Elaine C. Champion Ensign

In writing this biography we reflect on a poem, by Linda Ellis, called “The Dash” that describes what seems to be a simple thing. The time between the date a person is born and the date a person passes in this life, is signified by “the dash” in-between the dates.

Elaine C. Champion Ensign

March 8, 1930 – March 10, 2010.

(above is “the dash”)

And the poem goes on to say, “For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth. And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.”

So, while many of you were there when she was filling in “the dash”, the following lines are offered to help us all remember those moments and the impact that she had on us all. We remain grateful for her love, her spirit, her faith, her compassion, her humor, and that she chose to include us in how she spent her “dash”.

She was born in San Diego, California in 1930, a multi-generation local descendant, with historical roots to Old Town, and remained a proud, native San Diegan throughout her days. Her family included sisters Jeanette, Gloria, Charlotte and Marsha, and brothers Jerry, Morris and Charles. She was a widow of Gerald (Babe) Ensign, and had three children, Richard (married to Lorraine), Robert, and Mamie (married to Ricardo whose children are Amanda, Jacqueline and Sabrina). Too numerous to count, she had many grandchildren, godchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and friends. She cherished them all.

While so much can be said about how she was very caring, smart, worked hard, bilingual, ahead of her time, dedicated, and always on the go, it comes most natural to describe her in terms of her loves, for that is what she was mostly made of.

She Loved Family—

She loved her children unconditionally. Regardless of their strengths, situations, busy schedules, or weaknesses, she remained supportive, loving and forgiving. She was outspoken, but somehow she found ways to say positive things about all. Her children knew that she would love them, regardless.

Her sisters and brothers loved and respected her, and valued who she was. For some she was “the responsible one” taking care of them and guiding them. She shared a special closeness with her sisters. Regular visits or phone calls would catch them up on the drama that happened in the Spanish-language novelas or in her own family, or they would get together at the casino and have lunch—all were shared with good stories, great spirit and a hope to hit “the big one”. And, of course, she was present at holidays and most celebrations, arriving all dolled up with gifts and good cheer.

Her grandchildren felt her support and she will always serve as a role model. Her life was a good life, but also included moments of great obstacles, requiring courage, and determination. Her strong opinions and revelations would surprise them, as well as provide them with guidance to take on big tasks. Her words remain strong. Her manner with them was thoughtful and patient. Jennie (Robert’s eldest daughter), Amanda, Sabrina and Jacqueline (Mamie & Ricardo's girls) were the most fortunate, as they spent a great deal of time with her, while Francesca (Kika), Rosemary (Baby Rosemary), Jessica, and all of their brothers and sisters were in her heart and prayers often, especially the boys. Some would share a meal with her, visit with her in person or by phone, take her to the casino, or treat her to get her hair done once in a while. She attended graduations, birthdays, award ceremonies and more when she could. She enjoyed the close relationships she had, and for those she was not able to see often, you knew that she loved them all in her heart.

Her godchildren were grounded in her strong love for them, and she spoiled them a lot when they were young with attention and gifts. She did the same with her nieces, nephews, cousins and other family members. She also had a closeness with all the in-laws. She loved just sitting, listening, participating, and watching everything that went on. Nothing got past her.

For much of her life, she served as the glue that kept the family together, whether it was through her many social functions (visits, dinners, potlucks, bus trips, bingo, and workplaces), phone calls, or the pressure she placed on us to make sure we’d gather. She’d pressure us to go to family parties or have them at our house—and we’d give in often.

Her Love for Music and Dance and Sports—

She could really dance and loved to every chance she’d get. While known for her jitterbug, swing, cha-cha and cumbia moves, she really could dance to anything. She had those steps down, and the rhythm came easy. Her son Richard was her favorite partner, quite a jitterbug king himself, and she taught all her kids the moves. In addition, her love for music was remarkable. Big Bands (like Glen Miller’s and Tommy Dorsey’s), Sinatra, Bing Crosby, oldies, mariachi music, Latin love songs (Julio Iglesias and Vicente Fernandez), and standards like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Mr. Sandman, and It’s A Wonderful World (Louie Armstrong’s version)—all became part of our music life as well. From the eldest to the youngest, this love for a good tune and musicals live on. And, most of us sway to the beat just like she did every time she heard the music.

She loved watching baseball, cheered on the SD Padres in person and on TV, in their good and bad times, and of course, kept up with the Chargers football team. Her love for sports was passed on to her family. Her "whooo-hoo" and "high-fives" were heard by all. In her younger years she spent many a weekend being the mom in charge of the little league and pony league baseball teams, cooking up baked beans, hot dogs, and supporting all the school and community fundraisers.

Her Love for “Goodies”--

While thin in stature, she really had the nibbles. She loved her Pepsi and would often get upset if we didn’t stock up when she was coming over. And, she couldn’t be without it in her home. She loved Peeps, those sticky marshmallow treats, especially at Easter, and was thrilled when different versions came out for Valentine’s Day and Christmas. See’s candy—we’d have to get her a specialty box with no dark chocolate, mostly truffles (white chocolate, keylime, coconut, and divinity fudge).

