Saturnino Cardoso

Saturnino Cardoso, beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, passed away the morning of Saturday, May 24th 2025 at the age of 99.

Nino, as he was known by his many friends, lived a rich and storied life. Born on a farm in rural Los Palacios, Pinar del Rio, he was the 5th of 10 children born to Manuel and Primitiva. Around the age of 20, he moved to Havana in the hopes of making his fortune. Never one to shy from hard work, he soon strung together a series of small businesses, eventually opening a bar in the small town of El Cerro called El Sur Bar. From his first marriage were born Jorge (Dinorah) and Alicia (Chris). This period of his life was violently upended following the Cuban revolution, when he was held for over fifteen years as a political prisoner. For the rest of his life, he would never cease fighting for a free Cuba.

In 1974, he married Nelsy Posada of Güines, Havana. May 27th of this year would have marked their 51st wedding anniversary. Together they emigrated to the United States in 1980, and devoted themselves to rebuilding what had been lost and re-connecting with family. True to character, Nino soon started a small business: an ice cream truck that he affectionately named Popos, because that’s what he called his grandchildren. From there, he dedicated himself to selling and fixing jewelry, drawing upon skills he had learned from working small bits of metal while imprisoned. He was nothing if not resourceful, and together he and Nelsy earned enough to feed their love of travel, which took them to France, Italy, Germany, London, Canada, Morocco and other interesting places.

Mostly, however, he spent this period doting on his grandchildren, Alex (Kelsie), Jacklyn (Quintin), Jorge (Amy), Daniel (Karley), Adrian (Jenice), and Andrew (Victoria), and later, his great-grandchildren, Olivia, Eliana, Evan, Daisy, Charles, Juniper, Rowan, Roman, and Bryson. He was adored by them all, who delighted in his warmth, his wisdom, his sense of humor, and his involvement in their lives.

In social settings he would hold court like a king, commanding the attention of family, friends, and acquaintances alike, with his charisma and ability to tell a story. He loved listening to the guitar, so much that he took up the instrument and wrote his own songs, emulating the traditional Cuban music he had grown up with. He would play his compositions with friends at many of the Cuban patriotic meetings he regularly attended. A man of deep faith, he also loved God’s word and began every day in morning prayer and Bible study. Listening to the Rev. Charles Stanley’s sermons was among his favorite things to do.

His hope in God sustained him through a brief battle with cancer and he remained steadfast in prayer to the end. In this way, he lived out his favorite verse, Psalm 91:1: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” He will be deeply missed by us all, who trust that he rests now in the presence of the Most High.