
..just a few words/thoughts about my mom….

Faith; Family; Friends…  While some have seen those words on hand towels/bill boards, those are the words that my mother lived by…

Faith – from a very young age, my mother was devoted to the Blessed Mother…  Her faith continued in the Parish with the Legion of Mary..  Because of her special connection/devoted faith, I was also asked to have my mom pray for health/welfare of a loved one….Her faith was so strong, that I even had my friends ask me to ask my mom to pray to St. Anthony for a lost item…  Invariably, the item would be located – her faith was so strong….  

Family – her family meant the world to her….  Because of my mother, everyone knows her husband, who I am, my brother Joe, my son Rick….  I’ve met people here who know me/my son – that we have never met….  They know me/my son solely because of my mother…

Friends – Friends were also important to my mom….  It didn’t matter whether the friendships were new/old/recent, my mother was always open to making new friend/making everyone feel at home…

So, I want to thank everyone – family/friends who’ve known her…..but, also those people who did not know my mother….but, are here to support my father, my brother, myself, my son….  Your presence demonstrates/validates/verifies my mom’s influence/imprint in our lives…

Salamat po….

Joey, I'm sorry to hear about your mom.  It was an honor to have known her.  Cameron and I have you and your family in our hearts and in our prayers.  We love you!

My mom:
As we all know, death is a part of life.  But it doesn't make things much easier for those of us that are left  behind.  Mom was a deeply prayerful person, and I'm sure she's praying for all of us now because we're the ones that need them.  With the world we live in, prayer and God are the only things that can really spare us grief in this life and the next.  I believe that there are not many truly happy and fulfilled people in this world that don't have a spiritual outlook on life and have it as the foundation of everything they do.  That is why I realize that my mom was truly a happy and fulfilled person in this life.    Like many children, I often questioned the level of discipline and sometimes stubborness when it came to some things.  Regardless of what people thought, me or others, she did it anyway.  It made sense when I heard of some words from a little lady from Calcutta named Mother Teresa, maybe you've heard of her...:
"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. 
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. 
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. 
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. 
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." 

Now, those words truly hit home here because those of us that really knew my mom knew that she believed in all these things and lived them.  Mom was always quick to forgive, mom was always kind to everyone…particularly children (those of you who have seen her with children know the joy she had and the special connection that was there), she was known to tell the truth, she always did good( think about the work she's done to make a difference in different areas), she gave the world her best at being a teacher, friend, coworker, mom, grandma, and wife.   Because she seemed to already "get" the fact that ultimately it was going to be between her and God anyway.  In fact, my dad even told me that one of the best things that kept things going in a 50+ years of marriage and raising my sisters and me (which was not easy feat)was her relationship with God.  Without it, we would have been lost.  
From day one going to church EVERY Sunday as a kid was a ritual no matter what kind of fight I put up,  she would never waiver.   Her dedication to serving the church and God was the foundation of EVERYTHING she did, there's not many of us can say that we had that kind of discipline, at least in my generation.

This example allowed me to realize that a life without discipline is like going on a journey to unknown lands without a map.  God was always the map, she never googled a thing in her life because she was trying to figure something out.  The only thing she had to do was be disciplined in God's way because in life, if you don't know where you're going, you're lost.  The world gets out of the way for people that know where they're going.  And my mom knew where she was going…straight to heaven…

Another guiding principle in her life was loving all people no matter who they were or where they came from.  The age old question of "what would Jesus do?" seemed to run rampant in my mom's life.  While not perfect just like the rest of us, she was always kind to all that entered into her life.  There's not one person here that can say that they didn't feel welcome the first time they met my mom or any other time for that matter.  The amount of love my mom had to give was overly abundant, no matter what was going on she would always take the time to talk to you, fix you food…and force you to eat it…, or tell you some story.  She also had many "adopted" children in her life because she had so much room in her heart for them, which was obvious in the stories she would tell me about the kids she had in daycare.  She'd show me pictures and talk about what they did as if they were her own children or grandchildren.  In my own life, the second son that stood out was my brother from another mother, Beau.  We've known each other since pre-school and if you only paid attention to how she treated both of us, you wouldn't know who was her biological son and which one wasn’t.  Now the physical attributes are another story, we couldn't be much more different but the point is that she treated him like son anyway because of all the love she had in her heart.  

No relationships are perfect and no family is perfect, we are no different.  The path wasn't always a happy one or a smooth one but my mom always had the answer,  love us more, love others more, love God more.  The answer is ALWAYS to love more, NEVER to love less…  Loving less is not God's way…  You see, she understood that love DEMANDS a response, no matter what.  Think about it, what happens when you walk down the street and you smile at a person you don't know?  They smile back at you!  And even if they didn’t that particular day, if you continue to smile every time you see that person , that person will eventually smile back.  Think about how that cascades through that person to others in their life…  My mom was quick with a smile, kind word, hug, or a kiss always with the intent of making OTHERS feel better.  I even remember times when she would just randomly ramble about a totally different subject that had nothing to do with what we were talking about but made her happy…her body and soul constantly sought good feelings and loving moments.  I wish I could have had more with her, I'm sure we all do at this point.  But the way we can have these moments with her, is to have them with each other now.  I'm sure that's what she'd want.

There's a quote that says:  
"Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with
a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone
around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die,
you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying"

I know momma's smiling now...

Momma is more influential to me and my life than I ever imagined because she inspired every word I spoke today. 

So, what did I learn from Momma? 

Follow God's path and you'll never be lost…


the answer is always to love more, never to love less


Momma, I love you more than ever and I'll miss you dearly.  I pledge that my children will know EVERYTHING there is to know about you.  

And, as always, I hope you're proud of me...

Offering our deepest condolences during this difficult time.


My deepest sympathies amd hearfelt sadness for the loss of your mother, Margie.  Knowing you, I know her. God is your comfort and your strength.  Take care,

We offer our loving thoughts and prayers to all of the family.  We knew Solita from St. Mary's Star of the Sea Day Care and church.  We remember her loving ways and beautiful smile.  May God be with you all during this time.

Christine Colbert and Nancy Guevara

To Margie Springer and family, I am saddened to learn of your mother's passing. We know she is at peace with God now. Please know that I will keep all of you in my prayers.

OBITUARY

Solita "Solly" Villacrusis Clark

November 8, 1936 – December 18, 2010

Huntt Funeral Home

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