Francisca V. Romero

Francisca “Paquita” Valdes Romero, age 95, of Tampa, formerly a resident of Lakeland, Florida, passed into eternal life on January 3, 2021, at Season’s Hospice and Palliative Care, at St. Joseph’s Memorial Hospital, Tampa, Florida. Born on January 24, 1925, in Havana, Cuba, to the late Luis Valdes and Evarista C. Del Pozo, she was a homemaker who also enjoyed being active at her Lakeland church, College Heights UMC (Hispanic Fellowship), for many years. In addition to her parents, Paquita was preceded in death by her husband, Luis Valdes Romero, a sister, Caridad Ares, and one grandchild, Steven Joseph Gartz. Surviving is her son, Luis V. Romero, and his wife Linda, of Tampa, daughter Martha Romero Gartz, and her husband Richard, of Lakeland, a niece, Gloria Ares of San Diego, and three grandchildren, David Gartz, Laura Romero, and Jonathan Romero. A private service will be held at Heath Funeral Chapel, in Lakeland. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations be made in her memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.