by Nancy Kinnally
January 22, 2015
The Florida Bar Foundation lost a great leader, and a beautiful family lost an adoring husband and father Jan. 19, when Julio Cesar Jaramillo, 48, passed away after battling lymphoma for several months.
‘He was a charismatic leader that everyone was eager to follow,” said Senior Judge Emerson R. Thompson Jr., the Foundation’s president. “And he will be sorely missed by all who knew him and all who know the importance of access to justice for the most needy in our society.”
Jaramillo was president-elect of the Foundation when his illness forced him to defer his service.
“Our board and staff are mourning a talented and beloved member of this family,” said Foundation CEO Bruce B. Blackwell. “We are so terribly saddened by his loss to his family, his practice, our board, and friends everywhere.”
Jaramillo also was vice chair of The Florida Bar’s Vision 2016 Access to Legal Services Committee.
When notifying fellow committee members of his passing, Adele I. Stone, a past president of the Foundation and chair of the Vision 2016 Access to Legal Services Committee, remembered Jaramillo as a fun-loving yet serious person.
“His easygoing approach belied a deep and caring intellect,” Stone wrote. “During one of our meetings, as I was trying to grope for a way to express our goals, he graphed out a flow chart of how we could most efficiently assist someone with legal needs. I recall chiding him for not paying attention and playing with his pad and paper instead. He showed me! I will forever remember ‘Julio’s Paradigm.’ ”
Stone recalls Jaramillo calling her from his hospital bed to resign as vice chair of the Vision 2016 Access to Legal Services Committee after receiving his diagnosis. Even then, he remained mindful of his responsibilities to the profession.
“During his time with the Bar, he committed himself to the causes of the poor in more ways than his service on our Committee and the Foundation,” Stone wrote. “Julio Jaramillo touched the community, the Foundation and The Florida Bar and we all enjoyed his presence for too short a time.”
Jaramillo practiced in the area of civil litigation. He earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Florida International University and his law degree from the University of Florida College of Law. He had served The Florida Bar as a member of its Grievance Mediation & Fee Arbitration Committee, as well as one of its local grievance committees. He is a past member of the Cuban-American Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the Florida Justice Association. A founder of the Colombian American Bar Association, he served as president of the Colombian American Service Association and worked pro bono for the Dade County Bar Association’s “Put Something Back” program.
He is a Florida Bar Foundation Fellow and began serving on the board in 2005. He was a member of several Foundation committees and chaired the investment and development committees.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia, his sons Julian, 4, and Joaquin, 2, his brother, Dr. David Jaramillo, and sisters Patricia Rubio and Elaine Mangia.
A viewing will be held Sat., Jan. 24, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Maspons Funeral Home, 3500 S.W. 8th St., Miami. A memorial service will be held Tues., Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. at Church of the Epiphany, 8235 S.W. 57th Avenue, Miami.
In lieu of flowers, an education fund is being set up to benefit Julian and Joaquin. Donations should be made payable to: “Mainstay Funds” and sent to: Cristina Martinez, 7700 N. Kendall Dr., Suite 203, Miami, FL 33156.
