Juana Ofelia Morales, the wife of the late Carlos Miguel Morales, was born on February 8, 1939, in Moron, Cuba, and went to be with her Lord on January 16, 2022. 

Ofelia was the first of her sisters to come to the United States, settling in El Paso, TX in 1958.  With only a few belongings and without speaking a word of English, she and Carlos embarked on their American dream. Ofelia often recounted how she learned English from watching “I Love Lucy.”  Moreover, she had an amazing talent of making something out of nothing – old cloth into beautiful clothes, leftovers into a feast, weeds into gardens, or wood planks into kitchen cabinets.  At age 54 she went back to college to follow her dream of becoming an educator and graduated with honors from the University of New Mexico eventually retiring as a 2nd grade teacher from Kingsford Elementary School in Mulberry, FL in 2014.  In 2000, Ofelia relocated to Lakeland FL to be near family. Soon after, she joined the Shepherd Road Presbyterian church where she served faithfully and made many lifelong friends. Although she filled many different roles throughout her life, anyone who knew her will agree Ofelia’s core attributes are best described as faithful, dedicated, tenacious, inspirational, and–of course–“matchy-matchy.”   

Ofelia was the loving wife of the late Carlos Miguel Morales.  She was preceded in death by her two sisters Georgina (Ña) Bacallao and Gladys (Yaye) Tapanes and her grandson Carlos R. Morales Jr. She is survived by two sisters - Alicia (Neni) Simon and Orquidia (Oqui) Dominguez; four children and their spouses - Marleen & Mack Milner; Carlos R (Charlie) & Patricia (Patty) Morales, Miguel (Michael) & Maria Morales, Martha & Jeremy Bradshaw; ten grandchildren – Roberto (Bobby) & Yuka Morales, Marissa & Caleb Bloodworth, Micah Milner, Sarah & Montana Duran, Krystal Morales, Trischa & Aaron Lopez, Maximiliano (Max) Morales, Danica Bradshaw, Dashel (Dash) Bradshaw, Meztli Morales; and five great-grandchildren: Arisa (Ari), Sarina (Sari), Remi, Maya, and Charlie (LC).

A celebration of life service will be held Friday, January 21, 2022, at 1:00 pm at Shepherd Road Presbyterian Church, 1217 Shepherd Rd, Lakeland, FL 33811.

Live Streaming will be available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZsI3sSH-U3Q5pp19zYM0KA 

If desired, in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to:
     International Students, Inc. 
     P.O. Box C. 
     Colorado Springs, CO 80901.  
Checks should be made t to International Students, Inc. with a note: "Acct# 5364 in Memory of Ofelia Morales".  

Condolences may be sent to the family at [email protected].