Pastries and other drinks—she loved banana cream pie and éclairs the most. Strawberry malts, orange cream (50/50) shakes were divine, and one of her grand-daughters would supply her with them periodically. Her other favorite drink was a tequila sunrise, a drink her son introduced her to a while back. When she traveled with her daughter’s family, she would order a couple, because they were free at the hotel during happy hour. And, she would just take a sip or two, and the ice would melt so she would not drink the rest. But, she had to have them. We always laughed about this. And, in the later days, after going to her doctor’s appointment, her son would take her to the VFW hall where she’d take little sips and enjoy the company.

Buffets—she loved to go, would pile up her plate, mostly push the food around and took just tiny teaspoons to taste. She loved her mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. And fast-food, KFC and Bar-B-Q Pit were common requests, although she took only tiny bites and saved the rest for later (so unlike her children).

Her Love for Holidays—

Celebrating Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, birthdays, and more were part of her being. She had outfits for every holiday and jewelry to match. She loved to dress up with lace and ruffles. We’d always make sure that we’d give her a corsage which she wore with such pride.

This love for holidays was inherited by her family, especially Mamie, Ricardo and their girls. In fact, the over-celebration is pretty standard in their household. And, Richard, her son, is also strong on the celebrations. It’s not unusual to find them planning, cooking, inviting and executing huge events for family, friends, or volunteer efforts. Because of her varied cultural background, she emphasized Mexican-Irish traditions and thrived on enchiladas, tamales, and corn been and hash, not to mention lots of potatoes.

Throughout most of her life, she loved to cook. She was most known for her famous cheese enchiladas, and finger sandwiches, but would love to put on a Thanksgiving turkey early in the morning, and made plenty of casserole dishes for potlucks. In the early days, Sunday mornings were spent with family arriving for tortillas and menudo, as well as those delicious enchiladas. Usually at her home in Old Town there was always a weekend party or food to be had.

Her Love for Adventure and A Strong Work Ethic--

Surprisingly, she traveled to Mexico (Tijuana, Rosarito, Ensenada and Mexico City), Hawaii, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington state, San Francisco, Hollywood, Buena Park, and, of course Las Vegas, Nevada. This was quite unusual given she was a self-proclaimed “home-body”.

She also had an entrepreneur spirit. She would coordinate bus trips to Las Vegas and enlist all the family in going and helping. Some would pick up and drop others off, some would prepare food, some would hand-out bingo cards and raffle prizes, and some would help her manage the trip. She really worked those buses, bossed us around (in a pleasant manner usually), and was always wanting to go on the next one. At one point she decided to buy things wholesale and re-sold to her connections using her persuasive marketing style. She did quite well with her business efforts, and when she didn’t, she didn’t care because it was fun and she knew her kids would cover her.

All of her jobs were pretty demanding, because she took her work ethic so seriously. Somehow she always became “in charge” or managed the work efforts. Whether it was running her own restaurant, catering, other food service, production, bartending, or her own self-employment activities—she took pride in a job well done. Oh, and did we mention that she always involved her family in her work efforts one way or another.

She loved being independent. While she lived close to or with her daughter’s family for a large portion of her senior years, she wanted her own place, her own things, and her own lifestyle. She managed her own affairs but knew that her children were there when she had a need. She’d keep them jumping in terms of knowing her where-abouts, and it was an adventure trying to track her down at times or keep up with her.

Her Love for God—

While a practicing Catholic, she attended bible studies and demonstrated her faith in many ways. In her early years she devoted time to the Immaculate Conception church in Old Town where she was baptized and married. She also attended, St. Mary’s, St. Anthony’s, and St. John’s, amongst many. She prayed for all of us, so often. Her prayers were especially for our health, or when we’d lose things, and all the other reasons that one needs prayer. She had saints, candles, and religious jewelry galore. At one point, we were worried about her lighting candles, so finally were able to convince her to use “flameless candles” that were battery operated. We bought them with timers so that they would come on automatically at night, but she didn’t care about that. She left them on all day and night. And, she would just tell us to bring her more batteries.

Because of her strong beliefs, she knew there was a heaven. And, given she had daily, if not hourly, conversations with God and all the angels and saints, she was pretty comfortable with what follows. We remain grateful for her strong faith. This is helping us during this time. There’s a song that says,

“I heard someone say there must be borrowed angels here in this life,

to come along into this world and make this world bright.

They can’t stay forever cause’ they’re heaven sent,

and sometimes heaven needs them back again.”

She was a borrowed angel. We’re betting God already has assigned her a task, and she is probably already willing to take on more. We now all have another angel looking out for us.

Her Love for How She Spent Her “Dash”

Elaine’s family invites you to read the poem, “The Dash” in her honor. It reminds us that “the dash” lasts just a little while and applies to us as well. At the end, it questions: “When your eulogy’s being read and with your life’s actions to re-hash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?”

For her, yes she can be proud, as are we. As a Mom, Mother-in-Law, Sister, Grandparent, Godmother, Auntie, Cousin and Friend—all were roles she filled with a loving nature, a fun spirit, and giving heart. We remain grateful to her always. We can agree that her life was well spent, and we ask you to join us in attempting to continue to make her proud.

-------------

The Dash

I read of a reverend who stood to speak

At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth

And spoke of the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

That she spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved her

Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;

The cars, the house, the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard,

Are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left,

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what's true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

And more often wear a smile,

Remembering that this special dash

Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read

With your life's actions to rehash,

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent your dash?