave up their own social lives to be there to support their Dad and to protect him from covid in every way possible, which meant more to Jorge than they will ever know. Jorge's children, "my boys" as he always called them, meant absolutely everything to him. To honor Jorge's request to never forget him, his seat as head of their dinner table will always remain unoccupied, to always remind his family of the great man, husband, and father that Jorge was, and to represent an open invitation for him to visit them in spirit whenever he desires.

Jorge was a phenomenal, courageous, and selfless man whose passing has left a hole in the hearts of all those who loved him; a hole that can never be filled but will serve as a constant reminder of him in the days, months, and years to come.

His immediate family is very sure that Jorge is causing a stir up in Heaven as he adjusts to being Home again. God knew what he was getting into when he called Jorge Home so we're sure that he was ready for his boisterous and engaging spirit to arrive and shake things up for a while. He's probably catching up with old friends who passed years ago; having some engaging discussions with his favorite talk radio celebrity about the state of affairs back on Earth; and some very candid conversations with God about cancer. As Jorge adjusts to being Home in spirit, those of us left behind will adjust to living without his contagious laughter and brilliant smile, his jokes and pranks, and the happiness he brought to our lives, but we know he is looking out for us from Heaven. We will miss you fiercely until we see you again.

A memorial service will take place on Monday, March 14th of 2022, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, with a religious service starting at 12:30 pm at Vista Funeral Home, located at 5755 NW 142 Street, Miami Lakes, Fl. 33014. A procession will follow at 1:30 pm to Vista Memorial Gardens for the inurnment.

In lieu of flowers, Jorge would prefer donations made in his name to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital (StJudes.org) to help kids with cancer.

Condolences, prayers, and memories of Jorge can be shared with the family via the online guestbook.