Jules Dervaes Sr (1913-1996)

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We have a lot of people to thank for making this project possible - relatives and friends. ( view our "Thank You" list )

But our greatest gratitude is to those who came before us -- especially to Jules Dervaes Sr., a man who had a profound impact in our lives.

Jules Sr. inspired within us a love of plants and the stewardship of the earth. His passion for cultivating and caring for living things was evident in his surroundings. Over the years, he slowly transformed his large typical Florida grass lawn into a tropical paradise.

Numerous colorful crotons made up a large part of his landscaping, along with jatrophas, caladiums, pepperomias, gingers, bromeliads, crinums, camellias, copper leaf, dwarf oleander and borders of liriope, roses, daylilies, bougainvillea, mallow, purple queen and striped spider plants.

Nearly an acre of winding paths crisscrossed his luscious and picturesque landscape of shade oaks and ornamentals.

He gardened naturally without the use of chemicals and garden work was always done by hand without the assistance of fancy powered tools.

Jules Sr. was proud to "not use a drop of fertilizer," depending instead on the organic matter and the original soil. And with an interest in conserving water he would carefully dig recesses in the soil along the concrete curbing to allow water to soak in instead of running off.

Sound familiar?

His passion primarily lay in cultivating the beautiful croton plants and would spend hours propagating them by air-layering a scraped limb with wet sphagnum moss wrapped in foil.

He created his own varieties of crotons with amazing traffic-stopping colors and shapes. Although he would willingly sell or give away his beautiful creations, he often lost many of his plants to thieves in the middle of the night.

Besides gardening, fishing was another favorite pastime. And, in this too, he would eschew the modern technological tools, relying instead on learning the language of the Bay with its moods and signs. He would spend hours in the waters of Tampa Bay. Over the years, his knowledge of every nook and cranny was immense. Soon, other fishermen would follow Jules Sr. or watch where he went because he knew where the best fishing spots were in the Tampa Bay area.

He never missed an opportunity to pass on his wisdom to his children and grandchildren. Jules Sr. was a true family man who provided well for his family and was always there to give counsel and guidance.

His words of advice as a Father and Grandfather conveyed his character, honesty, integrity, what he stood for and what he valued in life. He believed deeply in family, country and God.

New couple, Belgium 1945

His parents had immigrated to Florida from Belgium in 1902. During World War II, he served his country in the Army ( Jules C. Dervaes Sr. National WWII Memorial Registry ) where he was dispatched to Europe with his artillery battalion.

During his military service, he found his future wife in Belgium, the homeland of his parents and after the war, he returned to American on a tramp steamer with his new bride. They had six children together in 50 years of marriage.

Jules Sr. was a modest man but one who took pride in doing everything to the best of his ability.

Over the course of his corporate career, he worked his way up from humble beginnings to become division manager for Chevron (formally of Standard Oil Co. of Kentucky) for 41 years.

A lifelong resident of Tampa and a graduate of Plant High School, he attended the University of Tampa and was a civic leader in the city. He was a former chairman for the Florida Petroleum Council and past president of Tampa Oil Men's Club.

He was a member of Desk & Derrick Club, Travelers Aid, Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, Committee of 100, Tampa Citizens Safety Council, Kiwanis Club of Tampa, University Club of Tampa, St. Joseph's Hospital Foundation, Jesuit High School Foundation and was a former counselor at The University of Tampa and Tampa Bay Vocational-Technical Center.

He is often remembered by friends, family and strangers alike for his love of life and for his amazing sense of humor and readiness to laugh and tease.

The Dervaes Institute is founded as a legacy to the Father and Grandfather we knew and loved. Our hope is that we will honor his memory and that his legacy will live in each of our hearts and be reflected in our actions.

We are indebted to Jules Sr. because he dedicated himself and gave us a strong foundation on which to build our future.

We can learn from his life. As he often reminded us, "if you cease to learn, you cease to exist."

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