My sweet abuelita.... no words can explain how much you are missed! We miss everything about you. We finally baptized your great grand kids. I know you were there in spirit.... I just kept imaging you smiling as the father was anointing the kids. I love you always and forever abuelita!!  

 I love this picture of you and your baby Carolina!! Happy Valentines Day Grandma, I love you!♥️

What a great day this was! Love you grandma! 

Mother this was such a fun trip going to Ensenada the girls loved it, they remember this trip and have always talked about it. We look so good being in the hot tub together. Love and kisses to you my dear mother.

My beautiful mother, you look so pretty in this picture. Yes we always went to the beach as a family. We always had so much fun, no wonder I love going to the beach, it’s so peaceful. I miss you so much, your always I. My mind I try to stay strong, I find it too be difficult.  I listen to my music every night and cry for you. You will always be in my heart. I want you to know like you always wanted my sister and my two brothers to be together, we have made a promise to be united forever as you wanted us to be. I know you are in heaven now with my dear father and with Edwin all of you are our garden angels right now watching over us and protecting us . Mamacita I want you to know that today was a beautiful day in your memory my grandchildren baby Steven,Marie, Mia,Ian Were baptized with Father Mike. As you always asked and wished for this day, well it’s all done, I know you have a big smile right now.  I send you all my love and hugs and kisses to you and my father. I want to wish you both a very happy Valentines. I love you so much mother of my life.❤️❤️❤️🌺🌺🌺😘😘😘

Mamita de mi corazón, me alegro mucho que ya estes bien  de salud. El otro día que me visitaste en mi sueño, vi como ya podías subir las escaleras sin ayuda. Y cuando subidte una banqueta alta sin ayuda, y te pregunte  “no te duele tu rodilla?” Y me contestaste, “no, ya no me duele nada, ya estoy bien.”  Me quedé tranquila porque sé que estas  bien.  Se que estas bien  acompañada con mis abuelitos y con mi papa, pero más  importante  se que estás en la casa del Señor, nuestro Dios.

Madrecita linda. Gracias por visitarme en mis sueños.  Me alegre la otra noche cuando soñé que mi papá me habló por teléfono. Y me dijo “mija ya cosiste los camotes?”  Y oi tu vos cuándo preguntaste “como está mi Esthersita?” En ese momento grité “amasita estás con mi papá?” Y en ese instante desperté.  Como me alegre al oír tú vos!  Te amo y te extraño!

Some days are harder than others, there is an emptiness that I can’t explain. I miss your giggle, your smile, your scent but mostly your warm embrace.  I take comfort that you are always with me in the communion of saints. Love you and miss you so much! 

I always wanted to make her proud of me. She was one the first few people who got the phone call of me getting my drivers license!

There’s so much more I want to say about you grandma.

I want to tell the stories of you speaking in English to Amanda and I because you didn’t want to eat a fish fil a sandwich for lunch because you weren’t hungry at the time. All the many times that Amanda and I would would help you walk to wherever you needed to go, buckling you into the car, helping you get out of the car. Showing you the different filters in Snapchat. Grandma would make it very clear on which filters she liked and which ones she didn’t like. 

But the most memorable memory I have is that I was able to dye, yes dye my great grandma’s hair. Not many people can say that. I miss you grandma. 

I love you with all my heart. I know that during this time you and great grandpa Juan are looking down at me, and would want me to be your luceito. Your light to brighten others day. I will try my hardest to look on the bright side of things. I know you always be around me. Rest easy grandma maria. Te quiero mucho

It is going to be different with you not doing quality control on all of us while you are “sampling” the meat or the chile. 

I will miss hugging you for no reason just because you look so cute watching everyone else. Also because every time I hugged you my problems all melted away. I know I was not the best Spanish speaker and only knew 5% of what you were saying but that didn’t matter because we had our own language. Our language was endless hugs, kisses, smiles, giggles and “I love you’s”. With any mood you were in I could smile at you and you would smile back and our world was at peace. nothing bad could happen when I was around you. Every hug was filled with love and warmth. And your little giggle after I let go. you gave me a look saying “you silly girl”. I was a complete goof ball around you. I felt safe when you were around. I knew you were so supportive of me. When I would sneak a cookie when no one was watching, or when you pointed to the box of hot wings too and with an other look you said “I want one too”. You were so supportive of me when I would get unusually nail colors like black or bright lime green. You would say “it’s pretty”. The killer was when I got the black nails after Amanda got them, and grandma didn’t like the black nails on Amanda but she like them on me. Grandma always asked me if I had a boyfriend, I would tell her no but one time I accidentally told her yes and my translater, Amanda, asked “who’s your boyfriend and I quickly told grandma “me no have boyfriend”. You always saw me eating ice and laughed before you asked what I was chewing on. You already knew the answer. I’ll never forget when we got out of church so fast because the priest said there were donuts outside and you grabbed on to me and we took off to the donuts. You cut in front of everyone so you could get the donut you liked. But if you got the donut you didn’t like you would persuade me into thinking is was so yummy. 

