On October 29, 2022, Felipe Velazquez Jr. passed on to be with the Lord in Orlando, Florida of complications related to Brain Cancer. He was 69 years old.
Felipe is survived by his wife, Blanca Nilsa Velazquez; his children, Dolly, David, Shirley, and Lisa, and his 9 grandchildren in Florida; and siblings, Ivelisse Roman from Bronx, New York and Deborah Rodriguez of Orlando, Florida. He was preceded in death by his parents Felipe and Lillian Velazquez and his younger brother Edgar.
Felipe was born on November 19, 1952 at the U.S. Naval Hospital of Coco Solo, Panama, where his father was stationed as a soldier in the U.S. Army. He graduated from high school in 1969 and went on to attend the Latin American Bible Institute, where he graduated in 1974 with a degree in Pastoral Ministries with a concentration in Biblical Studies. He then served as a Minister of The Gospel at several churches and received his Masters of Theology from LOGOS Bible College in 1994.
Felipe married Blanca Nilsa Avila on September 18, 1971. They met at Iglesia La Trinidad in Bronx, NY in 1969. She credits that it was his singing voice and great smile that won her over as he sang Cristo El Lirio De Los Lirios, a song that truly defined his life and devotion to Christ. They welcomed Nilsa Idalia (Dolly) in 1972, David in 1976, Shirley Anne in 1978, and Lisa Marie in 1985, and collectively 9 grandchildren. Felipe was an avid athlete who loved baseball, softball, basketball, fishing, video games, and most of all music and singing. To hear him sing was to feel the ground shake under your feet, your chest tremble, and your soul being lifted to heaven.
But to truly understand who Felipe was in life, you must know of his love for God and service to Him—it defined every aspect of his life. In all he did, he sought to “Love the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength and with all his mind; and love his neighbor as himself” (Luke 10:27). Felipe served as a Pastor for over 20 years in Miami and Orlando and also as a Chaplain in the Orange County Sherriff’s office. Eventually becoming a Deputy himself and finishing his career in the Forensics Department. He was a role model, a man who loved his family deeply, and he gave all of himself in service to Christ’s Kingdom and the to the service of others.
A memorial service for Felipe is scheduled for 3pm on Sunday, November 6, 2022. We encourage you to please share a memory in the box below.