This Is The Last…

Today was the funeral for my great-grandma Delfina Galindo. She passed away at the ripe old age of 93. She succumbed to cancer in her last few years.

She had 6 kids, 9 grandkids, and 19 great grandchildren. She migrated to California in the 1920’s, she was born on December 24, 1912. She used to say that she was older than Jesus (she had a funny sense of humor, like that). When she was in her 20’s she was best friends with a lady, that would later become Marlon Brando’s wife. She was in their wedding. She loved music and she loved to cook. She owned a Mexican restaurant in Downtown LA.Every week we would go with her to In ‘N’ Out Burger and she would get a double-double. Everyone that worked there recognized her, because she ate there nearly everyday.

In her last 7 years of her life she suffered from Alzheimers and in the end our family could no longer give her the proper care needed. She slowly deteriorated to where she could no longer function and was just in pain. Her funeral was a joyful occasion, with all of our relatives, ones I haven’t seen in years. This was like the one day that my family was able to set aside all the drama and just get along, fondly remembering stories of our Grandma Fina (it was nice). Most of the stories I heard were about how hospitable she was, how she made people feel comfortable, and how her friends knew they could stop by anytime and have a drink with her.

She had a great sense of humor and her family meant everything to her. She used to always say goodbye by saying “Ay te wacho”.