Rosa Ana Guarin's Obituary
Obituary:
Rosana Guarin-Miranda, born on July 11, 1915, in Girardot, Colombia,
formerly of Bogota, Colombia, New York City and long-time resident of South
Miami, FL, passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 18, 2010. She was 94.
Beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, godparent and friend, she
found great pride and joy in her family and her life in the Lord. We mourn
her loss, but rejoice in her long life and the many memories we shared with
our family’s matriarch. She may be departed from this earth, but she is
forever at home with our Savior.
She is survived by her loving children: Luis Rincon Sr (spouse, Carmen),
Liz Tabak (spouse, Bill), and Doris Neira Miska; adoring grandchildren: Luis
Jr (spouse, Marilyn), Jorge (spouse, Lillian), Lorraine (spouse, Bill),
Mark (spouse, Nina), Cynthia (spouse, Ricky), Gabriel, Carmen, and 13
cherished great grandchildren: Lizbeth, Linette, Kirsten, Kevin, Deborah, Mathew,
Chantelle, Sabrina, Kayla, Joseph, Robert, Katie, Nicole.
Preceding her in death were her sister, Chava, and brothers, Ignacio and
Gustavo.
Visitation is at the Van Orsdel Family Funeral Chapel on Kendall Drive on
April 23, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. The burial service will be at Woodlawn Park
South Cemetery on April 24, 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers please donate to
WorldVision.org.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eulogy:
There are special people who come into your life. People you are truly blessed to have as part of your life.
For me, Abuela was certainly that person.
Abuela was many things to me over the 43 years of my life. As a young boy, she was just a grandmother to me, just my abuela. I just thought everyone had an abuela. She showed me the unconditional love and kindness and tenderness that a grandmother shows her grandchild. I always knew that she loved me. Until the day she died, I always knew, for sure, that she loved me, and that she deeply cared about me. And I know that she deeply cared about, and loved all of her family.
As I got older, I was the one who changed, not her. I became a teenager and young adult, probably a little less appreciative of her love, maybe less appreciative of her in general, I probably took her for granted. Yet she consistently stayed the course, stayed as strong and loving towards me, just as she always had. Always happy to hear from me. Always curious about my life. Always asking me if I read the Bible yet. Always reminding me to make Jesus an important part of my day. Always inspecting my heart and my soul. Even if at times that seemed a little uncomfortable. She was very consistent, and very persistent. That was just Abuela.
It wasn’t until my adult life that I truly began to appreciate what a special person Abuela was. Although we lived miles apart for many years, I feel that Abuela and I always shared a personal bond. During these adult years, as I matured, we became closer. I shared special moments with Abuela. As I established my career, I learned that she worked for American Express like I did, when she first went to New York. Then we shared the special moments of me “finally” becoming a husband, then becoming a Father. We developed a deeper relationship during these years. I would truly call it a friendship. We spent many hours on the phone together, talking about careers, family, kids, Atlanta, etc. And I learned a lot about her. I asked her many questions about her childhood days, her family and her life. She would answer these questions. She was proud of all of her family. And what I learned about her truly impressed me: it was during this time together that I realized how much impact Abuela truly had on who I am today.
As everyone knows, Abuela was a very strong woman. She had a tough childhood and tough teenage years, into her adult life. Yet she didn’t need, or want an ounce of pity from any one. She didn’t “need” anyone. She was responsible for her own life, her own decisions. And I’m not talking simple decisions. I’m talking difficult, thoughtful decisions. Life changing decisions. She didn’t depend on anyone. And she didn’t expect to depend on anyone. That was not in her DNA. You have to remember that this was not a common mindset back in her day. Abuela was truly a pioneer.
Abuela had everything in life that she “needed”. And she lived exactly how she wanted to live. She had her home. She had her Faith, her relationship with God. She had her friends. She was truly a beautiful lady. She carried herself with class. She was charming. She could charm a stranger in a minute. She always dressed for success, from head to toe, from her stylish crocheted hats all the way to her shoes. She always looked great. She was careful what she put on her body, or in her body. Her skin was literally in better condition than mine is today. I learned things about her: like that she never in her life ate food from a can. She wasn’t going to put “preservatives” into her body, no way. She cooked her own food, fresh, from scratch. She had self-respect. She had self discipline. She had pride.
