Ángel Menuel Martín Taboas (June 18, 1918 – October 27, 2023) was an Associate Justice of the

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme cou ...

, appointed by Governor

Luis A. Ferré Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo (February 17, 1904 October 20, 2003) was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the governor of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973. He was the founder of the ...

in 1971, after having served as Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury, or "Hacienda".

Biography

Born in

Corozal, Puerto Rico Corozal () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south of Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is sprea ...

, Martín Taboas obtained a bachelor's degree in economics in 1939 and an MBA in 1940, both from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

. After graduating from the

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based offic ...

he went in 1940 to active duty in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and was sent to

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

for advanced officer school. He served as Military Aide to Governor

Rexford Tugwell Rexford Guy Tugwell (July 10, 1891 – July 21, 1979) was an American economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust", a group of Columbia University academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to R ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and actually lived in the Governor's Mansion, "

La Fortaleza La Fortaleza (lit., "The Fortress" ) is the official residence of the governor of Puerto Rico. It was built between 1533 and 1540 to defend the harbor of San Juan. The structure is also known as Palacio de Santa Catalina (Saint Catherine's Pala ...

". After the war, he continued in government service and obtained his law degree in 1953 from the

Tulane University Law School Tulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. In addition to the usual common ...

. Martín Taboas served as

Secretary of Treasury of Puerto Rico The Secretary of Treasury of Puerto Rico (commonly known as the Treasurer of Puerto Rico) is the chief financial officer and the treasurer of the government of Puerto Rico. Secretaries The following is a list of officeholders: *1917–1922: ...

from 1970 until 1971. Martín Taboas was appointed to the

and served as an Associate Justice for eleven years until his retirement in 1982. Married to the former Carmen Viola García, he was the father of

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

law professor and former Senator Fernando Martín, the Executive President of the

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ...

(PIP). Martín Taboas turned 100 in June 2018, and died on October 27, 2023, at the age of 105. He was buried at the

Puerto Rico National Cemetery Puerto Rico National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery located in the city of Bayamón, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It encompasses of land, and at the end of 2005, had 44,722 interments. Until 2021, it was the only United St ...

Bayamón, Puerto Rico Bayamón (, ) is a Bayamón barrio-pueblo, city, Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico and suburb of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan located in the northern coastal valley, north of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, Aguas Buenas an ...

References

Sources

*La Justicia en sus Manos by Luis Rafael Rivera, , - 1918 births 2023 deaths Burials at Puerto Rico National Cemetery United States Army personnel of World War II Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico People from Corozal, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican lawyers Secretaries of Treasury of Puerto Rico Tulane University Law School alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Puerto Rican judges Puerto Rican centenarians Men centenarians United States Army officers {{PuertoRico-bio-stub