Fernando always made people smile.
During his career at the City of Tampa, Fernando Noriega took on some monumental challenges for his mayors and for the people of his beloved Tampa. He sat across the table from some tough characters. But Fernando never let anyone get him down. He stayed positive because he trusted in the goodness of his fellow man.
He was no fool. He knew what was going on, both upfront and behind the scenes. But when confronted with adversity, he'd smile, roll his eyes and then laugh out loud. Before long, everyone else was laughing, too. Fernando generally won the battle and the war!
Next time we walk through the doors at Carmine's on spaghetti-with-crab-sauce day, we'll look to the right side of the room, near the windows, and look for Fernando and the love of his life, Margaret. They both are gone. And we mourn this monumental loss.
We'll think of our times with Fernando Noriega and we will smile.