Eliza Bersamin Estrada (b. 1918 - d. 2016)
As the eldest of 15 grandchildren (I along with 3 other cousins), was asked to remember our Lola this past Saturday in Los Angeles. She will be missed, but she lived a very full and interesting life:
To me, Lola was a larger then life personality that lived with us when she first came from the Philippines, taking care of my brother and I with so much energy and patience.She taught me the wonders of paper mache and handmade flowers, made my plain clothes look fantastic with embroidery, and filled our times together with hymns, songs and chatter that blended so many of her stories. Her sense of style was unique. And her quest for love and kindness was strong. I looked forward to her weekly calls and voicemails she would leave, announcing herself as ‘This is Your Lola Eliza’ as if I would not know!
Her laugh was infectious even when she called me by my mom’s or aunt’s names and most times, by my brothers’! Always with a giggle, her dentures falling out as she laughed so hard. She could be happy or sad or not feeling well, but her words were positive and hopeful.
She had these great hands that were always busy and up to something—the initial ring she wore all those years nestled on her finger. That ring, I could stare at for hours and I always asked her to tell me the story of that ring, which would lead to a new memory of the Philippines. These hands would make adobo, sew, shuffle through her favorite things, pull out old photos to show me from her Bible so, I would ‘try to keep the history alive’ she always said, sitting in the car contently (and most times sleeping!) as I took her with me to do my job returns, and to a craft store to ‘just look at things.’
This is how I think of her.
A search for a photo of her I had taken a while back led me to a letter she had written to me:
'I hope you are doing well and happy enough. You and I have oval shaped faces so sadness and sorrow doesn’t fit us. If we are sorrowful our faces will become long—laughter will off set the shape–so smile and laugh, it will make you look glamorous! Bye. God Bless you—Lola’
Thank you Lola for showing us so many wonderful things! And thank you for being the life of the party.