My mother: Fe C. de Jesus (April 4, 1919-March 15, 1972)

My mother was the youngest child of Manuel dela Cruz and Antonia Pasion.  They are a family of seven siblings.  The eldest and the youngest were girls, 5 boys came in between.

During her time, only the affluent sent all their children (boys and girls) to college.  For the average income family,  only the sons were able to go to college.  The daughters were sent only up to elementary or secondary levels, depending upon the financial capability of the family.  Since my grandfather died before all children were able to finish schooling, only the boys were able to go to college and graduate. One became a civil engineer, another became a doctor, and another was a Philippine Military Academy graduate, who rose in rank as Colonel in the Philippine Army.  Still another worked in the government in its Health Department.  So the eldest and the youngest, being girls, only reached high school.

Even though my mother only finished second year high school, she was well educated.  She would read newspapers and magazines, including the “Screen Stories”, a Hollywood magazine that my father used to buy in my early childhood.  Her favorite actress was the beautiful Swedish Ingrid Bergman, and her favorite actor was Gregory Peck.   Her favorite movies were The Guns of Navarone and Ben Hur.

My mother was a loving woman.  She loved us all equally.  But since I was the one who was sickly among her children,  she gave me more attention in terms of feeding me.  I almost forgot about this, if not for a sibling who reminded me about that “sustagen” health drink.  To those who don’t understand this, it would seem that my mother was playing favorites, which she never did.  It’s just like a mother who has 10 children, if one is sick, she would set aside the 9, and would give more attention to that sick child.  I also remember my father would go to see my teacher to request that I be exempted from doing gardening in our school.  I also remember those times that I had to be given daily dose of injection in the school clinic.  Oh, how I hated those injections.  But I didn't have a choice.  I just had to endure them.

My mother was a godly woman.  She was a Roman Catholic, but a few months after I, together with my sister, came back from a church youth camp,  she received the Lord Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.

My mother’s favorite hymn was “Face to Face”, as recalled by her friend.  The lyrics of the hymn go like this:

Face to face with Christ my Savior, Face to face what will it be –
When with rapture I behold Him, Jesus Christ who died for me?

Refrain:

Face to face I shall behold Him, Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory, I shall see Him by and by.
.
Only faintly now I see Him, With the darkling veil between;
But a blessed day is coming, When His glory shall be seen.

(Refrain)

What rejoicing in His presence When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened, And the dark things shall be plain.

(Refrain)

Face to Face! O blissful moment! Face to face – to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer, Jesus Christ who loves me so.

(Refrain)

Two character traits that stood out in my mother  were frugality and honesty.  Because we were many and my father was the sole breadwinner in the family, it was hard to make both ends meet.  But my mother knew how to handle finances.  She never borrowed from anybody even though money was scarce.  We could eat 3 meals a day even though sometimes it was just rice and bananas, or rice with sugar.  There was an instance that we were in arrears in the payment of rent of the house and the owner told us to vacate the house.  So we had to move to another place.  That happened when I was in first year high school.  Then my father got another job, so we were financially okay.  When I went to college, one of my classmates was the daughter of the owner of that house where we were told to vacate.  I told my mother about this, and so, for several months my mother gave me money to pay in installment and I gave it to that classmate until the accountability was fully paid.

Even though she did not contribute financially in the family, my mother proved to be a strong woman. Like for instance when my father lost his job.  In order to feed us, she sold merienda, partnering with a friend who had a store near the market.

My mother was very concerned about our financial welfare.  We had been renting a house ever since I could remember.  When she knew that she would soon leave us, she pushed my father to build a house on the lot that she inherited from her mother (my grandmother).  The construction of the house started about 2 weeks before she died.  We moved to this house when it was completed two months after she died.

Shortly after my mother died, my father showed me an old letter from my mother.  I was surprised.  It was an organized, well-written letter.  My mother wrote so well!  Her English was very good.  This, in spite of the fact that she only reached second year high school.  That was indeed a feat.

My mother was never a complainer.  She was sick of breast cancer,  and in extreme pain during her final days, but we never heard her complain.  She died early  - 20 days short of  her 53^rd birthday.