Merry 1st Heavenly Christmas Mom! Love you!!!!!!
(Photo taken 2015)

Having the honor to give a eulogy at mass, gave me mixed feelings.  I want to properly honor my mom with my words, and get through this without crying because I can hear her tell me to suck it up buttercup.

A young boy about 9 or 10 walks into a souviner shop...

That young boy is me. Good morning, I'm Arnel Dulay Oribello, Mary's second oldest out of five. 

When I found out her condition worsened there was nothing that could stop me from being by her side. I will forever cherish the last 18 days I got spend with her.

During that time like all of her children, I had time to really think about how much she shaped me.  Out of the thousands of lessons and memories I've had with her I wanted to share two.  

One of my fondest memories many of you may have heard.  was how my mom cared for my happiness.  

I started with a young boy about 9 or 10 walking into a souviner shop and walks out disappointed...

years ago we would take large family trips to amusement parks and other places.

I remember those times when all my cousins and brother and sisters (Pay particular attention to their names) Jon, Emily, Arlene, Peter,  Russell, Chris, Leo, Jennifer, Michael...would walk into a gift shop and more often than not would easily find their name on a magnet, key chain, or license plate,...and I ARNEL would have to settle for the magnet that said Disneyland, Reno or Yosemite.  

I was always upset and she knew it. One day when I came home from school I remember she asked me to open a small box. When I did there was a mug with my name on it. I was amazed.

I remember hugging her and her watching me and the happiness it brought. It wasn't about the coffee mug, I was too young to drink coffee, but the thought of the mug. As I think about it today I am amazed how she did that with out the technology like Google and Amazon. 

Lesson TWO, HOW TO LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY.  She had 5 children. 4 of them she gave birth to. 

The 5th is a wonderful young woman my sister, Lareeza. Lareeza and I share the same dad but sadly Lareeza's mom passed when she was just a baby.  That left her with just my dad. And even though my mom had no obligation to care for or raise her, my mom accepted Lareeza as her own and raised her no different than the rest of us. 

To the end she worried about us all. Mom went peacefully and surrounded by love. Love from friends, colleagues,  and family.  As I sat back and saw the genuine love and care in the faces of her sisters, brother, children, and grandchildren, there is no doubt that the loss of mom will be hard on us all but by leaning on all those she showed how to love unconditionally we will make it like I know she would want us to. 

Mom,
I already miss your text messages.
Your Happy Birthday Arnel
Happy Easter you guys
Have a good Thanksgiving
Merry Christmas too you Shannon, Chelsea, Darius and family
Happy New Years
Be safe
I was just thinking about you, love mom.

So I wanted to close with some words of wisdom from mom in her final days. "Don't cry, well you can cry just don't over do it." I love you Mom.

When I think about Leonor, I recall two unique traits about her; (1) if she was attending a family event, it always seemed more fun and entertaining when she was there, she just had an inherent fun in her character, and which enticed one to attend, (2) often she had a unique smirk like expression especially when either she knew you were full of BS, or when she didn't agree with you, and though she contained her opinion and diplomacy, an astute person would get the message! And these traits made her so lovable, though because of my dry humor I always suspected she thought I was a bit off-kilter  and she's probably right! We will all miss you Leonor, though you will forever be in our hearts, thoughts, prayers and presence! And we hope you; your Dad and Uncle Pete prepare the way for those who follow. And please put in a good word for me, as I'm pretty sure I'll need the help!

Ate Mary and I sat next to each other at work for a few months. We laughed a lot, talked about our kids, our love of Hawaii, and our crazy adventures and experiences from the Philippines. She always had a bright and positive attitude and always loved to joke around. She always knew how to lighten the mood and always made my day a happy one. I know that our interactions with each other was brief, but I will miss her a lot.

Auntie Mary, you were always kind to me and welcomed me into your home. I thank you for the love and smiles you've shown me over the years, and feel blessed to know you are watching over us in heaven. I thank God your pain has ended and you can laugh, drink, and have as many LV bags as you want forever. We love you!

Auntie, I can't even start to explain everything I already miss about you.  There are so many memories that I will hang on to.  You were definitely a pillar of our family and in my life, and I will hold you in my heart forever.  Thank you for all of the fun and crazy times!

