What to Know
- He was elected mayor of Miami in 1973 and stayed in the position until 1985 and is considered to be who led the city into modern times.
Mourners from across the city of Miami, including current Mayor Francis Suarez, are gathering to remember the life of long time former Mayor Maurice Ferré on Thursday.
The city began the day with a memorial service attended by current and former commissioners as well as Suarez and others inside City Hall before a funeral mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Ferré, who died last Thursday at the age of 84, had been battling cancer for the past two years. He leaves behind his wife of 64 years, Mercedes Malaussena Ferré, his six children and grandchildren.
Born in Puerto Rico, Ferré initially was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, where he served from 1967-1968. He was elected mayor of Miami in 1973 and stayed in the position until 1985 and is considered to be the man who led the city into modern times.
"It's a very sad day. To lose a mayor, Ferré was an icon in the city, someone who is in many ways the father of modern Miami. Someone who helped make Miami what it is today," Suarez said after the death was announced.
Ferré was an alumnus of the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and a graduate of the University of Miami.
