The sudden loss of Julio Cruz has left a difficult financial situation for his family and this Go Fund Me page is to support Julio’s dream of never having his family have to worry about being able to cover their expenses as he did growing up. The hope is that this page helps to make things a bit more secure for for Julio’s family, as Julio was always one to take the time to help those around him with his understanding, willingness, and kindness. Julio's wish was for his family to not have to suffer financially as he did.

Julio was an honest, extremely hard working, deeply committed, loyal, intelligent, and dedicated, man. He was also a caring, kind, thoughtful, always there-for-you person, whether for family, work, his friends, or colleagues. Julio has been a Board member of ACC New Jersey in his second term, and has practiced law since 1995 after working his way out of a poor and unsafe upbringing in the projects in New York as son of two immigrant uneducated parents, always facing distress.

It is with great sadness that I share with you that friend and colleague to many, Julio Cruz passed away on June 19, 2023. Due to a health issue, In March 2020, when Covid began, Julio went in physically to work every day, pushing past his need for his own safety, to be sure that the company he was with carried on, as he was the one person GC law department. Since he also was HR, it was his job to be sure a safety health policy was written and enforced. Julio’s need for having to work remotely after Covid made for some abrupt and necessary changes in his work. He was not eligible for life insurance due to his health condition. (more details on Julio below)

Julio was born in the projects in New York to immigrant parents who came from Puerto Rico prior to it becoming a US state. His father was orphaned by the age of 10 and worked in the sugar cane fields by the age of 12. Although he only had a 2nd grade education, Julio said he was the smartest man he knew. His mother had a 4th grade education but learned English by volunteering at Julio’s elementary school down the street from the projects he grew up. She eventually earned her GED in 1972 when Julio attended Stuyvesant High School where less than 4% who test qualify for admission. Her mission was to ensure Julio received a proper education. Neither had employment that would afford building a secure and financially comfortable life for their family, so growing up was a struggle. Julio knew his only way out was to become a force of change. He worked, he studied, he set his mind on becoming a self-made man. Julio earned a BA degree in sociology from Fordham University and then earned a full dean’s scholarship for academic merit to The New York Law School where he became the secretary and treasurer of the Latino Law Student Association and the Notes and Comments Editor of the NYLS Journal of International and Comparative Law.

Julio married his wife Ramona in 1991, and they have one son Lucas born in 1994 and a dog named Otto but he fondly reminisced about his first dog, Bowzer the Schnauzer who crossed the rainbow bridge in 2016. Today, Otto looks out the window waiting.

Through the years, Julio was employed by the law departments at the New York Elevator & Electrical Corp, Randcastle Extrusion Systems Inc, Petillo Inc, and remotely for Axiom Law and KIPP New York City Public Charter Schools, where he was sometimes a one-man GC law department himself. His exceptional knowledge and lifetime commitment made him a valuable lawyer always.

Julio’s honesty, strong values about right and wrong, decency, and human kindness always shined for people who knew him to “do the right thing”. Knowing Julio for quite a few years, I know that his dream was to be sure that his family would never have to fend for themselves like he and his parents did. It was not an easy way to grow up, and Julio had shared the difficulties of caring for his mom when she was ill and passed two years ago – without a penny to her name. Unfortunately, Julio did not live long enough to fulfill his dream of knowing his family would never have to worry. This Go Fund Me page is for a man who gave of himself throughout his life and worked through some of the most difficult times growing up in the projects of NY with nothing, having to fight his way out of poverty, difficult and unsafe neighborhoods, and fought until he broke the mold and built a new one to welcome his family to. Sadly, he just wasn’t here long enough to complete his mission.