Dear Nanay and Tatay,

God is good and worthy to be praised! He blessed us with both of you to be our light and guide on this earth.  We have seen and felt how you loved us and sacrificed for all of us.  Despite of all the challenges you went through for so many years, you never gave up.

Nanay,  you nursed us, took care of us,  washed our clothes, cleaned the house, cooked meals, and washed the dishes. You walked us to school, picked us up, read to us, helped us with our homework, and supported the decisions we made.  You did all of these lovingly. You were a great homemaker and a nurturing mother.

Tatay,   you worked tirelessly during the day and  you also worked odd jobs at night to make ends meet.  You sacrificed your life when you went to work in Vietnam for a few years to give us a better future.  You made us realize our mistakes, caught us when we fell,  and did your best to make sure we didn’t go astray.  You were a great provider and protector.

You were both great role models on how to deal with life’s challenges, how to cope with hardship and frustrations,  and that if there’s a will, there’s a way. 

Thank you for sharing with us the love of Jesus Christ.  Your faith made our family grow stronger. In your golden years,  despite of your health issues,  you found ways and reasons to go to church, while other people found excuses not to attend Sunday Service. You were committed to serve the Lord just as you were committed to love each other through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, and till death separated you.

Nanay and Tatay, there are not enough words to describe how much we love you and miss you.  We thank God each day and are deeply grateful for your love and your life. We look forward to our grand reunion in heaven, rejoicing with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Eph 1:15-16 … because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all God’s people, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.


 I know that you can't read this or hear us Nay, but when the time comes, all of us will be with you together with Tay and the rest of our relatives. Our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God (Jehovah) will wake us up  and I truly believe in that. But for right now, we made a promise to you that us,  your children will stick together, help each other,  love one another and will never forget all the memories we share together. "We miss you and love you so much along with Tatay".  

I copied this online:  And it goes like this:
If roses grow in heaven,  Lord please pick a bunch for me. Place them in my mother's arm And tell her they're from me.
Tell her I love her and miss her and when she turns to smile,  Place a kiss upon her cheek and hold her for a while.  Because remembering her easy, I do it every day. But there's an ache in my heart that will never go away.

I love you my dear Nanay,


We love you and we are going to miss you.

Dearest Nanay,

You are the most quiet and the strongest person I’ve ever known. I am amazed by how organized and neat you were. You were so smart and knew exactly what to do in any thing. You loved to cook for us which we all appreciated. I will always remember the times we went to your doctors’ appointments and to the stores, especially in WalMart. 

Thanks for always helping me. I love you and I miss you.

Proverbs 31:25-27 
 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 


Dearest Nanay,

I miss you very much!  You made me feel like I'm one of your grandkids.  I still wait for you in the living room every afternoon so I can get my "chika-chicka" (rub) and to hear you sing to me as we waited for mommy to come home from work.   I miss you calling me so I can come downstairs to eat.  Now, I only see mommy eating at the table.  I used to get two "subos" (hand feed) at dinner -  one from you and another one from mommy.  Now it's just one subo.  Every now and then, I go to your room hoping you'd be there. 

Last Christmas, I got a present from you but I couldn't find you to thank you with a kiss on the cheek. Last month I got a haircut and a bath but you were not there to feel how soft my fur was and how good I smelled.
 
I was so happy that I got to stay in your bedroom and lay on your bed on your last day on earth.   I hope dogs go to heaven when they die so I can see you again.

