Wednesday, October 29, 2025
As a child, my Auntie Nena was always around. We lived right next door to her and my Uncle in the Villages of Windsor.
Vince and I are fortunate to have many happy memories at their house: playing in the sprinkler in their backyard, spending weekends and evenings there while our parents were at work, watching my Uncle cook fabulous meals and getting to eat that delicious food together with our extended family.
When we moved to Tecumseh our interactions weren't as frequent, but they still remained close. They'd frequently walk from their house to ours in the summer and stop in for a drink and quick visit.
Life change when Uncle passed. Auntie Nena was devastated. You didn't need to know them well to know they shared a deep, true love. She soldiered on and held her children close. Over the years she learned how to live again through the subsequent births of her grandchildren. She leaned into her new role as Grandma, caring for and loving her new grandbabies, helping her children raise them, and they grew to know and cherish her. While not knowing him personally, they all grew to know their late Grandfather. Photographs of him cooking, smiling and laughing were everywhere. He was gone physically but she made sure he was never forgotten.
My aunt endeared herself to everyone around her. She always made an effort to look nice. She loved makeup - lipstick especially - and like a Queen, she was always one to tell another woman they were beautiful. There were many times she'd look at me, her kind eyes, flecked with cataracts, sparkling, and tell me she liked my skin, my hair, my makeup. She loved beauty and found it everywhere. She also loved wearing floral prints, pinks and purples. In the springtime we'd go thru the county greenhouses and she'd walk up and down the aisles, her cane clicking on the ground with every step. She would be absolutely overwhelmed by all the flowers she saw and wanted to buy. If she wasn't buying them then she was standing next to them and having Grace or I take her photo so she could post a new Facebook profile pic.
She was forever gracious to everyone she met. She was very giving of herself and her time and talents. She loved doing laundry and dishes. She took pride in being able to get out even the most stubborn stains. She got excited walking down the laundry and cleaning aisles at WalMart. She loved, loved, LOVED anything that smelled nice and disliked anything that didn't ("My nose is small, but I smell everything"). Bath and Body Works was her jam. She loved pop culture and Star magazines. Purple Rain by Prince was one of her favourite songs. Even in this digital age of breakneck celebrity gossip, she still kept up with the times, once asking me if I thought Jennifer Lopez had plastic surgery because "How can she look like that in her 50's!!!" She loved feeding people. You could not leave her home without her offering you a meal, a snack, a beverage, a piece of candy or two, or five. And when you couldn't eat a single thing more, she'd pack up a container for you to bring home...("For the kids, for later! You just take it!)"
It's for all these little reasons and so many more that so many people are heartbroken over her loss. She was in my life from the day I was born and I feel fortunate to have four decades of memories with her. She was wickedly funny, inquisitive and loyal. Inday, Jun and Noy - your mom made sure your dad's legacy was never forgotten. She now has a whole family who will carry on and keep her memory for her.
