John Berenguer, 81, passed away on December 3, 2016 at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. Born in El Cristo, Cuba on January 20, 1935, John came to the United States in 1955 after battling the Batista regime where he advocated for human rights and democracy.

He received a bachelor's degree in pre-law at the University of Delaware, a master's degree in social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and later received an honorary doctorate from Temple University.

John was dedicated to serving his community. His heart-of-gold and commitment to help others was demonstrated throughout his life both personally and professionally. He will be remembered for his charismatic personality, his positive attitude, and his faith and love for his family.

His career started in social services for the State of Delaware. His passion for freedom took him to the airwaves where he was a radio host for many years discussing his favorite topic for his listeners-- democracy for the Cuban people. His forward thinking gave him the tools to be an entrepreneur where he started Spanish Consultation Center and Language Bank, two companies that helped with translations services across the country and around the world. When he moved to Jacksonville he worked closely with Jacksonville Mayors Tanzler and Godbold. He then worked for the Federal Government in the Housing and Urban Development Agency(HUD).

John would say his biggest accomplishments were his family and the success of starting his third business, a janitorial company---The Cleaning Cubans, Inc., with his beautiful wife Elba in 1973. John was honored in Hispanic Business magazine with the Triple H award for honesty, hard-work and humanitarianism. John was a loyal member of the Chamber of Commerce and Hispanic Business League of Florida.

John is survived by his loving wife of 44 years, Elba; his children, Douglas, John Micah, George, and Desire; his parents, Jos and Juana; his grandchildren, Hope, Jonathan, Shelby, Christiana, Connor, and Alexandra; his great grandchildren, Dominic and Sophia. He was preceded in death by his sister, Elma; brother, Argemis; sister-in-law, Ofelia; father-in-law, Fernando; mother-in-law, Ofelia.

Visitation and a memorial service will be held from 10-11am Friday, December 9, 2016 at Arlington Park Funeral Home in Jacksonville followed by a graveside burial service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in John's memory to Sav-A-Child at sav-a-child.com or the American Cancer Society at cancer.org.