Today is not an easy day. It’s not an easy day for anyone who has lost a person that meant so much to them. On Saturday morning, November 28, hearing my mom cry while holding her phone and walking past my sister and I, my heart dropped. No one straight out told us you were gone but we all felt it. We all tried to keep calm and not think of the loss we had but we all knew we would start to think about you and ball our eyes out. We manage to go to your house. Getting closer to the off ramp, I started to tear up because I knew once I saw your house it wouldn’t be the same feeling. Going up to the front door yelling “trick or treat”, walking into the dining room and seeing you in the kitchen saying “hi mija”. You were always so excited to see us even though sometimes you would call us in advance to see if we were on our way to your house. Going to your house for the second time I had the same feeling that it wouldn’t feel the same. We were able to go into your bedroom. Walking in and seeing my grandma esther, my aunt carol and my mom smelling your scent on the sheets. We all didn’t want to accept the fact that you were gone. We all took our turns laying our heads on your pillow to feel your comfort again. It’s hard to see you go, and during the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas Eve was most definitely not the same with you missing. With us making the tamales this year we would shred the meat and every single piece that dropped, my mom told my sister and I “see grandma is here with us, she wanted that piece”. Because grandma would take on the role of being quality control. She would sample everything, the meat, the chile, even the masa. We would have to make up new cooking strategies on the spot because grandma would eat all the meat so there would be no more red tamales to make, one year aunt carol had to get green chilies and cheese so we would use up all the masa.

In this world there is one thing that remains the same and that is “Change”.  Change is a constant.  Knowing eventually this day would come, that you are no longer physically with us, doesn’t make it easier. I find myself thinking of her throughout the day, which makes me cry because I miss her, or makes me laugh because I can see her making a silly face at me, or it makes me angry because she felt forgotten by so many. Then I hear her voice saying te quero mucho and I remind myself that she loves us with Mary’s blessed heart. The love of a mother. She sees us for our beauty not for our faults. 

I was lucky enough to have all these great moments and wonderful memories with my grandmother and truly blessed to be able to share Lillian and Amanda with her. I am truly blessed that my children didn’t only meet or know of my grandmother but they got the wonderful opportunity to truly truly know their great grandmother.  

Even though we may be physically apart we will never be truly apart since we will always be connected at the heart. 

During this time of grief I have moments that flood my mind as many of you do at this time. 

When I close my eyes and recall memories of the time I spent with grandma it’s hard to pin point which was my favorite. As time passes and the older I become it seems that the events in my life tend to bleed together. The years get mixed up and I get flashes of memories like Picking her up from work on Saturdays from the hospital, doing homework at her kitchen table ( the grandkids doing our school work and grandma studying her English for work at the hospital).  Coming to grandma’s after work to help her practice for her US citizenship test, walking the track at the high school in the evenings with her hand held like a pistol , conversations while picking chilies from the chili trees in the front yard or if she had something private or juicy to tell me we picked the chilies from the backyard. Now with technology we didn’t pick chilies, she would call me on my cell . I never knew if that call would last 30 minutes or 30 seconds. She would call with a purpose and disconnected the call without a moments notice. 

One memory that remains vivid in my mind was my initiation into young lady hood. I was around 12 years old I wanted to shave my hairy chubacka legs.  My mom bought me nair and we went over to grandma’s house.  There we were all in the backyard my grandma, my mom, my aunt Anna and me all lathered up in nair.  I felt as if I was being initiated into the club. For those 10 minutes before grandpa hosed down our legs,  we told jokes and laughed it was the best feeling. 

I had the honor and privilege to be the first born granddaughter of Maria Luz Tapia Vasquez Franco. It’s been extremely difficult for me to verbally say that she... that this is happening. I feel that if I don’t say it then perhaps it’s not real.  I find myself leaning on the church’s teachings of “the communion of saints” for comfort. Knowing that she’s with me always. Which leads me to share how much she loved the church. Given the opportunity my grandma  would share her faith.   She shared her faith so much that when she worked at California Hospital in the NICU she would baptize the children regardless of their parents faith. She wanted to make sure each of those extremely sick babies made there way back home to our Heavenly Father.  She was so bad that if there was a baptism at church she would make her way over to the newly anointed child and casually wipe some of the oil  and bless herself. 

Her biggest joy was seeing one of her own babies baptized. This was something she wanted  for all of us. Even if she couldn’t attend the baptismal mass, knowing that her children which includes her 4 children, 13 grandchildren 18 great grandchildren and her great great granddaughter are baptized is what she wanted most. On countless occasions she would ask me “did so and so baptize the baby yet” when I would reply yes, she would want to see the picture, if I responded no she would make a face.   

This was my last birthday with mom.  Boy I will miss her!

My mother was and will always be my hero and my best friend.  I thank the lord for Covid-19 because it allowed me to spend the last 9 months of her life with her in that I worked from home ,  and took advantage to work from her her home.   I had the privilege of seeing how she spent her days, what she did at home, and really get to know what her thoughts were.  She was a  beautiful person nit just physically but spiritually.   I will miss having breakfast and lunch with her, taking her to the doctor, going to the hair salon,  getting massages at massage envy and glenn ivy, going to the casino,  the nail salon, and most important ti church and visiting dad at the cemetary.   Mom i love and miss everything we did together.

OBITUARY

Maria Luz Franco

24 February, 1932 – 28 November, 2020

Oakdale Mortuary & Memorial Park

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