Gilberto F. Oliva Sr., the patriarch of Oliva Cigar Co., died on Saturday in Miami, surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren. He was 86 years old. Oliva was born in Cuba and was the grandson of Melanio Oliva, the first member of his family to grow tobacco. Oliva went from tobacco growing to tobacco brokering. He focused on leaf that many growers ignored, including libre de pie, the leaves that grow closest to the ground and are known as sand leaf.
