Mauricio Montaldo

POLAND — Mauricio J. Montaldo, 84, died Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, at St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital.

He was born in Santiago, Chile, to Caupolican Montaldo and Raquel Munoz (de Montaldo).

He attended military school. He studied journalism at the University of Concepcion while he began as a reporter for the Diario El sur de Concepcion. He then moved to Santiago, where he became head of the chronicle of the newspaper, Las Ultimas Noticias.

In addition, Mauricio was a political editor for the magazine, Ercilla, press officer for Radio Chilena, and in 1972, appointed by the government of President Salvador Allende as press attache at the Chilean Embassy in Quito, Ecuador. In Ecuador he came to live with his wife, Maria Francisca, and his daughters Paulina, Claudia and Mariana.

During the 17 years he lived in Ecuador, he was (among other things) a press advisor to the presidency, a correspondent for the ANSA news agency, a prominent journalist for the most important media outlets and a consultant for the United Nations.

In 1989, he moved to Mexico to direct the prestigious magazine,Vision, and then the company, Televisa, appointed him director of editorial development, and later, executive director in Miami of the newly created magazine, Newsweek in Spanish.

With the closing of the printed edition of Newsweek in Spanish, Mauricio joined the Inter-American Press Association (SIP) as coordinator of various projects, including charge of the International Scholarship Program.

In Miami, he co-wrote the biography, “Entre La Espada y la TV” and produced more than a dozen biographical books, among them, “Martita La del Cafe” (2003); Dona Tina “Between Recipes, Flavors and Flaws” (2008); Patricio Sepulveda “Married to Aviation” (2021); and “Lupita Ferrer Nude” (2022).

Mauricio became a professional reference for many Latin American journalists and left a great legacy of professionalism and humanity among all who knew him.

He is survived by his wife, Maria Francisca Ortiz; daughters, Paulina of Poland, Claudia of Boardman, and Mariana (Mauricio) of Santiago, Chile; son, Mauricio of Miami; sister, Gabriela (Manuel) de Figueroa; grandchildren, Andres Solano (Tess) and Francisca Gatica; great-grandchildren, Lyla and Santiago; and his loyal companion, his dog, Aquiles.

Family and friends may call from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, at the Higgins-Reardon Funeral Homes, Poland Chapel.

A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Angels for Animals or Ursuline High School AP Spanish Scholarship.