Isabel Alvarez Conte

November 30, 1931 - December 20, 2023

Isabel Alvarez Conte, who left her native Cuba as a young woman to make a new life in the United States, died Wednesday, December 20, at home in San Francisco, surrounded by family and loved ones. She was 92.

She was born in Havana on November 30, 1931, and left Cuba to visit Miami, Fla., in the early 1950s, during the Batista dictatorship. She decided not to return to Cuba and instead made her way to New York City, settling in Brooklyn and working as a seamstress.

She met the love of her life and the man she would marry, Pierre Conte, who had immigrated to America from his native France, at a French Alliance dance at the Statler Hotel in Manhattan. They married in 1954 and lived in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood before moving to New Jersey to raise their two children. She was a homemaker and a clothing saleswoman for the Paul Stuart clothing store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, the same place where her husband was a top salesman to many highprofile New York clients.

The Conte home became a mecca for other immigrant families to enjoy their new country and community, and to celebrate their new lives with their families in the USA. Their home was often filled with the sound of Cuban dance music and delicious Cuban, French and Italian foods.

Mrs. Conte danced effortlessly and was always elegantly dressed. On her 90th birthday, she danced to the sounds of a full Cuban band at the home of her son, Jean-Pierre L. Conte, San Francisco, chairman of Genstar Capital, who inherited his mother’s appreciation of America and the contributions of immigrants.

“My grandmother Isabel was a visionary woman, embodying openness, multiculturalism, feminism, and acceptance, well ahead of her era,” said her grandson, William Conte. “Raised as one of eight children in Havana, she was often mocked as a ‘dreamer’ for aspiring to move to America, seeking a society with greater respect for women. Yet, undeterred, she boldly embarked on her journey, relocating to a new country at 18, without knowing English. In truth, Isabel was more than just a dreamer; she was a doer, realizing her aspirations beyond even her most ambitious dreams. As an early advocate for gay rights, her actions and unconditional love predated their wider societal acceptance. Isabel’s life stood as a beacon of inclusivity and equality, anchored in a firm belief in universal respect and love. She embodied these principles and fervently nurtured them in us. Her enduring legacy is the lesson of boundless curiosity and absolute acceptance, continuously enlightening and guiding us.”

She was predeceased by her husband, Pierre A. Conte, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 85. In addition to Jean-Pierre Conte, survivors include her daughter, Christine Conte, of San Francisco; five grandchildren, Michelle, William, Peter, Louisa, and Sophie; and two sisters, Miriam and Wilma.

A memorial service is planned for February.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Isabel Conte to SEO Scholars San Francisco as follows:

•Online via this link https://give.seo-usa.org/ give/545072/#!/donation/ checkout or

•Via check made out to SEO Scholars San Francisco and mailed to: SEO Scholars San Francisco, Three Embarcadero Center, Promenade Level Suite P-1, San Francisco, Calif. 94111.