And she had her routines. From her walks to the corner stores, to her daily workouts on her treadmill. To her door-to-door and face-to-face ministering. She did what she wanted to do, when she wanted to do it, and that was that. And you didn’t want to mess with that. She was very independent. You did not want to get in her way.
What also impressed me was that truly and sincerely, Abuela did not get caught up in materialism. Abuela is a true example of someone who sincerely avoided the temptations of desire and materialism. And Oh don’t be naïve. Abuela was no dummy. In fact, she was smart, very smart. She might have been smarter than most, if not all of us, in our family. Or if we think we are smart, then be thankful to Abuela, because we definitely got a bunch of those genes from her. NO, she was not conventional. But she was certainly wise beyond her time. She could have easily gone out into this crazy world and achieved as much financial success as she could have wanted; IF that was what she wanted to direct her attention and energy to. But that was not Abuela. That was not who Abuela was. She was never impressed by ones material possessions or accomplishments. She was impressed by your heart. She was impressed by your soul. And she cared about your soul. She didn’t care if you were rich or poor, but she cared about your soul. And her advice to you, whether you wanted to hear it or not, was always a little nudge, a recommendation to cater to your own soul. To have Faith. To believe in yourself. To believe in God. To read the Bible. To say your prayers. To stay grounded. To put family first. To give to others. Not necessarily money, but to give your time, your advice, your love. To witness to people. To offer your hand to help others. This was Abuela. This is what impressed Abuela. And Abuela was not shy about it.
During one of our last trips to Miami, Nina and I went to Bayside with Abuela and Aunt Carmen and Uncle Luis. I’ll never forget the time that we were all outside when it suddenly began to rain heavily. That’s what it does in Miami. So Abuela got up without telling any of us, found the first door and walked right into the busy kitchen of a waterside restaurant to seek shelter. It was a very small space, but there stood Abuela, right in the middle of the kitchen, right at dinner time. The head cook said “ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave”. She tilted her head and looked him directly in the eye and firmly said “No… I’m not going anywhere.” “Well I’m going to have to call security ma’am”, he said. Abuela crossed her arms, looked at him again and said “OK, you go do that…” That cook had no idea who he was up against. Abuela was a rock. She wasn’t intimidated by ANY body. She didn’t budge. And she’s been a rock like that for as long as I’ve known her.
Abuela was a rock at the core of our family. She might have been THE rock at the core of our family. She was a leader. She defined integrity. She was a wonderful mother. She was a wonderful grandmother. She was a wonderful great-grandmother. Perfect she was not; none of us are. But her intentions were pure. And she was fun, and she was funny, and witty! She’d put you in your place in a minute. And in an era where people search a lifetime for “success”, Abuela achieved success in her life. She hand-built a successful life. She hand-built a successful family. And she kept herself healthy enough, through unfaltering discipline, to get to experience it, and witness the product of her own work through four generations, through 94 years of life. I’d certainly call that achieving success.
In closing:
Over the years, we’ve gathered our family around Abuela. We’ve gathered events around Abuela. We are here because of Abuela. I don’t know what the impact is going to be to our family as a result of her passing. I guess we’ll find out over time but my hope and wish is that we continue to honor Abuela in our actions and in spirit. That we keep her in our thoughts. That we pray for her. That’s what she would want from us. And when things are tough in our lives, let’s think about how strong Abuela had to be throughout her life. Ask yourself, “what would Abuela do?” You just might find the answer you’re looking for.
Let’s make a commitment to keep our values as a family and continue to gather as a family. Let’s stay in touch more, versus less, over the years. Let’s get together, when possible, to celebrate the life events that we have ahead of us with each other and with our children, our family. Let’s help our spouses get to know each other, and let’s help our children get to know each other, as THEY are the next generation of Abuela’s legacy.
I think this is how we honor Abuela. I think this is what Abuela would want for us as she observes our lives from heaven above.
Abuela, thank you so much for being such an important part of all of our lives. We thank you for all of your prayers. And we thank you for all of your unconditional love. We are all going to miss you very, very much.
May God bless your soul. And may you rest in peace in Heaven. We love you very much. God bless you.
What’s your fondest memory of Rosa Ana?
What’s a lesson you learned from Rosa Ana?
Share a story where Rosa Ana's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Rosa Ana you’ll never forget.
How did Rosa Ana make you smile?