I love you,
Bow-bow

 Dearest Nanay Lita,

I have known you for more than ten years. I used to pick you  up twice a month for more than eight years.  You were the one who taught me which street I needed to take in going to Telacu Housing or going home.  For those years, I think you were absent  for only three or four times only.  You loved studying the Bible because you loved the Lord Jesus with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength . The last time I took you to the Seniors’ Bible study was the first week of September 2018.  You even told me to take 16th Avenue because 54 East would be very busy at that time. You were always present in our Sunday School.  You were the first woman I know who never complained about anyone’s attitude nor gossip about anyone. The only remark anyone would hear from you was ”pambihira naman sya, bakit sya ganon”. I will surely miss you a lot because you're a virtuous woman. When you could not read anymore, our Pastor Bong Cabuhat gave you an audio Bible. Every time you finished hearing the whole Bible from Genesis to Revelation, you would always tell me “I did hear the whole Bible two times this year". Verses from Titus 2:3-5 speak of the older woman Nanay Lita was: “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind and subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” I am sure your eyesight at this very moment is normal and gazing at the beauty of your  first love, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Love,
Normi

Dearest Nanay,

I miss you! Thank you for taking care of me when I was a baby through my adult life. I know I'm not a perfect son, but you are a perfect mother to me.  I will always remember having lunch with you after your doctor's appointments. I love you Nanay. You will always be in my heart forever.

Your son,
George

To my beautiful Lola,

       It has been weeks since you were gone but all the love and wonderful memories that you left me will be treasured forever.  I miss seeing your smile whenever I visit you. I miss your so called “angry” tone of voice. I miss you telling me all about our favorite Filipino teleserye. I miss you asking me when will I come back to visit you again.  I am just happy that on your last few days that I get to show you and tell you how much I love you. I know there are so many more wonderful things that I will definitely miss about you but I am glad because I get to keep all those beautiful memories of you with me forever.  Thank you Lola for loving all of us, your grandchildren, equally and unconditionally. I know, every family celebration we might have will never be the same without you. However, we promise you that we will keep and continue your legacy of making all of us come together, gather and enjoy each other’s presence not only in every special occasion but as much as we can.  We all miss you so much, Lola. You will always be forever in our hearts. 

I love You ❤️
Jenny  

Dearest Nanay Lita,  
	I know we were away from you more often because of your son Junior's military assignment overseas and out of state, you and I did not get together much or lived together.  However, in spite being away from you, you made it sure that long distance should never become a barrier of not keeping in touch with your children and grandchildren. I remember, while we were in Japan, you would send us a package that will remind us you're always there for us, remembering and sending your love.  It's also still fresh in my memory that, in spite of your physical condition, you had traveled alone, to Chicago, to visit us there, stayed there for a while to make sure everything is well, giving us hugs and kisses.  We bonded when you were there in Illinois with us, we exchanged cooking recipes, because we both loved to cook.
	Even when we are no longer in military, and were living in Riverside, you would call us making sure that we were all well. Sometimes you would remind us not to miss a special occasion in San Diego or birthdays. But even though you would always call  to remind us of birthdays that are forthcoming, I truly believe that your desire was also to see us as often as possible.   
	 Nanay Lita, we will never forget your thoughtfulness, your care toward us and you will be remembered as a strong Nanay and a compassionate one.  
	 I know this is not the end, because the bible talks about meeting one another again in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 
	So this is not really a goodbye, this world is not our home we are just passing through.  Until we all meet again in the pearly gates of heaven.  We miss and love you, Nanay Lita.


This is an excerpt from Uncle Robert's  letter to Buddy.  He is Nanay's first cousin.

When I received your letter regarding your mother's passing, I felt very sad and could not sleep that night.  She was very kind to me. I will never forget her kindness.  I will go to Cavite City San Roque Church to pray for her soul and will light a candle for her and Rosie. Buddy, ngayong wala na ang mama ninyo, maging mabait kayo sa isat-isa.

Regards to everybody. God bless all of you!

Uncle Robert

Nanay Lita has a place in my memories that is permanent and cannot be erased.  I am happy knowing that she is with the Lord now, but I still miss her very much. There is a hole in our house that is impossible to fill. I lived with her for the better part of 24 years, since I met and married Charo. Her presence in our lives was an anchor of stability and love that I miss daily.  Nanay was kind and generous. She treated me like I was one of her children. She was honest, open and direct with her praise as well as her critiques, for which I greatly appreciated. 

