dear pilar,
i am so sorry to hear about the passing of gloria. i have great memories of her especially during our senior year - her wit, humor, and overall great personality. i have said time and again that if there was one year of my life i would relive, it would be that year. she was one of those who made it a fun-filled, meaningful, and unforgettable one for me.
my prayers and condolences go out to you and your family during this time of grief.
sincerely,
mel
April 28, 2009
I have so many wonderful memories of my ex-seatmate, Glo, and don't know where
to begin. She was my seatmate in HS 4-D, and like Mel, it was one of the best
years of my time in SJCS. We shared laughs, sorrows, gossip, trials, hopes, but
most of all, we passed notes during class--talking about everything and nothing.
How I wish I had kept them. We would write till there was practically no empty
space on the paper
Glo was a wise, loyal and funny friend and she will be missed. We will always
have our last year of school together. Rest in peace.
My condolences to her surviving family.
Hedy
April 29, 2009
My condolences to Pilar and the rest of the family
- Noemi
April 29, 2009
Dear Pilar,
I'm sorry about your loss; please convey my sympathy to Gloria's family.
Stef
April 29, 2009
My wife and I, also would like to offer our condolences ....to Gloria's family to their loss. God bless.
Nelson and Yang
April 29, 2009
Dear Pilar,
I'm very sorry to hear about Gloria. I remember her well after having her as a
classmate for several years. As the prayers and accolades pour in and we come
to accept that her suffering has finally come to pass, I hope her life can be
celebrated as she not only continues to live in our memories but also now begins
to reap the rewards of the true eternal life.
Sincerely,
Gerald
April 29, 2009
Dear ....Pilar,
My condolences to you and your families.
Jaime
April 30, 2009
Dear Pilar,
I would like to extend my condolences to you and to the family of Gloria over her passing away. Its very sad indeed to know that someone we all grew up with has passed away.
God Bless her always.
Sincerely,
Roland Yu
April 30, 2009
I want to offer my condolences to both Pilar and Gloria Ang's family. It was all
too sudden and we all lost a good friend.
Stephanie
April 30, 2009
Gloria A : Friend For Always, Classmate Eternal. . . Batchmate Forever
[ Notes from YLB : We dont know how this email will help... we are normally a happy, optimistic and self-starting person when it comes to seeing the light and bright side of things. But who wouldnt feel a bit down after the news the past 48 hours? Pandemic swine flu, and twin transitions to the next plane of existence for a person close to the batch and a member of the batch itself. But just as talking to oneself and "voiceing out" pent-up emotions and frustrations can be healthful, giving vent to one's immediate sentiments and feelings after a "significant event", and communicating / articulating them to other people (even electronically) might actually do some good to at least either the articulator or the articulatee (or kung sinuswerte, both). Kudos to AteMel, QueenHedy & DocGerry for those Gloria anecdotes as well as to all other kabatch for their kind notes of sympathy. Said it before and we'll say it again, so sad that it takes sad events to draw the batch together, but haaay...that's life. Lastly, Pilar , hope u can forgive the less-than-solemn nature of the e-mail... & do you mind if we refer to you in the 3rd person ? ]
Dear batchmates, batch and kabatch :
I love my brother George, but to be quite honest sometimes he drives me siaw siaw. Between us, he is usually the quicker thinker, and retorts rapid-fire. He loves messing with my mind, and his favorite pasttime is pointing out to me how hare-brained my ideas are in a grand and sarcastic manner.
In a funny way, he's the anti-Noel. He has never been a smoker, shuns alcohol (always volunteers to be the sober driver in parties), avoids coffee unless he absolutely can't, and has been a lifelong disciple of badminton and basketball.
Well we've mentioned more than once that until 2007 we were a chimney smoking, beer-guzzling (straight up and as chaser for the more serious brews...pero on weekends lang naman) and coffee-swilling armchair commando [until we realized exercise was a passable substitute for sex (whaaat???) ], so you can just imagine, dear batchmates, how his oil got along with our water all these years...
But we couldn't imagine life without dear old bro, who (after we sailed for distant shores) has always looked out for our welfare (parang sya ang kuya) and would give an arm and a leg to keep us alive, only because he knows we would do the same for him... in our own weird and wishy-washy way, we love each other to bits...
Which is just our way of saying how shattered ang gutted we feel at this moment for sis Pilar, who owns the sad distinctions right now of being BOTH a sis and (by the way) fellow batchmate to our dearly departed kabatch Gloria . . .
Who has always blessed us with her awesome smile, her quiet but personable nature, and her pal-to-all aura that couldn't but win her unanimous straight A's in friendship, ho tao and pakikisama...
We have had the good fortune of not only having had both Gloria and Pilar as classmates, but we're almost sure, at the same time.
That year, we didn't always have a chance to speak with her and didn't enjoy the pleasure of hearing her voice often, but to us , Gloria exuded warmth and confidence not common in a high schooler. We also remember her having, more often not, something sensible to say.
Needless to say, this contrasted with the volubility, gregariousness and liveliness of her alter ego Pilar. It seemed that they were back-to-back faces of the same coin... not really opposing, but complementary and hand-in-glove to each other. Remarkably, they respected each other's space and sister allowed sister to be distinct selves despite being physically and emotionally close.
In many cases, siblings become near mirror images of each other, except that they frequently evolve into slightly different, or modified images of the original. If Ahya had become a bit more friendly, if Ate had taken Medicine instead of Law, if Siobe had married later... Like it or not, Pilar will now help generate memories of our dearly departed Gloria. For aren't memories, especially in our loved ones, the least perishable things we leave behind?
I am truly sorry for your loss Pilar, and like you I will miss Gloria... both as a sis and as a friend .
Prayers, hugs and sympathies from all of us.
YLB
NOel
May 4, 2009
Hello Pilar,
When my mom passed away, our parish priest told me a touching story that I would like to share with you. He said God and my mom were friends who took a walk one beautiful morning.. They were enjoying each other's company so much that they did not realize how late it was. Then my mom realized that she was closer to God's house than she was to her home so she decided to stay with God. Although this message was bittersweet to me and our family, it was delightful to know that she is with God right now. And I am sure Gloria is too.
Take care my friend.
~Carolyn Chan