Jose David Minay, 73, of Cleveland, Tennessee, went home to be with the Lord on the evening of July 13th at his home in Cleveland, Tennessee. To those closest to him, he was known and loved as “Pepe.”

Jose was born on January 20, 1953, in Santiago, Chile, the firstborn of thirteen children. As a toddler, he moved with his family to Paraguay as they answered a call to missionary work, and later to Uruguay, where he spent much of his childhood and teenage years before the family returned to Chile. That early life of crossing borders and cultures would shape him to be the man he became. As a young adult, Jose came to the United States to attend Lee College in Cleveland, Tennessee, where he began working as an interpreter for Church of God World Missions–a fitting continuation of the missionary life he was raised in. He later moved to Miami, Florida, where he worked for United Airlines before returning to Cleveland to fulfill his life’s calling as a professor. While teaching at Lee, he completed his doctorate at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Jose’s greatest professional accomplishment was his career as a Spanish professor at Lee University, a role he held with deep love and dedication for decades until his retirement in the summer of 2022. He was a member of North Cleveland Church of God.

Jose loved his work, and more than that, he loved his students. He had a special heart for young people and for foreigners in particular, perhaps because he understood firsthand what it meant to build a life far from home. He led study abroad and cross-cultural trips with Lee University students, helping them become fluent in the Spanish language. He began leading these trips to Ecuador, later to Chile, and finally to Puerto Rico, sharing his love of travel and his knowledge of the cultures, people, and foods.

Those who knew Jose experienced him as calm, laid-back, and a carrier of peace. He had a quiet steadiness that touched everyone close to him.

Jose was preceded in death by his father, Jose Gustavo Minay. He is survived by his mother, Silvia Eliana Zarate de Minay and his siblings, Eliana Minay, Rebeca Durand (Jose), Israel Minay (Debbie), Lidia Grassano (Thomas), Esther Cazorla (Tony), Ana Christian (Thomas), Carmen Ballestas (J.C), Samuel Minay (Maria Eva), Sara Minay (Daniel), Victoria Minay, Gabriela Brummett (Jonathan), and Silvia Kozak (Christian), along with twenty-one nieces and nephews, and six great-nephews and one niece, as well as extended family who loved him dearly.