Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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BELOW ARE WORDS WRITTEN LOVINGLY BY HER BROTHER, AND THEN BY HER CHILDREN:

 Six words about my sister – Glorita, from Chano 

Translated in Cuban:  Seis palabras, más o menos (with a strong bias towards más) 

In 1947 a picture snaps: I am in my baby crib and Glorita (5 years old) hovers over me with a big white bow. I am sure that is the moment when I became fascinated and intrigued by her. 

Beautiful, smart, straight A’s and with a large doses of Mami’s precious advice, “a person must have lots of common sense.” 

Glorita’s “quince añera party” required dancing, so she invited home her girlfriends for practice… with me, a convenient but short partner, total martyrdom! 

However, dancing, as pointed out in the obituary, yielded a fantastic outcome: “José and Gloria danced all night.” 

Then exile separated us, and we wrote letters. When re-united in Miami our world was radically different, our parents stayed in Cuba trying to salvage their life work, until seven years later when they joined us in the USA. 

Glorita married José, her love, and went to NJ. I studied and lived in Atlanta. Papi y Mami lived in Miami Beach until their later years when they were lovingly embraced by Glorita, José and family. I am eternally grateful for their sacrifice and love to our parents. 

Glorita was a beacon, and to me she also was a safe harbor. I can hear Glorita say when asked about Chano’ travails: Huy, Chano?… Chano is Chano! Que más? Glorita’s “common sense” interpretation of what was happening in my life. Her way of saying it all – lovingly, prudently, and respectfully. 

Another famous Glorita’s saying was: “vamos por la marchita,” “going along the way (sendero, vereda).” Despite our different “marchitas,” distances never diminished our love and affection for each other. In our hearts we were united by blood. 

Glorita, we will meet where you are because our current distance will not diminish our love and affection for each other, for in Christ’s we are united! Que más? 

With all my love, 

Chano 

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On behalf of my father, Jose, and my siblings Gloria, Jose, Mark, Miguel and Cristina, we thank you for being here with us today. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Maria or number 4 of their 6 kids. We thank Tio Chano for sharing his beautiful stories of Mom with us and I’m honored to share some of our best Mom memories with you.

One of her favorite phrases was “all together, together”. Throughout her life, it’s a fitting way of how she lived. I think she would be happy that we are “all together, together” now, mourning, yet celebrating her beautiful life.

At the center of everything, Mom’s faith was present in all she did. Praying was a big part of her daily life. She was always praying and interceding for all of us in whatever we needed – whether it was in happy times, struggles, medical procedures, illnesses, employment, tests at schools, hope for a spouse – she would say “anything and everything”. We were strengthened by her love and support. She always put others first and was sure to let you know she was thinking of you. Most especially, she enjoyed calling you when it was your birthday, sending you a note, remembering your Saint’s Day and offering prayers on the anniversary of someone’s death.

Mom’s life revolved around her many titles: daughter, sister, cousin, student, teacher, wife, mother, Godmother, Grammie, and friend. She set the bar high in all these roles.  She cared so lovingly for her parents throughout her whole life.  She was proud of her brother and all his accomplishments.  As a student at the Ursaline Academy in Havana, she earned all A’s, yet reminded us that gym was the exception, and, it didn’t count.

As a wife, Mom and Dad complimented each other so well.   Dad often says that “marrying Mom was the best decision he ever made” and they were blessed to have celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary this past September.  Together they created a loving home for all of us wherever we were – from New Jersey, to England, to Baton Rouge and Miami.  As we grew and created lives of our own, she and Dad were able to travel. She visited (and shopped) in many beautiful countries throughout the world.  She was Dad’s “preferred companion” and they both enjoyed meeting new people, tasting new cuisines, and exploring the beauty of the world together.

As the mother of six, she was “the best”.  She made each of feel loved, special, capable, strong, unique and able to do anything.  She supported and cheered us on throughout every phase of our lives.  She managed to have all of us nicely dressed for church on Sundays, but especially for all our annual Christmas cards.

She had a key chain that read “Mom’s Taxi” and chauffeured us to all our events.  She loved zipping around in her car and we were always impressed that she learned to drive a stick shift in England, where she had to shift using her left hand.

We all loved our phone calls and texts from Mom where we shared our daily events, and she would tell us what she was up to and what she was looking forward to.

Mom was so thrilled with her role as “Grammie”.  She managed to make each grandchild feel cherished.  At family gatherings, we often would see her sitting next to a grandchild, deep in conversation about an important part of their young lives. If you were to ask the grandkids what their favorite thing about Grammie is, they would say it was her ability to engage in their interests or experiences with them.

The Grupo Cana, our extended family, had a special role in her life.  We fondly remember Sunday afternoons – the kids playing in the basement while the parents were saying rosaries together upstairs. When we were young, Mom, along with the other Moms, would coordinate a Nativity recreation with costumes for all the kids.  The Grupo Cana set a beautiful example of love for each other, their families and for God.  And, this is something we have strived for in our own marriages.

Mom made everyone feel special with her thoughtful conversations and beautiful, elegant smile.  She loved her luncheons and gatherings with all her friends: the Cuban Lunch Group, the Spanish Club, the International Club, the Delbarton Moms, the Bernardsville Young Girls and Young Boys Club, all our amazing Cousins, our wonderful neighbors, and her special friends at Church.

At all her social events, she was always fashionably dressed.  As a young woman, she even made clothes for herself and for loved ones – including Halloween costumes for us, and outfits for our special events.  She enjoyed looking through Hola magazines to catch up on all the latest fashions.

Her style extended to her home.  Even with all of our moves, her home was impeccably decorated and open for guests.  She had everything in its place even with all the “comings and goings” of a large family.

She loved creating happy times. We often saw her “cooking up a storm”, whether it was preparing an incredible meal for her family of 8, or 12 when our grandparents were visiting, or even many more for Group Cana, and for parties after graduations and sacraments. Her food, flan and chocolate mousse are legendary.

Holidays at home were magical, especially with Abuelo’s nativity scene in our living room. She created warm family traditions for all her loved ones. A memorable event for us was during our last Christmas with her when she read “Blanquito,” the book she wrote and painted when she was at the teacher college in Havana. We all have a copy of the book and recorded her reading it, and it will be a loving reminder to us of her special talents and gifts.

She didn’t seek the spotlight but delighted in the attention given to her. She especially enjoyed spending time around the table, sharing stories, having fun and laughing together.

When she had time to relax, she enjoyed watching her game shows, her favorite comedies, and, more recently, Hallmark movies. We remember just how much she laughed, and how we enjoyed our time sitting next to her. And, surprisingly, she was also very knowledgeable of Men’s Professional Basketball and enjoyed watching games with Dad.

We’ve been so comforted by all the wonderful memories that you have shared with us this past week.  It means so much to us that she was so loved by all of you.

As we celebrate her life, we want to share her faithful death. Being with Mom during her last days, we gained a better understanding of “Thy Will be done” and “now and at the hour of our death.” On the day she passed, my sisters and I had the honor of praying a rosary with her.  She was able to pray along with us.  It was Sunday and we prayed the Glorious Mysteries. We asked for the fruits of the mysteries: Faith, Hope, Love of God, Grace of a Happy Death, and Trust in Mary’s Intercession.  We feel these fruits reflect her incredible spirit and we are comforted knowing that she ended her life as she lived it. Even in death, she showed great faith, hope and love.

May we be “all together, together” with her one day again.

Vaya con Dios, Mom! Spoken with love by Maria Colella

To send flowers to the family or place a tree in memory of Gloria Fernandez-Solis Rionda, please visit our Tribute Store.