Oscar Augustus Ayala and Helen Simmons

[his parents]                          [parents not known]

Oscar Augustus Ayala was born on September 18, 1888,⁵ in Key West, FL ⁵ and was married to Helen Simmons.⁹  In about 1911, ^? Oscar participated as one of the conspirators during the uprising in Mexico against the Porfirio Diaz dictatorship.⁵

He moved to Tampa in 1912,⁵ and established the Oscar A. Ayala Insurance Company, which became one of the largest insurance agencies in Florida.⁵  He served on numerous boards, including the Bank of Ybor City, the Franklin Bank, and the Grand Central Bank.⁵  He was also president of the Florida Association of Life Underwriters, vice president of the Tampa Insurance Exchange and a delegate to the World’s Insurance Congress in San Francisco.⁵

In the 1920s, he was elected to serve two terms on the Hillsborough County Commission,⁵ and during his tenure, several bond issues contributed greatly to the expansion and progress of the county and the City of Tampa.⁵  During WWI, he served as general chairman of the various Liberty Bonds drives.⁵

Oscar and Helen had two daughters, Helen ⁵ and Elise Ayala.  Oscar is buried in Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, in Tampa.³

#  Children of Oscar Ayala and Helen Simmons:

i               Helen Ayala  [private]

ii              Elise Ayala was born in 1922.

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³  Source: e-mail - Wilson D. Ayala - Nov 10, 2000

⁵  Source: Tampa Tribune article by Tony Pizzo

⁹  Source: notes written by Neal A. Now, between June 6 and 12, 2000