Israel Gotay died May, 6 2026 at St. Mary's Hospital. He was born April 11, 1951 to Jose Gotay and Esperanza Cervantes Gotay; a career military family. In spite of family relocations, he was born and graduated from High School in Puerto Rico, where he met and married his first wife Maria in 1970. Israel was drafted January 4, 1971 into the Army; after which he welcomed the birth of his daughter Jessica Gotay. Always a high achiever, Israel Graduated from the University of Maryland with a Master's degree in Computer Science in 1978. He stayed in the Military until September 1979 and then served in the Army reserves as a CW2.

In the army, Israel worked as a drill sergeant, Chaplain's assistant and on special missions in the United States and overseas. Israel enlisted in the Army Reserve after he retired from active duty and remained until March 1987 as an Army Reserve Officer working in the Automated Data Processing Systems Office.

Israel moved to the DC area in 1983 where he met his next wife Beth Somers and his last wife Elise Schuchmann, with whom he stayed married for over 30 years. Both Beth Somers and Elise Gotay would work, retire from IBM, and remain friends. Elise and Israel volunteered and donated to many charities while living in the DC area. This work included multiple Cuba trips to support remote Jewish communities by restoring and building synagogues. On February 9, 2009, Elise and Israel signed a Ketubah and had a traditional Jewish wedding in Camaguey, where Israel's father had met and married his mother while working for the US army.

Israel also volunteered to work for SAR-EL on IDF military bases in Israel and assisted many other charities while working as a volunteer for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). He also introduced programs wherever he worked to provide mentorship and training for the staff and interns. He joined many organizations donating both time and money, including the Military Order of the World Wars, Jewish War Veterans, ROA Cuban Jewish American Mission, Toastmasters, and the Symphony Orchestras at both the Kravis and Kennedy Centers.

Israel also never stopped encouraging others to learn, and led by example completing his MBA in Project Management and Business, and earning many technical certifications. Throughout his career he was always developing and delivering presentations at technical conferences and writing articles to share his knowledge and expertise in the computer industry. He was a respected leader at work, in the military and within his field of expertise.

Israel worked as Director and Vice President of Operations for a variety of fortune 500 companies in the private sector and Government managing data centers, networks and applications. He travelled worldwide when he worked as a high-level consultant in Sales and Marketing for several IT vendors. His final mission, however, was to work for the Occupational

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as the Deputy Director of Directorate of Information Technology and later in the OCIO, Customer Advocacy Division from May 2014 until he retired on January 1st, 2019 in Washington DC.

Israel's return to Washington DC allowed him to spend more time with his family, which now included two grandchildren. He was best known for his sense of humor, and love for his family. He was extremely proud of his daughter Jessica, and her accomplishment of studying medicine, and raising two children while working as a pediatrician and, more recently, her contributions to research at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Kravis Center, the IDF Widows and Orphans Organization (IDFWO), or the Cuban Jewish American Mission (CAJM).

Surviving Relatives

Wife: Elise Gotay

Daughter: Jessica Gotay-Lehmer

Grandson: Zachary Lehmer

Granddaughter: Gabriela Lehmer

Brother: Pepe Gotay

Sister: Mary Diez

Anyone unable to attend the service but would like to view a live webcast, please click and open the link below- https://www.hdezwebcast.com/show/israel-gotay