Naples Funeral Home

Joaquin Carlos Iribarren, 64, operated Bella Maria Cafe from 2004 to 2016 with his wife, Maria, and son Francisco. The local tapas restaurant blended Chef Iribarren’s Spanish dishes such as seafood paella with his wife’s Chilean cuisine and desserts. Iribarren was born Dec. 21, 1954, in the Basque Country of Spain. After attending culinary school he lived in Chile, where he met and married Maria Elena Plaza. "It was just a natural thing to become a chef being in a restaurant all the time. I used to watch my grandfather and father and it was part of me,” Iribarren said in 2005. “My family comes from the Basque region of Spain. I have had restaurants in Baltimore and Fort Myers." The couple operated the highly rated Bella Maria restaurant in Fort Myers before relocating it south to Naples in 2004. "We thought it was time to come to Naples and introduce everyone to traditional tapas and Spanish dishes,” he said. Maria and Joaquin, who many knew as Carlos, launched their cozy Bella Maria Cafe in a little restaurant space in downtown Naples that previously had been Spice of Life, Old Circus Grill and Capt. Seaweed's Fish Joint. The longtime restaurant had to close when that section of Fifth Avenue South was razed for redevelopment in 2016. "The restaurant business is tough," Carlos Iribarren said. "We have to work seven days and there is a lot of preparation before we open for business every day."...

Ronald A. BAGIENSKI - Rev. Ronald A. April 9, 2019, in Lima, Peru. Pastor Emeritus of St. John Kanty Parish, in Buffalo, NY. Devoted son of the late Stella (nee Lewandowski) and late Stanley Bagienski; beloved brother of Monica (Randal) Golden, of Naples, FL; loving uncle of Sloan (Daniel) Blair, of Naples, FL; also survived by his longtime friends Thomas Boeck and George Palz. Family will be present on Tuesday from 3-7 PM at the PIETSZAK FUNERAL HOME, 2400 William St. (near Harlem). Rev. Bagienski, will lie in state on Wednesday from 9AM at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent Chapel (600 Doat St.) where a Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10 AM, Most Rev. Edward M. Grosz, DD,VG, Auxiliary Bishop of Buffalo, will be principal celebrant. Burial will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Flowers are gratefully declined. Memorial in the form of Mass offerings are preferred. Online condolences at www.Pietszak.com ...