Angelita R. Garcia
7/26/1954 - 2/14/2018
My mother in law passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones on Valentine's day at 7:32p.m. Our hearts broke that day but we knew she had reach victory and she was no longer in pain. I wrote a speech to share at her funeral of what a great woman she was and I am sharing it here today.
There is so
much I could say about Jela she was a loyal friend with a giving heart, she was
as strong as they come and boy, did she always have something to say. However
my heart always returns to her as a grandmother. From the day we shared the
news that we were expecting, she told us she hoped it would be a boy. The Lord
granted her prayer!
She was able to
witness the birth of her first grandson, Liam Solomon in September of 2015.
After Liam was born she was there daily to hold him and even washed dishes for
me. She’d make sure we had meals ready to eat and if I lacked any sleep, which
I did, you’d find her pulling the bassinet into the living room so I could get
some much needed rest. Once I went back to work part-time she was also ready to
become his babysitter. Jela was able to enjoy bathing him, feeding him and put
him to sleep for a good year before the effects of her treatments took most of
her strength away but even that didn’t stop her because she asked her niece to
come help her so that she could still be a part of his babysitting duties.
In time, I
realized Jela’s reason for living was not only to be a mother but more so a
grandmother. It was her true calling. Being a grandmother brought an immense
amount of joy to her and it also drew us closer together. It was nice to have a
mother in law that I could count on and call if I ever needed to vent about her
son, in which she would remind me jokingly that there was a no return policy.
She was great at giving advice and reminding us of how important family and our
relationship with God is. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for her boys,
daughters in law and grandsons.
In her
last days we saw cancer slowly taking her from us. It was hard but we all tried
our best to be there for her and take care of her just as she would have for
us. One of her favorite things to do was talk and so we did until her very last
days. Even though she was in tremendous pain she always remained strong and
never wanted attention focused on her disease. She wanted everyone to continue
on with their lives and was more concerned with how we were doing and if we
were happy.
I wish
that we had more time together. I miss her daily phone calls, Sunday lunches at
her house and sitting next to her at church. I will cherish all the great
memories we had and although Liam may be too young to remember her, I have
already made it a purpose in my life that he will never forget her.
Her
passing last month left the world a little less colorful and a lot less
interesting. But even in our grief, we know we were so lucky to have had this
loving woman in our lives and, now, in our hearts forever.
