Abraham Medina
Born October 9, 1937 in San Sebastian, Puerto RicoDeparted September 25, 2023 in Melbourne, Florida
Abraham Medina
Born: October 9, 1937
San Sebastian, PR
Died: September 25, 2023
Melbourne, Florida
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
There are several personality traits that define a man. Morality, humbleness, humility, strength of character, caring conviction to name a few. Of all the possible traits, the one Abraham based his life upon was his faith in God! Even before he gave his soul to Jesus, God was guiding his path towards a life defined by faith and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The purest evidence of this are the testimonials of anyone he ever met and all of his offspring.
From humble beginnings in the lush sugar cane fields of San Sebastian, he excelled at every opportunity to enjoy life while working hard to help his family as much as possible during the World War II era. It is this principle of sustaining the family, that forged his sense of truth, honesty and humility which gave him the strength of character that we all knew him for.
Even after transitioning to life in the urban areas of San Juan, he continued to show determination, intelligence, love of baseball, and of course, love of family. He learned how to adapt to different surroundings, how to engage with people and experienced the not so pleasant sides of society. Completing his studies at Central High School in San Juan with excellent grades gave him the opportunity to gain a job in the accounting department of the Coffee Growers Insurance division of the Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico. His work ethic and excellence gained him a reputation that he would carry throughout his career. During this time, Abraham enlisted in the Puerto Rico Air National Guard. He was proud of his service and rose through the ranks to achieve the grade of Tech Sergeant. He participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Dominican Civil War as part of the 156th Wing Supply Squadron.
While working in the Department of Agriculture, Abraham met Maria, the love of his life, in 1957. They were married in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico on June 6, 1959 and have been together ever since. Together, they had four children (Eric, Deborah, David and Samuel), with whom they shared their faith, lives, teachings, and adventures. The family has grown to include 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren all of whom he loved dearly and watched over with all of his heart and soul.
In fulfilling his role as provider for his family Abraham confronted many challenges which he used as opportunities to advance and excel at work, knowledge, education and spiritually. His desire to learn about computers led him to a job as a Key Punch Operator with the National Cash Register (NCR) Company at their Caribbean Operations Center in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. His skills and work ethic led to further training which in turn provided advancement to the level of Operations Manager. The impression he made at NCR provided the path for him to be sought after to work in New York City with Loews Hotels as the Assistant Comptroller in charge the data center in the Time Life Building. From there he was hired to go to Acapulco, Mexico to install a new IBM system that would be the model for the hotels and resorts of the Princess Hotels chain. Eventually, he returned to Puerto Rico to be closer to family once again.
It was during his time in Acapulco that he found Jesus and dedicated his life to serve Him. He felt the call to the ministry soon thereafter and upon his return to Puerto Rico he worked relentlessly to become a Minister. He worked hard to get his Bachelor’s degree from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and studied for his Master’s degree in Theology from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, and later at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He dedicated his life to serving the Lord in as many churches and organizations where he found the need to spread the Good Word. Upon arriving in Florida, he was ordained as a minister at Central Baptist Church. He took the leadership role in establishing their Spanish-speaking mission as a church, the “Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana” of Palm Bay. He helped start many other Bible study groups in the area. He also started and led a local Hispanic radio ministry for many years. His love of baseball led to joining the national organization, Baseball Chapel, to serve for many years as a chaplain for the MLB teams that played on the Space Coast, including the Washington Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Brevard Manatees. He served all those ministries as a bi-vocational pastor, working during the week as the Electronic Data Processing Director for the Krieger Publishing Company in Malabar.
Having settled in Palm Bay his primary focus was his family. As he watched his children develop and grow their own families, his greatest joy was to be with them and see flourish. His family includes his wife of 64 years Maria A. Medina; children Eric A. Medina, Deborah I. (Gary) Tuggle, Samuel A. (Amy) Medina; 12 grandchildren; 10 great grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Abraham lived his life based upon those traits and principles that God blessed him with. His primary concern was that whomever he met got to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
We will miss him dearly but we know we will see him again very soon!
A viewing for family and friends will be on Saturday, October 7, 2023 at Central Baptist Church from 1 pm until time of service at 2 pm.
