Obituaries

Savoia Cecilia Hernandez, age 81, passed away on January 22, 2025, in Tampa, FL. Ceci was born on February 14, 1943, in Sopchoppy, FL to William B. and Mildred Alford Cayson. Ceci was loved by so many people. She wore her heart on her sleeve, and was quick to help anyone. Ceci had so many stories to tell and was in the process of writing a book until she lost her eyesight. She lived a life of love and was the closest thing to an angel on earth. She met Eduardo C. Hernandez in 1957 when he was in the US Air Force while at the bus station in Tallahassee, FL where she worked after school. They fell in love and got married on December 11th and had six children together, Miguel, Rita, Alfred, Edie, Valerie and Eduardo “Lalo”.

Ceci was very dedicated to her jobs and was always eager to assist her children with their jobs. When Valerie worked at the Chamber of Commerce of Miami Beach, Ceci met a lot of people, one being Marjorie McDonald, the Mayor of North Miami Beach, who truly loved our mother. She started her career as a manager at Senior Citizen Housing and loved all of her tenants, taking each one under her wings. Ceci retired in 2015 from Allapattah Community Housing in Miami. We consider her bosses, Jeanne and John Sharkey, to be family and also Daeron Caveda. She had a big impact on all the employees and tenants. They still contacted her up to the day she passed.

Ceci was always excited to have a gathering, a celebration or a party. She loved doing everything for everyone, no matter the cost. She surely had a passion for singing and dancing and was a mama to all. Oh love she had for her children and her whole family. If she could have a BBQ every weekend just to be with her children and celebrate life with yummy food, she would. Ceci sure had a passion for food and would spend hours on the phone or at the table discussing family recipes or our next meal with everyone she spoke with.

Ceci was preceded in death by her parents; her brother Sedita Cayson; the love of her life her dog of seventeen years, Milo; and the father of her six children. She is survived by her six children; Miguel (Celeste), Rita (Jeff), Alfred (Lori),Edie (Ron), Valerie (James), Lalo. She is also survived by her fifteen grandchildren with their spouses, nineteen great grandchildren; two siblings, Bill Cayson (Lvonne) and Richard Cayson (Cheri) and her pets, Roxie, Zena, Diogee and Fat Cat.