 I am thankful and blessed beyond measure for the opportunity to have known her, and to have her as my mother-in-law. Nanay had my utmost respect and gratitude. Most importantly, Nanay had a strong faith and belief in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. I was deeply honored to be at her side the day she left this earth. I know that one day I will see her again and rejoice that our family is once again together.

I will  miss you nanay on every occasion we celebrate  each year especially on "Mother's Day".  I remember  you would ask me where the rest of my siblings were and I would answer that they were coming soon.  Mother's Day is very important occasion to you because you get to see all your children in the church. 

I will miss you asking  me to buy you a large print calendar each year so you could write all your doctor's appointments and some important notes.  Now you don't have to go to the doctors and do not need to take your medications as you are now  in a better  place called "Heaven."  I will see you {and tatay too} there again.  I love you both.

1 Corinthian 13:12   " For now we see only reflections as in mirror then we shall see face to face.  Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

"A mother is always a mother.  She never stops worrying her children even when they are grown ups too"  {author unknown}
                                           
 Love and miss you nanay,
 Ching, 5th child ( the other twin)


     

Dearest Nanay,
I have so many things to tell you that I didn’t get a chance to say when you were still here. Every time I close my eyes, I only have good things to remember. Even with all this emptiness, I still feel your love. I want you to know that we were blessed to have had you for as long as we did. It really hurts to think about your last few weeks with us and sometimes I would just try to comfort myself by thinking that you are now in a far better place than us. I’m sure that you are now rejoicing with our Lord Jesus Christ.  Nanay, I miss you so much. You and I had so many good memories. I miss you laughing at my jokes, I miss your phone calls, I miss laying my head on your shoulder at church, I miss pinching your flabby arms, I miss you pulling my hair when I have a headache, I miss watching our Tagalog movies, I miss stopping by your house just to watch our teleserye together. You always get so excited to tell me what Tagalog movie is playing at the mall.  I will not forget the day when you and I went to Seaport Village. I saw in your eyes that you had so much fun that day. I wish I could turn back time so that I could spend more time with you. I regret not staying with you for a little while longer when I visit you. You always ask me to watch the next teleserye with you but I was selfish and I just want to go home after spending 30 minutes with you.  I know that you just want someone to be with you or spend time with you but I didn’t give that extra time you wanted. Please forgive me Nanay for not staying with you longer when I visit. 
Thank you for the love and care you have shown all of us. Thank you for all the help you gave me. You were there for me when I became a single mom. We will not forget your wish for all of us, to love, care, and help each other. I’m not going to say good bye. Instead, I want to say, “I will see you and Tatay again in heaven”.  I love you so much Nanay and you are always here in my heart.
Your Bunsoy,
-Mercy


Lola you are the most loving and caring person I know.  Thank you for all you have done for us.  Your memories will live forever in our hearts.  Sad that you left us but glad that you are now with Lolo and our God the Father in heaven.  Pls watch over us.  We will surely miss you and love you, muahhh! 

"Each sunrise is a message from God, and sunset His signature." Nay, those are the words written in my birthday card you had sent me when I was on my late teenage years in the Philippines; and from then, onward, I haven't forgotten the significance of those words in my life. So now I remember you more than ever before whenever the sun starts to set. I'm glad I had the chance to tell you about it and how I have learned from such a beautiful phrase. During the periods of time when you were feeling weak and before God took you home, many a time, I will go and visit you just before the sun sets on the horizon; a "peek" in your room knowing that you were okay was more than enough for me to complete my day. Almost always on my every visit, we enjoyed watching your favorite t.v. shows; when I talked about how my day went by, you took the time to listen, your eyes would squint and your brows furrow, as if you were sensing any signs of trouble or problem I might have that day; as your child, I felt the joy in you whenever we had time together in your room eating the fruits or dessert I had brought you. I felt gladness just watching you as you quietly eat there in your recliner, still high in spirit. By the time I was back in my car, I can see glimpses of colored sun rays in the sky, conveying the sun had begun to set, as always. Driving back home, I had always wondered how Nanay would regard my visit? Was my time with her enough? Maybe she's hoping that I can still be there and had hoped that I had stayed longer. I remembered her asking me, "you're going already? Don't you want to stay and finish this t.v. show?" Now, how I wish I had stayed longer with you. I wish you're still here so when you asked me those questions again, I would lovingly say, 'Nay, I am staying, until the sun has set and the night time falls.'  Miss you and tatay so much.  Waiting for that blessed hope that was promised by the one who saved us.  I will see you and tatay in the pearly gates of heaven.  Titus 2:13

