Jose Lino Medina-Negron passed away peacefully after months of loving care at the home of his daughter, Rosa Meddaugh in DeLand on October 6, 2015. He had lived 91 years full of achievement and passionate dedication. Friends and loved ones are invited to a farewell celebration on October 13 at the Boynton Memorial Chapel, 800 West Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach, FL 33426. The viewing is scheduled for 11 a.m. through 1 p.m. and a service with full military honors will be conducted at 2:15 p.m. at the South Florida National Cemetery, Lake Worth.

Mr. Medina-Negron was born in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico on August 15, 1924. His father, Jose Medina-Ibio and mother, Josefa Carolina Negron raised Jose, along with 6 other siblings. After the death of his parents, Jose was raised by his maternal aunt Casilda Negron-Colon. He considered his 12 cousins his siblings for all his life. Of these cousins, Micha, Andres and Luis Enrique survive.

In 1943 he enlisted in the Army and for the next 20 years performed a variety of duties as an Anti aircraft Artillery Crewman, Cook, Paratrooper (Airborne), and finally, as a Cryptologic Specialist. He was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, Germany (occupation forces), Fort Devens, Mass., and Fort Meade, Maryland, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant (E-6) during his final assignment with the Army Security Agency.

After his military retirement in 1963, Mr. Medina-Negron began a 20 year civilian career with the National Security Agency (NSA) wherein he solved thousands of encoded Spanish language messages. Not only did he break incredibly complex codes at the NSA headquarters, he also made perilous trips into foreign countries in order to intercept and analyze enemy communications at close range. Throughout his military and civilian career he was given some of the highest government awards including the Legion of Merit. Although most of Medina's cryptanalytic achievements are classified, we can view an example of his genius at the Fort Huachuca Army Intelligence Museum in Arizona. This piece of work involved his solution of a century old message concerning the Mexican-US War.

In his youth, Jose won several bouts as a boxer. Later on, he enjoyed golfing, fishing, growing orchids, studying military history, and antiquing. Married since 1949, Jose and Angelica also hosted many family celebrations at their Boynton Beach home, most recently in December, 2014. Mr. Medina-Negron is survived by his wife Angelica Rivera, daughters JoAnne(Josefa) McLaughlin(Robert), Rosa Meddaugh(Brian), and Carol Wright(Larry), son Jose Medina Jr(Donna)., siblings Micha, Andres and Luis Enrique, three grandchildren: Poncho Daley(Nicole), Emily Medina, Angie Stickle Matlock(David) and 2 great- grandnephews: Joshua and Zachary Daley.