They say that life is not about the number of breaths you take, but of the moments that take your breath away. On this day, I am proud to say that my grandmother had both of that in her 94 years of existence. She was one of the few people who I knew who lived a truly good full life.
Marcelina Bersamina Cantorna as we will always remember as Inang was born on April 24, 1926 in North Hilo Hawaii. Inang was the oldest of 5 children to Alberto and Manoila Bersamina and after completing the 2nd grade at age 7, she and her family were forced to move to the Philippines due to WWII. In the Philippines, Inang worked at a young age at rice and tobacco plants, as well in vegetable farming to contribute towards her family’s financial stability. At age 19, Inang married Eusebio, whom we will always remember as Amang; as a young couple, they planned to thrive in Barangay Pantoc San Isidro Abra, as they were blessed to raise 8 children: Cresencia, Erlinda, Florida, Lorenzo, Rodrigo, Orlando, Manuel, and Teresita.
Inang and Amang continued to set out their journey to prosperity by building their roots in America. On August 4 1974, Inang and her youngest daughter Teresita moved to Oakland, CA while Amang and the rest of their children stayed behind to complete their immigration process. Within the following 5 years, Amang, Florida, Lorenzo, Rodrigo, Orlando, and Manuel were reunited to settle in Delano, CA leaving behind their eldest daughters as a result of immigration policies. Other challenges involved housing and income stability; Amang and Inang managed to save enough money to purchase their home at Norwalk St. working in grape fields until Amang’s vision impairments disabled him to work that led to Inang as the primary breadwinner in the family. By 1990, Inang and Amang were finally reunited with their eldest daughters and their families, Cresencia and Erlinda. They certainly paved the way towards opportunities of prosperity as they intended a better way of living for all of us because they were determined and hopeful.
Inang has a total of 112 descendants within 5 generations. She was survived by her 8 children; 39 grandchildren, 60 great grandchildren; and 5 great-great grandchildren and counting (excluding in-laws). While my family and I stand deeply grieved by the loss of one of the pillars in the family, we are also thankful that she was part of all our lives. There is no doubt that we are blessed who got a chance to share our lives with an amazing person like my grandmother. We may have lost her physically now but we firmly believe, as she also does, that some day God will reunite us again and as we eagerly wait for that day, we keep her in our minds and our hearts where her memory will live on as long as we do.
FAMILY
Alberto BersaminaFather (deceased)
Manoila BallaMother (deceased)
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