Sally Rivera – July 18, 1942 to May 11, 2010

Sally was Deana’s Aunt and the last remaining sibling to Deana’s father.  I had only met Sally on a handful of occasions, but she was always very friendly, VERY family oriented, and surrounded by her own children and grandchildren.  She was one of those people that made you feel like you belonged too; like you were part of the family or at least had known her forever. In fact, as silly as this may seem, she friended me on FaceBook not that long ago and I was touched.  That’s just how she rolled.

Sally had an awesome smile, was a killer card player, and knew how to laugh almost as loud as I do.  She was always encouraging others to take care of themselves, or cheering them up if things were tough, etc.  Such simplicity is often overlooked, but I am glad these images have come easily to me today.

By today’s standards, I think Sally left us too early – she was only 67 years old.  But what makes this loss all the more shocking was that we had no indication there was a health issue with Sally until a couple of weeks ago.  Deana received a call late one night from her brother Michael that Aunt Sally was in the hospital and she may have a serious condition.  About two weeks later, she is gone.  While the doctors never said there was surety that she would fully recover, the speed in which things happened has been devastating to Deana and her 7 siblings.  And Sally’s daughter and grandchildren, who have been inseparable their entire lives, are feeling this the most.  Please keep them in your prayers.

I believe I will have more to write soon, as the days progress and the stories about Sally are shared between Deana and her siblings Manuel, Jerry, Julia, Victoria, Stephanie, Andrew, and Michael.  We will all be picturing Aunt Sally being reunited in heaven with her brother (and Deana’s Dad) Jerry, her sister Julie, and her parents.  And yet, we will be reminded – as the image of the reunion unfolds in our minds – how much we miss them all.

Love you Aunt Sally.