José Manuel Valdez
Sonia was always so elegant to me. She was my older cousin once removed. She and my mother were first cousins, 15 years apart. She and my mother were granddaughters of Herminia Canalejo Fraga and José Euphemio Fraga. Because my grandmother, Rosa, was the elder sister of Sonia's mother, Fela, we always visited Sonia's house whenever I accompanied my grandmother to Tampa. A summer or Christmas visit to Tampa from Key West was as regular as clockwork. Sonia was 6 years older than me and she, along with cousins Rene (Rego), and Sandra and Ray (Beiro) were on the on the hipper and wiser end of my generation of cousins. i was always excited to see Sonia on those visits. In later years Sonia always reached out to me if she was visiting NYC, either with Joe or bringing her grandchildren. It remained a treat to see and spend time with Sonia. I will miss her.
My deep and sincere condolence to Joe and to John, and to the family.
Cousin Manuel
