Obituary of Carlos Eduardo Puga

Carlos Eduardo Puga July 31, 1932 - August 6, 2017 It is with great sadness that the Puga and O'Brien families announce the death of Carlos Eduardo Puga. After 85 years of life well lived, the Lord called him home. Carlos was born an only child in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 31, 1932. He married Blanca Luz Cevallos in 1951 and worked at the Continental Hotel in Guayaquil as a front desk clerk. He met many American businessmen in that position and developed a friendship with one of them. Sharing his aspiration to one day move to the United States, this businessman, in turn, told the manager of the Metropolitan Club in Washington, DC, about this hard working young man in Ecuador. The manager offered Carlos a position at the club and the process to move to the United States began. In the winter of 1960, upon excepting a position as the front desk clerk at the Metropolitan Club in Washington, DC, he legally immigrated to the United States. His wife, Luz, and two daughters, Patricia and Monica, joined him 6 months later at his home in Northern Virginia. Carlos' hard work and dedication was quickly recognized by his superiors at the Metropolitan Club. It was decided that he would be sent to study business management at Cornell University and eventually became general manager. Through the course of his time at the club, he met many dignitaries including Henry Kissinger and Robert F. Kennedy. After several years, he eventually left the Metropolitan Club and became general manager at the Kenwood Golf and Country Club. With over 40 years in club management, he finally retired, or so we thought... Within a year of retiring, Carlos decided to purchase a restaurant and live out his lifelong dream of being a restauranteur. He bought & ran an Italian restaurant in Washington, DC, called Vivaldi's International. Carlos took immense pride in serving his patrons with excellent cuisine and service. After 4 years, he sold the restaurant in August 2001 and moved to California to live with his daughter, Monica, son-in-law, Dennis, and 3 grandchildren, April, Ian and Travis. For 16 years, he lived happily with Dennis and Monica. During this time, he enjoyed regular travel back and forth to Ecuador. There, he was able to spend time with his family, especially with his 2 cousins, Maria Sara Puga Rousseau and Mariana Reyes Puga, whom he greatly loved as his own sisters. In 2003 he met Consuelo Mosquera, his beloved companion in his golden years, and her children, Andres, Maria Isabel, Diego, Jose Vicente and Antonio. They embraced him wholeheartedly and without reservation Carlos leaves behind his two daughters, Patricia and Monica (Dennis), granddaughter April (Barnett), grandsons Ian (Sarah) and Travis (Amber), and 3 great grandsons, Gavin, Sean and Easton, plus many others who knew and loved him. He will be missed immensely but he is now in the presence of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.