They had come together and they came alone: Grace Guerra, 7, and her older brother, Jose Guerra, 11, the person she would forever call her North Star.
Angels unaware, the Guerra children fled Havana, Cuba, and landed in the United States on April 1, 1961: two frightened kids coming to America on a “Fools Day” known for tricks and deception, heading for life in a Catholic orphanage near Alton, not knowing how to speak English or whether they would ever again see the parents who had sent them to America for safekeeping.
They had fled to find safety in a country once exceedingly proud to be a nation of immigrants, a country now enmeshed in a nasty demonization and political asylum feud.
The Guerra children came to the United States legally as part of a program called Operation Peter Pan — two of 14,000 Cuban children fleeing their country after rumors circulated that Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s regime was planning to forcibly relocate children to Russia for communist indoctrination and re-education.
The children’s fright and flight journey kicked into a family reunion 18 months later in late 1962 with their once well-to-do parents, Cuban lawyers now penniless, who would spend decades of hard factory and office work in Illinois “to send my brother and I to the best schools,” said retired Judge Grace G. (nee Guerra) Dickler, who would marry Phil Dickler and later become a powerful jurist and presiding judge of the Cook County Circuit Court’s Domestic Relations Division.
Her brother, Jose I. Guerra, who would eventually conquer several languages, was sent to St. Ignatius High School (now St. Ignatius College Prep); received a business degree from the American college in Switzerland; worked as a London banking consultant; and would later oversee the battalion of language interpreters needed in Cook County Circuit Court trials.
“The bond we formed when we were alone, in a strange country, without our parents, was never broken,” said Dickler, now a member of JAMS, the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services company dealing with family law since her retirement in 2022.
This past week, this classic American immigrant success story, ended in a phone call: Gracie Guerra Dickler’s beloved brother, Jose, 74, had died suddenly on a cruise ship vacation with friends.
“They were as close as any brother and sister could be personally, intellectually, emotionally and professionally; supportive of one another every day of their lives … in a way like victims of a holocaust,” said retired federal Judge Wayne Olson, a close friend. “Jose was a true intellectual.”
“Seeing Jose light up every courtroom with his beautiful smile made some of the darkest days bright,” said powerhouse divorce attorney Beth McCormack.
“Gracie’s brother’s death this week has been devastating to her,” said Dr. Phyllis Amabile, a professional colleague.
“Gracie and Jose shared a profound trust in one another, confidants in difficult times,” she said. “When Gracie had something to celebrate, Jose was there. When Gracie had a dinner party, Jose was there. When Gracie traveled, Jose was often at her side.”
“These ‘Peter Pan’ kids had endured unimaginable trauma as young children,” said Dr. Amabile. “They leaned on each other throughout, which created an unshakable bond that survived many life storms. I have rarely seen the kind of trust, loyalty, devotion and love between siblings that Jose and Gracie shared.”
“This summer, they went to Soldier Field with friends to hear Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks — dancing, singing and pretending they were in their 20s again,” she said.
On Friday morning, Dickler delivered the eulogy at her beloved brother’s funeral at All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleums in Des Plaines.
“It is extremely difficult to stand here, but I could not let a stranger be the one to say goodbye to my brother,” said Dickler.
“He was truly my best friend and the one person on earth that I spoke to several times a day just to make sure we were both fine.
“Jose was exceedingly loyal; fiercely loved his parents; a marvelous chef; a terrific dancer; possessed a wicked sense of humor and loved his gin martini, very, very dry, shaken not stirred. And today, I feel both shaken and stirred for I have lost the only remaining human who knew me all my life, who had a better memory than me and remembered so much of our past, was always my biggest fan, as I was his.
“He was extremely conscientious, a meticulous interpreter, a loving son, a fiercely loyal brother and uncle to my son, Michael, and my daughter, Jamie (who is also a Cook County Circuit Court Judge.)
“Life will not be the same without him, ever.”
Sneedlings…
Sneedless to say, I’ve been all over the place recently. In my head, anyway; knocked out by Flu Type A. It’s been quite a trip; scary as hell for an 80-year-old in a nation whose actuarial tables aren’t favorable; but basically fighting flu in a nation that feels everyone over 80 is … fading! …
Saturday birthdays: actress Stefanie Powers, 82; singer k.d. Lang, 63; actor David (Friends) Schwimmer, 58; jazz singer Kurt Elling, 57. …Sunday birthdays: actress Roseanne Barr, 72; actress Kate Capshaw, 71; actor Dolph Lundgren, 67; the Kardashians’ Kendall Jenner, 29; comedian Dennis Miller, 71.