Maria Leonor Guarderas Burbano passed away suddenly on November 24, 2022, while battling complications from Influenza. She was born on December 29, 1958, in Santiago, Chile, to Olga Maria Burbano Montenegro and Galo Guarderas Salvador. A viewing will be hosted by her family on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, from 6-8 pm at DeGusipe Funeral Home, located at 1400 Matthew Paris Blvd, Ocoee, FL 34761. A Catholic service is to follow on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, from 1-2 pm at Holy Family Catholic Church located at 5125 S. Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32819. A reception is to follow at the family's home. 9852 Bay Vista Estates Blvd, Orlando FL 32836
Growing up in Ecuador as the daughter of a military man, Maria was born into a life of travel and culture. She took on the role of role model, confidant, friend, advisor and at times whistle blower as the eldest of five siblings. She attended Universidad Catolica in 1978 and Kings College in Bournemouth, England, in 1980, graduating with degrees in social studies and English proficiency. Her independence spurred on her determination to become a career woman. She worked in various industries: as an executive assistant at Halliburton Login Services; as a cashier at Banco La Produccion; as a front desk customer service supervisor at Summer Bay resort; and eventually as a VP with Condotrust Latinamerica, a business she helped to build with her husband.
She met Marco Antonio Galindo in 1980 when they both worked at Banco La Produccion. Her husband insists that she complained about him because he didn't fall for her good looks and instead focused on his work. Though it might not have been love at first sight, he eventually wooed her into marriage on December 23, 1982. They raised three children together in Quito, Ecuador until fate set their course north; Luis Efrain Galindo, Maria Soledad Galindo, and Maria Salome Galindo. Moving to the United States in 1992, she left her extended family behind to start a new life in Orlando, Florida, a place she had visited only once before with her children. She was able to build a home and a safe place for her family, working alongside her husband.
Her family became her sole focus. She worried about, supported, and took care of them until the end, often at the exclusion of her own needs. Maria believed in faith, hope and the love of God. She valued her family, honesty, loyalty, and ambition. She loved music, travel, and wine; she was able to see many things in her life and survived unforeseen disasters on land and in air. She loved to dance and hoped to be able to take lessons in ballroom again when she retired. She loved to learn and had an inquisitive mind; she asked questions and found answers. Fiercely independent, she learned to do things online or found someone to teach her. Maria didn't know how to be helpless; she was the one people went to when they needed help, advice, or a person to speak to. She was loved, admired, and respected.
Maria watched her daughters graduate from law school and medical school, and supported her son through business school and later through all the ups and downs of his mental illness. She watched her children marry and begin families of their own, and she became a grandmother six times over throughout the last fourteen years. The word "grandmother" doesn't seem fitting, as she doted on and helped raise every single one of her grandchildren. They were her light and love, and she made sure they were always taken care of. She kept her home immaculate while keeping up with every single one of her grandchildren and her work on top of it. She never complained, even when she should have. She loved her entire family; she made sure her parents were taken care of, spoke to them on the phone daily and visited them in Ecuador as often as possible.
Sus hermanas la recordaran como persona generosa, un ejemplo de mujer bella por dentro y fuera, una amiga y confidente que hasta después de disgustos siempre reconciliaron sus diferencias. Aunque la
distancia las separo siempre la tuvieron en su corazón y pensamientos y ahora igualmente la honran con memorias tiernas como cuando ella le daba su pijama a Ximena cuando iba a tomar su biberón, una forma de tenerla cerca cuando no podía quedarse con ella.
Maria Leo will be desperately missed by all those that she's left behind. Our hearts are so broken by this unexpected and sudden loss. We thought she would survive us all. She was a true Valkyrie, a woman of significant strength and courage, full of love and a willing and able friend. To know her and be loved by her was a blessing.
Maria was preceded in death by her son Luis Efrain Galindo. She is survived by her mother Olga Maria Burbano Montenegro; her father Galo Guarderas Salvador; her husband Marco Antonio Galindo; her daughters Maria Salome Breen and Maria Soledad Galindo; their spouses Francis Vincent Breen and Steven Abel Dyminski; her adopted daughter Danna Carolina Galindo; her daughter-in-law Carolina Caicedo; her sister's Cecilia Yolanda Guarderas de Cevallos and Ximena del Pilar Guarderas de Morales; her brothers Cesar Alejandro Guarderas, Galo Fernando Guarderas, and Galo Eduardo Guarderas; and her grandchildren Sarah Manuela Galindo, Kathryn Sophia Breen, Aiden Emerson Dyminski, Isabella Niamh Breen, and Diana Leonor Breen. She also leaves behind a host of in-laws, nieces and nephews in Ecuador and the US.
The family requests that notes, memories and flowers be sent to Marco Galindo at 9852 Bay Vista Estates Blvd, Orlando, FL 32836.
Live Stream Link
https://tributestream.com/maria-leonor-guarderas
After Funeral Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church on 11/30/2022 there will a reception at family residence.
9852 Bay Vista Estates Blvd, Orlando FL 32836