Services announced for Manny Madruga

BY TERRY SCHMIDA

Two memorial services for the deceased former Monroe County Chief Assistant State Attorney Manny Madruga have been announced.

A viewing for Madruga will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. Tuesday, at the Bernando Garcia Funeral Home, 8215 Bird Rd., in Miami.

Locally, a community Mass will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 1010 Windsor Ln., at Truman Avenue. This service will be followed by a celebration of life at 4:30 p.m., at Duval Square.

“My family and I have received a few questions regarding how individuals want to express their sentiments,” Madruga’s daughter Natalie Madruga posted on Facebook on Sunday. “In contrast to flowers, I have created a list of communities to donate to. They include: the Key West MARC House, Rotary Club International, The Boys and Girls Club, the Toys n Tots Event, To Write Love on Her Arms, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Trevor Project, as well as donations to any Florida State park or National Park. He loved to help people, and he loved to be outside. We had plans to visit Yellowstone for my graduation.”

The 53-year-old Madruga was found dead at his Key West home last Thursday, of what Key West Police Department spokeswoman Alyson Crean described as a “self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.”

Madruga spent all 26 years of his legal career at the county State Attorney office, joining up shortly after his graduation from the University of Miami’s law school in 1990.

Over the weekend, family and former colleagues of Madruga were unanimous in their praise for a man they called honorable, ethical, compassionate, and fair.

Madruga’s former boss, outgoing State Attorney Catherine Vogel on Sunday called the veteran prosecutor “the glue that held [the] office together.

“He really lived and breathed that office, and he loved the staff,” Vogel said. “He had a griddle that he bought, and he would make omelets for the staff on Fridays. Last Christmas he spent all day roasting a pig for our office party. He brought a lot of camaraderie to our work family, and his passing has completely devastated me, and the office.”

In terms of Madruga’s professionalism, Vogel was equally effusive.

“[Madruga] was friends with all the cops,” she said. “If I ever needed something, he’d make a phone call. Whenever I would get upset with somebody at the office, he’d talk to me, and help me work things through so that I wouldn’t fly off the handle at them. He was just that dedicated to us all, and I’m completely lost without him.”

In her Facebook post, Natalie Madruga thanked the community for their support during, and paid tribute to her father.

“In my eyes, my Father was perfect,” Natalie Madruga wrote. “Smart, funny, prepared, and inquisitive. He challenged life and was never afraid to ask the tough questions. All my memories with him have been reeling through my head like a movie you never want to end. I am just accepting peace in this moment that he will always be with me, no matter what. I love you always, Papi.”