Maria Elvira Azua

I want to thank you all for coming here tonight, and greet the many family and friends. I would like to start off this evening by expressing to you my mother’s perception of herself, as part of her Facebook account’s description of herself she had listed “I am caring, easy going, altruistic, ethic, people person, fun loving, team player, entrepreneurial, well educated and a world traveler. I am a good listener as well as talkative and funny. I love to make the best out of every moment, experience and opportunity. Definitely very optimistic despite all odds.”

Interesting history, we have to thank my Aunt for introducing my technologically illiterate mother to a technological social networking site that she grew to love and cherish as part of her daily basis. She lacked the normal technological know-how, but when it came to facebook she reconnected with most of her friends and family. She was rejuvenated once more, and her life given new opportunity to reconnect with people she truly loved.

My mother has spent many years being a fanatic of life, invigorated by the passion she sought to live life to the fullest on a daily basis she overcame many obstacles and triumphed amongst many health adversities. She loved life, charities, traveling, helping others, serving the community, and aiding anyone in need. She was a giver, she gave all of herself to anything she set her mind too. Her mission which she fulfilled was to educate others on cultural awareness. An avid traveler, she was wrought by the desire to travel world-wide, which she did through many years of escapades.

She served in many capacities as a journalist, a social worker, a traveler, an entrepreneur, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend, and a wife. She was mirthful, joyous, full of life, full of laughter, eccentric, funny, perseverant, loving, affectionate, and utterly devoted to living life to the fullest extent against all odds.

I want today to be an evening where we recall the best of my mother, the moments of glory, the moments of cheer, her triumphs, her accomplishments, her legacy, and above all her memory. She loved culture, loved learning about cultures, about the different religions, the different ethnicities, the intricacies of the world and the philosophies that bind it into social conformities. She was prone to be curious, and inquisitive, much of the time getting her into some precocious situations. She was the sort of person to initiate a conversation and carry on with the individual as if they had been lifelong friends. No one was her enemy; she gave this life everything she had, from her views/perceptions, to the legacy in her daughters. I must say my mother taught me that to get far I would have to work hard, but to value my family and the worth of love above all else. There is nothing stronger than being together in times of strife, but it is the love of each member of a family that makes the fiber of the family impenetrably strong.

She will be missed, but let us not cry in anguish but rejoice at her ascension into the abyss of heaven where she longed to go. I am sure she is looking down from above wishing to be here to let us know the joy she is having at traveling the universe abroad along with the angels. She is without a doubt living that next plain of life to the fullest as well, and one day when we join her we all will also rejoice with mirth and joy at the beauty of the eternal infinite expansion and interconnection of the entire universe.

I am pleased she passed in peace while she slept, as for that is the best way to pass, in a manner a sweet reminder of how fragile this life is. It is the frailty of life that reminds us of the beauty of every day. It was until recently that I heard someone tell me live life everyday as either one of two ways: you either live it as if no miracles ever come your way, or live it as if every day is a miracle. My mother lived each day as if it was a blessing, and if the blessing was to be share a piece of this world alongside her, then it is a blessing we all equally shared. I invite you family and friends to join us today in celebrating through laughter, tears, and joy the life of a wonderful philosophical and at times enigmatic mother, daughter, sister, friend, and wife.