On April 18th, we met at Victor Viesca's gravesite. Victor was the first of the Viesca family to pass away and he always carried a special place in the hearts of the family. Although I never met him, Connie use to tell me stories about him as she and her siblings helped care for him during his short life. He actually passed away on the exact day that I joined the Air Force and was shipped out to Lackland AFB in San Antonio from Boston!

It was a very windy day as we buried the ashes of Mom, Dad, Frankie and Shellie at the gravesite. Jesse and Viola were present and Jesse dug a small hole in front as we buried the ashes of the departed family members. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring some of Connie's ashes that day, but I feel that part of her would like to be with the family and plan to do it soon! She would have loved the idea of this gathering. Julian gave a stirring blessing at the gravesite and it was a very touching moment!

Once again we had the grace of being brought together as a family for Easter by Diane & Julian. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday with a nice breeze. Unfortunately, Julian couldn't seem to lose as the dealer for 21 that day as he slowly took all of our money!!

But he and Diane cooked up a feast for the family!

Sitting around, playing cards, listening to great music and drinking our wine coolers and sodas made for a relaxing Easter Sunday! We enjoyed barbequed sausage & pork, beans, potato salad, rice and a variety of desserts during the next few hours! Of special note, Gidget brought the capirotada, a dish Connie use to make for such occasions. It was delicious!

The kids also had a blast, playing in the small swimming pool and later running around during the Easter egg hunt!

A great time was had by all!! As the sun started setting late in the afternoon, we started packing extra food away for ourselves and slowly drifted to our cars to head back home! It was a memorable weekend!

Although they couldn't be with us physically, Michelle and her immediate family were with us in spirit! Above are a couple of pictures that she sent to me from that day as she was able to share the holiday with close friends in Temple.

POST-SCRIPT:

As it turned out, the Easter weekend was extended! Connie, with a small group of the family, traveled to the coast to spread the rest of Shellie's ashes! Connie always wanted to do this because Shellie loved the coast so much! We actually took a trip there shortly after she passed away but understandably so, at the time, Connie just couldn't part with her daughter's ashes. Now seemed like the right time.

R.I.P. Shellie Ann Quiroga, 1973 - 1999.

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