Maria Dolores Chao

Maria Dolores (Loliita) was born on September 26, 1939 in Havana, Cuba to Rogelio and Lola Rodriguez of Spain. Maria grew up in the Guanabacoa township of Havana where she attended Catholic school and enjoyed ballet and Spanish dance. She subsequently attended college at the University of Havana. Maria married her childhood sweetheart, Tomas Chao, on June 24, 1961.

The increasingly oppressive government in Cuba led the newlyweds to escape Communism on March 3, 1962, with the help of the US State Department. They defected to the USA penniless, leaving their parents and their beautiful homeland behind. They were granted political asylum and put on a plane to Baltimore Maryland to restart their lives. Maria was 22 years old and pregnant with her first child. Maria and Tom worked extremely hard to build a life for themselves and their children in America. Sadly Maria lost her first child, Eduardo, at three days of age; she went on to have three more children. In 1978 Maria and Tom moved to South Florida, to enjoy the tropical weather of their youth, and the Cuban-American culture. This is where Maria began a very successful and award winning career in real estate. Maria specialized in the communities of Hollywood, Ft Lauderdale, and Weston, where she grew a substantial following, particularly with Spanish speaking and bilingual clientele. Despite humble beginnings in America, Maria managed to own multiple homes, send all three children to college, and travel to countless countries across five continents in her lifetime. Maria and Tom Chao achieved the American Dream in a single generation.

Maria built a beautiful life, family and career despite facing great adversity. She accomplished this through an iron will, unwavering tenacity, and relentless work ethic. Maria was strong, vibrant, upbeat, outgoing, fun, energetic, stylish, passionate, proud, and insanely driven. The woman did not know the meaning of the words “no”, “cant”, or “never”. In her prime Maria was a force to be reckoned with. She was unbridled joy mixed with fierce resilience.

Maria was preceded in death by her husband Tomas (Tom) Chao, her parents Rogelio and Lola Rodriguez, her firstborn child Eduardo Chao, and her brother and sister in law Raul E. Chao and Olga Nodarse Chao. She is survived by her three children, Carlos Chao (Nelson Garcia), Ana Rhea (Robert Rhea), Tomas J Chao (Carissa Chao) and her six grandchildren Jack Rhea, Caitlin Rhea, Nicholas Chao, Allison Rhea, Ava Chao, and Grace Chao.

A funeral Mass and memorial service for both Maria and Tom Chao will be held on July 25, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Nativity Catholic Church in Hollywood, Florida. Mass will be followed by a reception and memorial service at Landmark Funeral Home in Hollywood, Florida. Maria and Tom Chao will be eulogized together, as Tom passed away during Covid when memorial services were prohibited.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in the memory of Maria Chao to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund www.curealz.org

As your father always used to say Lolita, “Sueña con los angelitos"