Teodoro Viteri: He traveled to 20 countries and all Caribbean islands

This story is part of an ongoing Miami Herald series chronicling the lives of South Florida COVID-19 victims.

Teodoro Viteri was known for his kindness and ability to bring joy to any situation.

Born in Portoviejo, Ecuador, on June 5, 1964, he was 55 years old when he died April 10 of leukemia complicated by COVID-19.

“He was the pillar of our family because he was the eldest son,” said his mother, Cecilia Wittong Viteri, in Spanish. “Any problem, anything that happened, he was always there to solve it.”

Viteri had four younger siblings: Luisa, David, Hugo, and Maria Constanza. He began studying electronic engineering in Ecuador, but moved to Brooklyn for a better education in his early twenties.

There, he completed his bachelor’s degree in computer science at Kingsborough Community College, where he met his wife, Solvey Viteri. Together they had three children: Neil, Lindsey and Nicole.

The family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, and one year later to Winston-Salem. In 1997 they headed south to West Palm Beach.

Throughout his career, Viteri worked as a programmer and software analyst for various companies including the Nielsen corporation, a data analytics company.

He loved all things tech, but was also passionate about golf, tango, traveling, and food.

“He would always say that, ‘what’s eaten and drunk nobody takes away from you,’” said Solvey, Viteri, in Spanish, laughing. “He enjoyed his life to the fullest — with us as a couple, and with his children and later with his grandson.”

According to Solvey, he traveled to 20 countries and all the Caribbean islands, often using travel as an excuse to spend time with his family. He also played the piano and liked composing.

“He was a person with an amazing talent, a high intellect and a noble heart,” she said.

He loved helping people around him and it was rare to see him lose his patience or joy, said both his mother and wife.

“Even at the hospital there was no nurse that he didn’t make laugh,” said Solvey. “He was always happy.”

Viteri was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2019. He underwent chemotherapy and had a bone marrow transplant — provided by his brother David — in November of that year.

He responded well after the transplant but in late February 2020 started feeling unwell. He was admitted to the hospital and restarted chemo.

He was preparing to have an immunology treatment with the help of his brother David, but in March he had a cough, pneumonia and fever, which delayed the treatment.

In late March, after more than a month in the hospital, the doctors confirmed he had COVID-19.

Viteri died at the University of Miami Hospital on April 10. His mother and wife lament that he spent his last days alone after he had brought happiness to those around him throughout his life. But they hope to make him proud as they remember him and move forward.

They plan to bid him farewell by scattering his ashes in the ocean, either in Ecuador or the United States, once it is safe to do so. Viteri will be remembered dearly by his parents, siblings, children, his grandson Landon, and friends.

“He was very loving, a caretaker for all,” said his mother. “I don’t remember seeing him angry; only once. He had an excellent character; very funny, always making jokes.”

Alejandra Marquez Janse, a Florida International University journalism student, wrote this story for the Miami Herald.