When we would buy the same style of clothes, we would promise each other not to wear the same clothes on any given day. That did not work. Once on Mother's day, not knowing we have dressed alike. We were shocked and had a big laugh about it.

Mary Leonor was our eldest sibling.  She was feisty and headstrong. I shall refer to her as Leonor moving forward in this memo.
As a young girl she demonstrated to be a little different   from, us, the other siblings. The four of us never fought among ourselves. We did not snitch on each other.
 I remember one of perhaps many times when she was mad.  She would not hurt anyone or say anything. However, she would cut a string in the doilies that my mother painstakingly crocheted.
Of course, my mother discovered the cut doilies. She would call on the four of us to line up and confess to the act or we would all be punished. We all knew she did it but she would not budge and we did not snitch. Therefore, we were all punished with house chores.
Once when in high school, Leonor wore pants for PE. She was told by our Mother Superior, that only boys wore pants and not to wear pants next time. Later that day, Mother Superior called her out of class and asked Leonor to climb through her office small window to unlock the door because Mother Superior had locked herself out. She then told Leonor, you are an angel in disguise! Leonor could not stop telling us about the incident.
I was her high school classmate. We were instructed to fold our hands during class and keep them on our desk table top. Leonor suddenly made it obvious to the rest of our classmates that she had an itch on her nose. She then proceeded to scratch it making sure that the lecturing Mother saw her.
When called to the front of the class to apologize and kiss Mother on the cheek, she first turned facing the class, grinned, then squinted while apologizing. The class giggled and I sank in my seat. 
Leonor was not always social. At times, she would not even face family friends when they tried to make conversation with her. However, if she had good vibes about anyone, she would crack jokes even with strangers.
Being the oldest child in our family, she was very privileged. As a teenager, she was the only one into music concerts. She got to see the Beatles concert and Dave Clark 5 (her favorite group at the time). Not one of us was ever jealous. We were happy that she was lucky and that she was very happy about going.
Later in life, I had developed a bump on my thumb. I called the doctor and he wanted to schedule me for surgery. She told me she could fix it and proceeded to poke my bump with a pin and squeezed the liquid out of it. I then cancelled my appointment.
Weeks later, she noticed that my bump had reoccurred. She said, Come here. I'll take care of that, I feel like torturing you right now. And I let her poke me again with a pin! Hey, it worked and she got her torture fix!
Leonor loved to boss us around. She called us her sherpas and would say, ..you know the drill, go do it. So, we just did whatever she commanded. We knew that was her way of saying. I know you love me enough for me to tell you whatever I want .
Our mother taught us how to appreciate each other. One day she told the four of us to sit across from one another and enjoy each other's company because when we got older, we would not have time to do so. This was not true.
Leonor made sure that we never lost touch with one another.
She liked telling the story when she and Junior, our youngest sibling and only brother went on vacation to the Philippines. They spent days together and just the two of them took a scooter and went on a spooky adventure. 
She went almost every year to the Philippines and spent weeks with Linda while visiting our mother.
She and I would on every free weekend or days off go shopping, eat out, watch movies, complain about anything and laugh about everything. 
When we would buy the same style of clothes, we would promise each other not to wear the same clothes on any given day. That did not work. Once on Mother's day, not knowing we were dressed alike. We were shocked and had a big laugh about it.
When family members start hugging to say goodbye, or hello, she would look at me and say, we don't hug, yuk., and then smile. Not too long ago, my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. I cried.  My cancer stricken sister hugged me and said, don't worry, and besides, I'm sicker than him!
Yes, we had a different big sister, a special big sister.
Our love among the four of us is unconditional and will always be.
Bye, Enok

