Esther Prado Juarez

In the past seven years it was not uncommon to see Edward and Esther Juarez driving in their blue Toyota Corolla throughout San Diego County. They drove everywhere together visiting local cities such as, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, San Clemente, Ontario, and throughout their Paradise Hills neighborhood. Within that car they developed a new sense of commitment to each other and redefined their marriage. Similar to one of their shared favorite videos, “It’s a Wonderful Life” their story had events that created ripples that brought our parents together. The life of Esther Maria-Margarita Hernandez-Prado began on May 14, 1944, when she was born in Guasti, California. She was the youngest child of Bardomiano and Matiana Prado. On October 26, 1963, she married Edward “Baby” Primativo Juarez and they chose to settle in San Diego, California where they had four children: Josie who they welcomed in 1964, followed by Theresa in 1966, and Eddie (Jr.) in 1967. But after many years and teenage children, they chose to try for one more child which was Thomas in 1979. In Esther’s lifetime, she was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, friend, and follower of Christ. Her life’s legacy is that she has built her family in God’s Word and chose to mirror His love for others and was always loyal to her husband. Many people might remember Esther as being an amazing athlete who excelled in several sports, and what she loved do the most was to play softball with her sisters. She was a natural competitor who would outplay, outfight, and outwit her competition. Yes, all of the family stories are true and we are all proud of how our mother lived her life. To Esther’s immediate family, we have painted our mother’s life portrait with colors of “generosity” and “grace” splashed with “spunkiness” and “feistiness” but most of all “forgiveness.”

Nearly seven years ago Mom had a stroke which severely limited her motor-skills. However, the true culprit of her affliction was identified as stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) brain cancer. On average, people who contract this illness only survive approximately six to twelve months. Mom’s desire and competitiveness gave her the tools to put up a good fight and she defied all of the medical odds and ultimately survived seven years but not alone, her husband, our father was by her side the entire time and was her primary care-giver. Never once did the strength of their marriage come into question and Mom’s condition only renewed and deepened their love for one another. This unconditional love has inspired many family members to view our parent’s marriage as an example of what is a true definition of commitment. One of the reasons why Mom survived as long as she did was due to strong prayer support, a caring church family, and the fellowship of family members. Our family would like to give a special thank you to: the Amazing Grace Church, the New Creation Church, our Aunt Gorda, Snooky, Betty, and especially to Uncle Vonie for opening the door at the beginning of Mom’s walk with God.

There are several words that be can be used to describe Mom’s life similar to how an artist uses a variety of colors when making a portrait or painting. The first word, is generosity (Thomas), Mom had the willingness to always put others before her own self-interests. It did not matter who, what, where, when, or why; Mom was always there to help. The second word, is graceful (Theresa), our Mom understood God’s grace was essential to enjoy the life that God had planned for her. She gave grace and compassion to all her family members during their time of need, God completely filed her heart with grace so that she was able to become a “Grace-giver” in her life as well as those who knew her. Graceful living is life overflowing with his grace – a life of freedom and joy. The third word, is spunky (Josie), Mom exhibited a cool, magnetic inner spirit that allowed her to make close knit friendships with people of all ages. The fourth word, is feisty (Jr.), Mom was not broken spiritually or emotionally when she contracted a life ending form of cancer. She fought for seven years and in the final days Mom courageously resisted with her feisty spirit. Finally, the fifth word to describe Mom is forgiving (Dad). In any marriage there is a combination of joyfulness and conflict and as the Bible states,

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) states, as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Every relationship has peaks and valleys and forgiveness is the only way to navigate those hurdles and to build a solid foundation and in those moments true love and commitment can develop.

Esther loved her husband, her children, and her family and friends. Our mother’s ability to forgive people without placing judgment on them for their inadequacies was what made her truly special and respected by so many people. If you knew Esther then here are some of the things you would have seen during her lifetime: attending church service, caring for her grandchildren, punching a speed bag in her garage, jumping rope, playing softball, witnessing the legendary “fight” with an unknown Indian woman and “YES” MOM “WON.” Constantly seeing or hearing her talking on the phone whether it was Aunt Bertha or Aunt Gorda or Aunt Bella or Aunt Jenny, all of her siblings and family but it was in “Spanglish.” She loved playing poker with her siblings while camping at Rosarito Beach in the “tent” that no children were allowed to enter, drinking a can of Coors Light, winning a dance competition with her husband, and giving her life to Jesus, the list goes on…

Everyone here today has at least one memory of Esther that fits at least one if not all of the five words used to describe her. There are many words to describe Esther and she made a lasting impact on each of us in her own way in her 73 years. To everyone here, Esther has held a special name to each of us. She was a daughter, a sister, a niece, a cousin, a sister-in-law, a nina, a tia, a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, and a most recent, a hell of a fighter. But the most important name that we should all leave here today remembering Esther as, is daughter of Christ.