Obituary

Dr. Rafael E. Molina Sabucedo, 86, went home to Our Lord from the Hospice House of Huntington on Saturday, April 24^th.  Friends may call 6 to 8 pm, Monday, April 26^th at Beard Mortuary.  Funeral Liturgy will be held at 10:30 am at St. Joseph Catholic Church by the Reverend Msgr. Lawrence Luciana.  Burial will follow in Ridgelawn Memorial Park.  He was born on July 6, 1923, in Havana, Cuba. Rafael was the son of Jose Maria and Maria Antonia Molina and grew up with his sister, Susana.  He was educated in the Belen Jesuit School, where he was an outstanding left-handed pitcher and was recruited by a Yankees minor league franchise in Chattanooga, Tenn. Instead, he chose to pursue medicine following his beloved uncle, Prof. Luis Felipe Rodriguez Molina, and graduated from the University of Havana Medical School.  He later became a professor of Urology alongside his uncle and began his practice. Rafael married Maria Teresa Rodriguez in Nov. 1955.  The couple’s passion for freedom moved them to become involved in the anti-Batista movement to return liberty to Cuba. However, the emergence of the Castro government proved to be equally disillusioning for democracy.  Rafael and Maria consequently joined the underground Movement for the Recovery of the Revolution (MRR) to topple the communist government. They were tortured in a Castro prison but managed to escape.  Shortly thereafter, the Molinas relocated their family to Miami to begin a new life. Dr. Rafael Molina completed his American Urology residency in 1966 at the University of Miami, under the direction of Victor Politano, MD.  Upon finishing his training, Rafael accepted a position with Dr. Charles “Carl” Hoffman in Huntington, where he worked in partnership with Dr. Harold N. Kagan, Dr. Tara Sharma and later his son, Dr. Louis R. Molina. Rafael was a volunteer clinical faculty member of Urology at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, a member of the American Urological Association, West Virginia Medical Society, Cabell County Medical Society, Fellow American College of Surgeons and the Cuban Medical Society in Exile among others. His passion for the medical profession was reflected in his care and empathy for his patients whom continued until his retirement at age 81. In addition, he greatly enjoyed his membership in the Huntington Rotarian Association, an organization he initially joined in Havana, Cuba.  He was a proud member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Dr Molina was an avid tennis player, with a wicked left handed slice and serve that many Huntington players will never forget.  He frequented the Mountaineer Opry House in Milton where he discovered a love for Bluegrass music.   Rafael‘s greatest enjoyment was his family.  He and Maria were enthusiastically involved in the education and well being of their children and grandchildren.  His children include, the late Louis R. Molina, MD and his wife, Dawn, Maria Molina Bronosky and her husband, Joseph, Manuel E. Molina MD and his wife, Cheryl, and Rafael E. Molina, MD and his wife Amber. He had ten grandchildren, Danielle Marie, Benjamin Joseph, Alexander Michael, Samantha Ann, Michael Phillip, Christopher Louis, Nicholas Rafael, Matthew Douglas, Elisabeth Ann,  and Gabriel David.  The family request in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine towards the Louis R. Molina, MD Endowment.