View video tribute to Julio Jaramillo
produced by Noemi Orsini
July 8, 2015
by Doug Sachs
Past Florida Bar Foundation Presidents John Patterson, left, and Senior Judge Emerson R. Thompson Jr., right, presented the President’s Award for Excellence to Patricia Caripa Jaramillo, who accepted it on behalf of her late husband, V, who was to serve as the Foundation’s president in 2015-16. Patterson was representing Shutts & Bowen LLP, sponsors of the award.
MAITLAND, Fla. — Florida Bar Foundation President Emerson R. Thompson Jr. presented the President’s Award for Excellence to Julio C. Jaramillo posthumously at the Foundation’s annual dinner June 25 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
Jaramillo, 48, passed away Jan. 19 after battling leukemia for several months. He was to serve as the Foundation’s president for 2015-16.
“It was this year, at this event, that Julio was to address you as incoming president of the Florida Bar Foundation,” said John Patterson of Shutts & Bowen, the firm that sponsored the President’s Award for Excellence. “Julio was chosen to be president-elect of the Foundation because of his long service to his community, his profession, and the Foundation. And for his natural, charming and unique leadership.”
Senior Judge Emerson R. Thompson Jr., the Foundation’s outgoing president, said Jarmillo was a charismatic leader that everyone was eager to follow.
“He is sorely missed by all who knew him and all who know the importance of access to justice for the last, the least and the lost, the most needy in our society,” Thompson said.
Patricia Caripa Jaramillo accepted the award on her late husband’s behalf. She said she was taking home not only his award, but also new stories about him that board members had shared with her. Incoming Foundation President Dominic C. “Donny†MacKenzie has dedicated his year to Julio Jaramillo.
“I am grateful to the Foundation board members, staff, executive director, and of course, Judge Emerson Thompson and Donny MacKenzie for having me there for their board meeting,” Jaramillo said. “After spending the afternoon with them at the meeting, I realized why Julio loved the Foundation so much.”
She referenced her husband’s Colombian heritage and its role in his spirit of volunteerism.
“For somebody who came from a country where access to justice is a privilege that only a few can benefit from, Julio could really value the work the Foundation does every day by helping many families,” she said. “Julio believed in the Foundation’s mission and was very proud to be part of it. He was also very happy and honored to have been named president-elect last year.”
Julio Jaramillo served as vice chair of The Florida Bar’s Vision 2016 Access to Legal Services Committee, where he worked closely with Adele Stone, the committee’s chair and a past president of the Foundation.
In a message to Florida Bar and Bar Foundation leaders, Stone wrote,
“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. Julio Jaramillo touched the community, the Foundation and The Florida Bar and we all enjoyed his presence for too short a time.”
Jaramillo is survived by Patricia, his sons Julian, 4, and Joaquin, 2, his brother, Dr. David Jaramillo, and sisters Patricia Rubio and Elaine Mangia. An education fund has been 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 805, Miami, FL 33156.
Doug Sachs is a member of The Florida Bar and a former journalist who is volunteering for The Florida Bar Foundation for summer 2015.
