Yesterday in Cordoba, Argentina our good friend and buddy Judge Jose Luis Cardero passed after a battle with lung cancer. We knew that things were not looking good but our thought was that he would be able to hold on and see is us next 10/10/10 during the BA marathon.
I include photos from his last NY visit on May 2008 when thanks to him we befriended Susanita.
Obituary for Judge Jose Luis Cardero from his son Ignacio:
Dear Everyone,
Today is a sad day in the history of the Argentine Judiciary. Yesterday, around 00:30 local time. My father, Judge Cardero, died of cancer.
The amount of people that showed up to his burial was unprecented. I never realized my father knew so many people or that he had touched their lives in so many positive ways. Former employees of his were crying as if their own father had died. He was a tough boss but people could not avoid loving him.
He had recently been selected to become a Federal Judge in Argentina. He presented his candidacy and traveled to Buenos Aires in spite of his illness, which ultimately proved fatal. True to his perseverant ways, he discussed his views on several issues in front of the Federal Chamber of Magistrates. In the end, he apologized for not being able to come earlier, to which the president of the chamber got on his feet and said: ¨You have nothing to thank or apologize about, you have earned this position and we are honored to have you among us. The fact that you have appeared in front of this chamber in your present condition speaks of your dedication and strenght of character not only as a professional but also as a human being.¨ He was the only candidate from Jujuy to be selected for a federal judgeship in a very long and competitive list.
In his eulogy, six speakers came forth. Most of them family members who spoke of him in his capacity of a beloved father and other filial capacities. The most elocuent speech was given by the former president of the Supreme Court of Jujuy. On his speech he remarked that my father was a visionary, a bright man ahead of his time. He advocated for Judicial Reform and wanted the local court system to emulate the practical ways existing in the United States. He introduced mediation locally at a time when it was unheard of in the Province of Jujuy and the local courts were overloaded with preventable and costly cases.
In the end, people recognized him also for his integrity and erudition. A man who could have taken advantage of his position to become incredibly wealthy but chose to do the ¨right thing¨ even when it went against his own interests in a country that is known for the corruption of its state officials. He was passed for promotion more than once as a result of his beliefs in fairness and justice. He was also someone who in his fourties learned English from scratch and traveled to a foreign country to become a Hubert Humphrey Scholar and earn an L.L.M. from the American University in Washington, D.C. In his travel he rubbed shoulders with reknown U.S. Judges such as Justice Scalia and absorbed as much as he could to bring back to Argentina and help revamp the local system. Few state judges, if any, in Argentina had such academic preparation.
My brother Santiago spoke of his love for his family and I spoke of the traits that impressed me most about my father. Singularly, his tenacity and will to never surrender.
He was an energetic man who thrived on challenges and loved advanture. I still remember that one time he decided to vacation in Chile when I was a child but did not want to take a plane across the Andes. Instead, he pushed us to cross the Atacama dessert by car.
My father was not a perfect man by any means, he was rough around the edges when it came to expressing himself emotionally and an impacient man. To his credit, however, he was a self-made man. A man who lived the ¨american dream¨ in Argentina and rose to being the son of a humble Spanish immigrant to a prominent figure in the local judiciary according to the speaker of the eulogy.
When It was my turn to speak, there was not much to be said that had not been said already by wiser and more eloquent people. Only that I hoped I could live by his example and that I could approach challenges and turn adversity into opportunities the same way my father had. I dont feel that he has left our family but that he accompanies us on a different way.
Of those of you who knew him well, he had a highest esteem for you all. One of the local lawyers who is known for his poetic reminisces, when he received the news of his death said something that touched me: "With great sadness I've learned that a great person has passed away" (Con el corazon acongojado recibo tamana noticia, se ha muerto un grande.¨
Yours Truly, Ignacio and his siblings.
Obituary for Judge Jose Luis Cardero in Jujuy al Dia [Argentina]
Jujuy al día – Ayer, la provincia de Jujuy perdió uno de sus hombres más preclaros, casi una última reserva de la intelectualidad del derecho. Tras una larga enfermedad, a la que le puso el pecho con el coraje que lo caracterizó, falleció el Dr. José Luis Cardero.
Desde esta esquina de la vida no nos queda más que desearle una pronta resignación a la familia y a los amigos, y agradecerle la excelencia alcanzada tanto en lo académico como en lo personal, ha sido maestro de maestros y amigo de sus amigos y el que mejor nos aconsejó a lo largo de nuestra existencia empresarial.
“Rengo” que Dios te ilumine y que la paz ya este con vos.
Sus restos son velados en Futuro y serán inhumados hoy en el Jardín del Castillo.