As children growing up, Mary Leonor, our oldest sibling was very rebellious and headstrong. I remember that on more than one occasion, she was being 
Leonor and for some reason, she was mad at our mother. She did not harm anyone or say anything bad, but she would cut the crochet doilies that my mother painstakingly made and said nothing about it. Of course, my mother discovered the cut doilies and called the four of us to line up and asked the guilty one to fess up to the act. We all knew she did it but we did not snitch and we all got punished for her misbehaving.
As the first child, she had many privileges. She got to attend teenage concerts like the Beatles and Dave Clark 5, escorted by family friends. We were not jealous, we were happy that she was hip and deserved special treatment.
She sometimes did not talk to family friends and strangers who tried to make conversation with her. However, if she took a liking to you she would make you laugh from the get-go even without knowing your name.
Once at the convent school where we attended high school , she wore pants for PE. This was not allowed and the Mother Superior told her not to wear pants next time. However, that same day, Mother Superior called Leonor out of class and asked her to report to her office. Mother Superior asked Leonor to climb through a small window to unlock the office door because she locked herself out. Leonor with her forbidden pants climbed through the window and unlocked the door. Mother Superior then said "Mary Leonor, you are an Angel in disguise!" That made Leonor's day.
On another occasion, when instructed to keep our hands folded on the desk while in class, Leonor all of the sudden got an itch on her nose. Of course, she had to make it obvious to our classmates and purposely scratched her nose so that the mother teaching would notice. She was called to the front of the class to apologize and asked to kiss the mother. She first made a funny face facing the rest of the class and then squinted while kissing the mother's cheek while saying sorry.
I once had a bump on my thumb and called the doctor and they said to make an appointment for surgery. Leonor said, "I'll take care of that. She then proceeded to poke the bump with a pin and squeezed it. It drained and I cancelled my appointment. The next week, we were in the Philippines at our Mom's house and she saw that my bump had reappeared. She said, "come here, I feel like torturing you, I'll take care of your bump ". ..and I let her poke me again with a pin!
She bossed us around, and we complied with no complaint. We knew somehow that it was her way of saying I love you guys, so I will allow you to wait on me!
Our mother taught us how to appreciate each other and once ordered us to sit in front of each other and wanted us to enjoy each other's company. She said that when we grow up we may not have time for each other.
That was never the case with us.
Leonor spent memorable vacations with Junior, like one she always spoke of in Boracay. The took off on a scooter, just the two of them and had a spooky adventure.
She spent weeks at a time almost every year with Linda in the Philippines.
We spent every free weekend together, shopping, eating, watching movies, complaining about anything and laughing about everything.
Yes, our spoiled , feisty old sister was the love of our lives. We loved her as she loved us, unconditionally.
We will miss you "Enok" (her childhood nickname )
When family would visit and hugs went around, she would look at me and say "..we don't hug , yuk" However on the day I found out that my husband was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, my cancer-stricken sister hugged me and said, " don't worry , and besides, I'm sicker than him!"
There are many, many more stories that maybe one day I'll put in writing to share with the rest of the family, but enough  bragging about you for now, Leonor.
Love you always
Frances (Akang)

My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mary Oribello. I know words cannot mend your heartache, but those who care and share your loss are here to comfort and give you peace. May you find strength in the love of your family and friends. Love, The Terrells

Auntie, you gave the family lots of laughs and added craziness. You will be missed by all. Rest In Peace. Your nephew Mike

You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, and you have kept your faith. Rest in peace in the arms of our Lord Jesus Christ now Leonor. We will truly miss you.❤

Hi Auntie, 
I've been blessed to have you as a part of my life and am equally blessed to be a part of this great family.  I'll miss our conversations while jammin to a bottle. Peace be with you as you continue after this life.

I never got to meet this beautiful lady, but I always heard good things about her, and do know her son Jonathan and he is a sweet young man, His mother taught him well and he has a good heart I am sure just like his mother had,  I am his Aunt he is married to Tamara my nieces.  Irene Diaz     many condolence to the family

Mom you are my first love.  I love you for everything you did for me.  I hope that when you look down on me that I will make you proud.

I love you and so happy I was able to spend so much time with you the past three years. Don't worry about your son, I got him!  Rest in heaven and keep an eye on us. Your laughter and jokes will missed. I love you Momma O!

Mom,
I already miss your text messages and laugh when we talk.  I love you and I will miss you so much!
Love,
Arnel

OBITUARY

Mary Enok Leonor (Dulay) Oribello

May 12, 1950 – February 6, 2018

Lima Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary and Cedar Lawn Cemetery

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