Roberto Jorge Bombino remembered for remarkable journey from Cuba to South Lake Tahoe
Roberto Jorge Bombino, whose extraordinary life carried him from the waters of Cuba to the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, died peacefully in Tracy, California, on Sept. 24, 2026. He was 93.
A Cuban naval officer who fled political upheaval, an immigrant who built a new life in America, and a longtime South Lake Tahoe motel owner, Bombino embodied resilience through decades of adventure, family devotion and personal loss.
For more than 20 years, Bombino and his wife, Ofelia Mestres, operated the Tahoe Manor Motel near the Nevada state line. Their years in South Lake Tahoe became one of the happiest chapters of a life shaped by dramatic changes in country, career and circumstance.
Yet those who knew him will remember more than his remarkable past. They will remember a man who loved his family, enjoyed a cheese omelet, looked forward to a casino visit and could still be found turning up the music on his phone and dancing in his later years.
A Havana childhood and a calling to the sea
Bombino was born July 28, 1933, in Havana, Cuba, to Francisco and Silvia. His parents divorced during his childhood but later remarried, bringing three brothers — Frank, Willie and Eddie — and a sister, Silvia, into his expanded family circle.
A strong student with a natural athletic ability, Bombino excelled in private school and developed a passion for cross-country running. After graduation, he enrolled in Cuba’s Naval Academy, eventually earning a commission as an ensign aboard a Cuban patrol torpedo boat.
During his final year at the academy, he met Ofelia Mestres. Their relationship began with a simple invitation to dance, setting in motion a partnership that would last 66 years.
The couple married Aug. 19, 1956, and welcomed their first two sons, Roberto Jr. in 1957 and Carlos in 1959.
Revolution forced a dangerous escape
In 1959, Fidel Castro’s revolutionary forces overthrew the Cuban government, transforming Bombino’s future. As a naval officer, he faced danger under the new government, according to the family’s account of his life.
Bombino and his family were forced from their home and lost their possessions. Seeking refuge, he took shelter in the Costa Rican Embassy in Havana.
Even there, separation from his wife and children remained unbearable. He risked leaving the embassy to visit his family and was wounded by a gunshot to the foot while climbing back over the embassy wall to safety.
The episode captured the risks he faced during a period of upheaval that ultimately drove the family from Cuba.
In 1961, Bombino and Ofelia immigrated to the United States with their two young sons, arriving in Miami, Florida. According to the family, the CIA recognized his specialized naval skills and recruited him to assist in extracting high-profile individuals from Cuba.
The work was dangerous and took a toll on family life. In 1964, the couple welcomed their third son, Enrique. The following year, Bombino left the CIA to pursue a safer and more stable future for his growing family.
Building a new life in California
The family began a cross-country journey that would take them through several communities before they established roots in Northern California.
Bombino and Ofelia first moved to Portland, Oregon, where he trained as an optician. They relocated to Southern California in 1966, and their fourth son, Richard, was born in 1969.
In 1971, the family moved to Sunnyvale, where they remained until 1980.
Each move marked another stage in Bombino’s determination to build a secure home for his wife and children after leaving the country of his birth. His journey eventually brought him and Ofelia to the Sierra Nevada, where they would spend more than two decades in the hospitality business.
Two decades of hospitality in South Lake Tahoe
Bombino and Ofelia moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1980 and took over the Tahoe Manor Motel near the Nevada state line.
The motel became more than a business. For the couple, it provided a place to welcome visitors, gather with family and develop friendships that endured long after guests checked out.
For more than 20 years, the couple built a life around the motel and the people who passed through its doors. Family gatherings, laughter and lasting friendships defined that period, according to the family’s remembrance.
Their years in South Lake Tahoe also connected Bombino’s personal story to a community familiar with the rhythms of tourism and the importance of local hospitality businesses.
In the early 2000s, Bombino and Ofelia relocated to Las Vegas, where they spent more than two decades together.
Family losses tested his resilience
Bombino’s later years brought a succession of devastating losses.
His youngest son, Richard, died in 2020, followed by his son Carlos in 2021. In 2022, Bombino lost Ofelia, his wife of 66 years and the partner who had shared his journey from Cuba to the United States.
After her death, his son Enrique, known as Hank, and daughter-in-law, Stephanie, welcomed him into their home. The arrangement gave Bombino a family setting as he adjusted to life without Ofelia.
But another tragedy followed when Hank died in 2023.
Bombino and Stephanie leaned on one another as they navigated their grief, forging what the family described as a strong and enduring bond during his final years.
Through these losses, Bombino remained devoted to the people around him. His story was not simply one of surviving hardship but of continuing to find companionship, joy and meaning despite it.
Music, dancing and the pleasures of everyday life
Away from the dramatic chapters of his past, Bombino found happiness in ordinary routines and familiar faces.
He adored his grandchildren and held a special place in his heart for his dogs, Fitz, Ginger and Einstein. He enjoyed cheese omelets, trips to the casino and, above all, dancing.
Even in his later years, he would turn up the music on his phone and dance, bringing warmth and happiness into the home he shared with Stephanie.
That image offers a fitting portrait of a man whose life had included military service, political upheaval, immigration, dangerous work and profound personal loss — but who continued to embrace the pleasures of the present.
The family’s tribute captures the memories they hope to preserve: “Those everyday moments, full of laughter, music, family, and adventure, are memories that will be treasured forever.”
A legacy spanning generations
Bombino is survived by his son, Robert; daughter-in-law Stephanie; half-sister Silvia; half-brothers Frank, Willie and Eddie; 14 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
His life spanned nearly a century of change, beginning in pre-revolutionary Cuba and continuing through decades of reinvention in the United States. Along the way, he served as a naval officer, raised four sons, helped build a family business in South Lake Tahoe and formed relationships that sustained him through his final years.
For those who remember him in El Dorado County and the Lake Tahoe community, his legacy is tied not only to the years he and Ofelia spent at the Tahoe Manor Motel but also to the friendships and family memories they created there.
The family’s remembrance closes with a hope that brings the story full circle: that Ofelia has welcomed him home, reunited with their sons in the glory of the Lord.
Roberto Jorge Bombino’s life was marked by extraordinary journeys and heartbreaking farewells. But at its center was a lasting devotion to family — and a love of life that, even in his final years, could still find expression in music and dance.