Dearest Nanay

Until now I still can’t believe you are not with us anymore. I really missed you a lot Nanay, I missed those days preparing food for you every morning, your medications and giving you eye drops during night time. I really missed those days when you were still with us. But I know you are in good hands now with our God, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering. I LOVE YOU AND WILL NEVER FORGET YOU NANAY UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN...

In the last week of our stay here in Canada (November 26), LORD willing, the life and memory of Nanay Lita Topacio our sister in CHRIST has filled my heart and mind. My wife and I couldn’t help but reminisce of the time we spent with Nanay Lita, especially during the times when we would pick her up and drop her off for our senior Bible studies. During her last years, her eyesight deteriorated but what impressed me is that she was still able to give me directions to people’s houses and places we would go. Nanay Lita would just tell me that even though she couldn’t see clearly anymore she can still recognize our location because of her familiarity to the places we usually go to. 

 This reminds me of what our GOD and Savior and Lord and First Love JESUS Christ said in John 10. JESUS said that His sheep hear His voice and that they follow Him because they recognize His voice. Also in Acts 4 when Peter and John were arrested for proclaiming the Gospel of JESUS; Scripture states, “When they observed the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and recognized that they have been with JESUS.”

During the time I spent with Nanay Lita, we had wonderful conversations and I would like to share with a few realizations or observations I have about her.  First, in the way that she lived her life; in her words and deeds, it was evident that Nanay Lita hears and listens to the voice of her Good SHEPHERD. Second, in the way she declared her faith and conviction; one can’t help but realize that even though she is untrained or have not received any formal theological training, Nanay Lita has been with the LORD. Lastly and in this we greatly rejoice, Nanay Lita is now forever with her Good Shepherd JESUS Christ!

We love you and in prayer we keep you always!

Pastor Bong, Bea, and Bella
(Bonita Road Baptist Church)

Dearest Nanay,   Life is not the same without you.  You knew  it was really difficult for me to witness your life slowly fading away before my eyes. When the Lord brought you to heaven on November 25th, I immediately felt the emptiness in my life. My heart was broken. I prayed and hoped that you'd still have a few more months to be with us, but I trusted and respected the Lord’s will.  I miss seeing you in the living room when I get home from work.  You always waited for me with our dog Bowie as you sang songs to him and pet him until I got home.  I miss seeing you at the head of the table and having dinner with you each night.  You always waited for me.  I miss walking you to your room after dinner.  Every room in my house reminds  me of you. I miss our drive to church every Sunday. I miss opening and reading your mail to you, and your birthday and Christmas cards.  I miss going to the salon with you for manicure and pedicure.  I miss laying my head on your lap on the couch. It always made me feel like a child again. I miss talking, laughing and singing with you.  I terribly miss our hugs and kisses, especially on those challenging days.  Nanay, I miss seeing you everyday. My life revolved around you. 

I will hold on to God's promise that I will be reunited  with you and Tatay in heaven someday. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Your daughter,
Charo 

OBITUARY

Angelita Tillo Topacio

October 24, 1927 – November 25, 2018

Glen Abbey Memorial Park & Mortuary

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